Variety has the story on last night's Costume Designers Guild Awards, where Colleen Atwood ("Sweeney Todd"), Ann Roth ("The Golden Compass") and Julie Weiss ("Blades of Glory") reigned supreme.  The question lingering is, will Atwood turn the same trick at the Oscars?

Not so fast.

While Atwood has two Oscars to her credit ("Chicago" and "Memoirs of a Geisha"), she now has a whopping five trophies from the guild, adding "Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events," "Sleepy Hollow" and, now, "Sweeney" to the list.

The guild clearly loves her, having even nominated her for "Planet of the Apes" in 2000.

Incidentally, I was over at the FIDM fashion institute downtown this afternoon checking out the film costume design showcase and one of the curators was going on and on about how "nice" and "cool" Atwood is.  She's a legend in the field, but that doesn't always translate over to the Academy at large, so be careful.

Jacqueline Durran and Alexandra Byrne are still heavy favorites to take this statuette.  The latter, especially, features wall-to-wall garbs that might be too intoxicating to pass up, much like last year's "Marie Antoinette."  The former, meanwhile, has that sparkling green dress and plenty of period threads to prove a suitable winner.  It's a tight race, but Atwood's win yesterday evening doesn't add as much steam as one might think, so go with the gut here (which, for some, may very well be Atwood).

And check out Salini Dore's FIDM film costume design exhibit profile if you just can't get enough.

•  If you're too cool for school Sunday night and won't be watching the Oscar like the rest of us, let your cell phone do the work. [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  David Edelstein humors the reasoning that allows for a "Juno" Best Picture victory. [The Projectionist]

•  Jeffrey Wells is beside himself at such insinuations. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  David Carr thinks it's all a bunch of hot air and over-analysis. [The Carpetbagger]

•  Yours truly, meanwhile, happens to think it's pretty much a no-brainer at this point...sadly. [In Contention]

•  Sasha Stone advocates for "No Country" one...last...time, posting a full blown sequence from the film to make sure the point is made. [Awards Daily]

•  Jay Fernandez digs into the year's nominated scripts, with a eye toward vibrant characterizations. [The Envelope]

•  Tom O'Neil chats it up with sound mixer Kevin O'Connell backstage at the CAS Awards over the weekend. [Gold Derby]

•  Noah Forrest takes a stab at predicting the winners. [Movie City News]

•  Tim Long prolongs (heh) the anti-Oscar, elitest attitude at Vanity Fair. [Little Gold Men]

•  More predictions from T.L. Stanley. [Gold Rush]

•  A separate set from some cruis ship bartenders. [Cinematical]

•  Lou Lumenick predicts it right down the friggin' middle. [New York Post]

Saturday's somewhat surprising victory for "No Country for Old Men" at the Cinema Audio Society Awards has people wondering whether long-time nominees Kevin O'Connell and Greg P. Russell will perhaps miss yet again for their heavily detailed work on "Transformers."  As it turns out, "No Country" mixer Greg Orloff is hoping the duo can finally pull it out.

As Tom O'Neil reports:

"I'm rooting hard for Kevin to win," Orloff said. "Nothing would make me happier than to see him finally get his due. He's a great sound mixer. I've known Kevin for 25 years and worked with him on movies like 'Armageddon.' I know how good he is."

It's pretty hard NOT to root for them at this stage in the game.  This being their final collaboration together, it would just be a sweet end to a great ride.

There was also this bit regarding last year's sound mixer nastiness that I found interesting:

When "Dreamgirls" beat O'Connell's "Apocalypto" last year, the loss got mired in a tragic mess, I'm sure you'll recall. During the Oscar ceremony, O'Connell had to rush off to the hospital where his mother died in his arms. Meantime, backstage at the Kodak Theatre, "Dreamgirls" winner Michael Minkler trashed O'Connell to reporters, saying that it was time O'Connell went into another line of work. Minkler issued an apology later, but, as far as I know, the two have not spoken personally.

Last night they were both in the same ballroom at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, all eyes were on them, of course, but they didn't connect.

At one point before the ceremony started, I hooked up with Kevin to arrange plans with him to shoot a video chat later out in the lobby.

"Where are you sitting?" he asked me.

"Over there at that table next to Bill Condon," I replied, forgetting for a second about the "Dreamgirls" connection as I pointed to the film's director.

"Would you introduce me to Bill, please?" Kevin said. "I'd really like to meet him."

Suddenly, I froze. Yikes. "Sure," I said and led him over to Bill and made the introductions.

Bill jumped up from his seat with a big smile, shook Kevin's hand eagerly and said, "Kevin, I'd like to apologize to you on behalf of my team."

Kevin nodded graciously and they had a cheery chat. Later, when I needed someone to run camera while I did the video chat with Kevin, Bill volunteered.

Never knew there could be so much backstage drama at a little ole' mixers' shindig, did ya?

Last night's ACE Eddie Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton was an airy affair with lots of respect for the craft and plenty of entertainment to go around.

Emcee Patton Oswalt was a riot, steering clear, for the most part, of industry jokes and just doing the tap dance of his comedy routine in between segments.

Christopher Rouse pulled off a quasi-surprise (to those expecting a near sweep for "No Country for Old Men" through the guilds circuit), winning in the dramatic feature category for his work on "The Bourne Ultimatum."

Word has it that it was a landslide victory, and I have to say, the room seemed more than enthused by the work that went into putting together Paul Greengrass' summer thrill-ride.  Just before actress Julie Benz read off Rouse's name, a few people in the crowd shouted out "Bourne!"

I spoke with Rouse in the green room after his win, which he said caught him totally off guard.  He was quite humbled when I posited the notion that audiences perhaps take away from "Bourne" the craft of the editing, the intensity of the visual menagerie, whether they realize it or not.  He may indeed be on his way to an Oscar as well.

Rouse is currently hard at work over on the Universal lot cutting Greengrass' "Green Zone," an Iraq drama inspired by Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City."

"Juno" was also a favorite in the room, judging by reactions to Jason Reitman as a presenter, Dana Glauberman's name when mentioned here and there, etc.  However, Chris Lebenzon, an old pro at this stuff, reigned in the comedy category for "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."

Oh, just before presenting the award to Lebenzon, filmmaker Michael Moore told a gut-busting story about why he owes his career to the Bush family.

It turns out, nearly 20 years ago, when he was working on the groundbreaking "Roger & Me," Moore knew nothing but nothing of the editing trade.  So vast was his ignorance that the first 20 hours he shot were slateless, because he didn't know what the heck a slate was.  He and his crew kept waiting for people to "pop their p's" so they could sync up the sound (yikes).

Moore said he called up an aqcuaintance, an editor in New York, and asked him to help out because he was, quite honestly, floundering in putting his doc together.  Later the next year, in January of 1989, while watching the inauguration of George Bush, Sr., Moore noticed his editorial savior in the crowd behind the new leader of the free world and wondered how he could have managed a spot on the stage.

As it turns out, the editor in question was Bush's nephew.  He didn't want to tell Moore at the time, Moore said, and he also mentioned that he "had this crazy cousin," Bush, Jr.  "Thank you, Bush family," Moore said, the crowd giggling along with him.

Moore also said that he bumped into Oscar telecast producer Gil Cates in the lobby area, "You know, the guy who played me off the stage last time," Moore said.  Cates apparently had apologized, telling Moore he wouldn't do it again.

Uh oh.

The night was full of touching tributes, including a hilarious presentation of the Golden Eddie to filmmaker Norman Jewison by comedic legend Carl Reiner.  William Friedkin, meanwhile, offered a great tribute to Lifetime Achievement recipient Bud Smith, who has worked with the director on more than a few endeavors, including "The Exorcist," "Sorceror" and "To Live and Die in L.A."

Cates, by the way, was on hand to present the great Millie Moore with her Lifetime Achievement Award.

Probably the most heart-felt moment of the evening came just before Hal Holbrook presented one of the night's awards.  He told a long and detailed story about how "Into the Wild" editor Jay Cassidy played around with the final scene between Holbrook's Ron Franz and Emile Hirsch's Chris McCandless in the film,.  Cassidy ultimately decided to interupt the sequence with a scene depicting Hirsch on the cusp of peril in Alaska before coming back to the emtional jeep scene for which Holbrook is so often remembered in the film.

Holbrook said he's spent much of his life somewhat oblivious to what editors add to the filmmaking process, and that his work on this film and his observations of Cassidy's work, specifically, brought him in tune with something he now sees as one of the most valuable aspects of the industry.  "Without Jay's decisions," Holbrook said," I would have never been nominated for an Academy Award."

Speaking of "Into the Wild," I also spoke with composer Michael Brook just before the show.  Most of it was talk of London, his former home, but we did touch on his score's disqualification by the Academy.  He said he was certainly surprised because, though there are plenty of songs in the pic, there is certainly no lack of score.  We both agreed there should be some changes in the branch's qualification process, a hot button issue in the awards watching community as of late.

Here are some pics from the show:


Christopher Rouse accepts the dramatic feature trophy for "The Bourne Ultimatum."



Michael Moore, mid-anecdote, just before presenting the comedy feature prize to Chris Lebenzon.



Lifetime Achivement Award presenter Gil Cates.



Presenter Jason Reitman, on cloud nine as of late.



One of our great treasures, Golden Eddie recipient Norman Jewison.



Bud Smith, refusing to get into a speech and ofering a simple
"thank you," as Billy Friedkin watches on.



Your comedy nominees...



...and the dramas.

•  Anne Thompson writes up Saturday night's Art Directors Guild Awards. [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  Rachel Abramowitz checks in with Tom Wilkinson, enjoying his great winter romance with the screen. [The Envelope]

•  David Carr explains the fascination with Oscar. [The Carpetbagger]

•  David Denby hearts the Coen brothers. [New Yorker]

•  Sasha Stone points us to the AP's Oscar week countdown. [Awards Daily]

•  Tom O'Neil concocts some Best Actor odds, wonders if George Clooney can pull an upset (uh...no). [Gold Derby]

•  Kim Voynar takes a stab at predicting the Oscar outcome... [Cinematical]

•  ...and explains why the Best Foreign Language Film category is something of a, well...a joke this year. [Cinematical]

(A piece regarding last night's ACE awards will be on the way later in the afternoon.  Lots of fun, lots to discuss.  Sorry for the delay.)

The American Cinema Editors handed out a slew of awards this evening that included top honors for "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" in the drama and comedy categories for narrative features.  Michael Moore's "Sicko" won out in the documentary field.

"Bourne" was sliced and diced into one of the summer's most successful actioners by Christopher Rouse, a longtime collaborator of director Paul Greengrass, while Tim Burton alumn Chris Lebenzon managed editorial duties on the December musical "Sweeney."  Geoffrey Richman, Chris Seward and Dan Swietlik edited Moore's health care doc.

Norman Jewison received the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award, as previously announced.

The occassion marks only the second miss for "No Country for Old Men" during the guild circuit (the other being with the cinematographers last month) as the Coen brothers' composite "Roderick Jaynes" has yet to be embraced by the editing community.

"Bourne" is largely seen as the favorite to win the editing Oscar as well.

(I am at the event presently and will report on the evening's goings-on later tonight.)

Another day another awards show.  I will be at the ACE Awards dinner this evening at the Beverly Hilton and will report back on the festivities later tonight.

The feature film nominees:

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):
"The Bourne Ultimatum," Christopher Rouse, A.C.E.
"Into the Wild," Jay Cassidy, A.C.E.
"Michael Clayton," John Gilroy, A.C.E.
"No Country for Old Men," Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood," Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E.

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedic):
"Hairspray," Michael Tronick, A.C.E.
"Juno," Dana E. Glauberman
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," Craig Wood & Steven E. Rivkin, A.C.E.
"Ratatouille," Darren Holmes, A.C.E.
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," Chris Lebenzon, A.C.E.

Best Edited Documentary:
"Darfur Now," Edgar Burcksen, A.C.E. & Leonard Feinstein
"The Pixar Story," Leslie Iwerks & Stephen Myers, A.C.E.
"Sicko," Geoffrey Richman, Chris Seward & Dan Swietlik

So, if you haven't already heard, "No Country for Old Men" took down the motion picture award at tonight's Cinema Audio Society Awards, and to be truthful, it was something of a surprise.

Sure, much has been made of Kevin O'Connell and Greg P. Russell's streak of losses at the Oscars, but they've also put up a goose egg with their peers.  It's really difficult to deny a sound job like that of "Transformers," and yet here it sits, winless, staring at the same possibilities for Oscar.

There is also no denying the creativity of the mix on "No Country," so let's not miss my meaning.  I spoke with re-recording mixer Craig Berkey before the show and had to tell him "bravo" for making the tracks on this guild-dominating film another character in the pic.  The clip the Society chose (and boy did they get risque with these clips) is probably one of the best examples of this team's work on the film: Javier Bardem's chilling Anton Chigurgh ambushes a hotel room full of Mexican thus as Josh Brolin's Llewelyn Moss listens from a nearby room.

It's just a different kind of "good," as I told one of mixers seated at my table tonight.  So it goes.

Berekey, who also, coincidentally enough, did some recording work on "Transformers," said he was encouraged that the media is slowly but surely turning its gaze toward the craft achievements.  It's something Gerard Kennedy and I have been fairly passionate about for two years now, and indeed, these individuals deserve the coverage.  Dorothea Sargeant, the CAS' publicist, has made some considerable strides since she took the organization on as a client.  Here's hoping the exposure continues.

Bill Condon received the Society's Filmmaker Award.  It was good to talk it up with him outside of the awards frenzy of last year, to be sure, and his speech was a hoot.  CAS member Michael Minkler presented the trophy to Condon, who offered a biting but comedic salute to "Dreamgirls" producer David Geffen as he accepted.

Meanwhile, the great Dennis Sands won the Lifetime Achievement Award,.  Sands has left his signature on everything from "Back to the Future" to "Predator," "Contact" to "Forrest Gump."  Composer Alan Silvestri presented the award, a longtime friend of Sands going back nearly three decades.

Greg P. Russell, in presenting the TV award this evening, gave his own touching tribute to Sands before going back to the script.  He recalled walking into the sound mix of "Romancing the Stone" way back in 1984 and how the technology at the time was like nothing he'd ever seen.  He said he was honored to call Sands a mentor, a colleague and a friend.

Off the topic of sound mixing, Tom O'Neil was bouncing around with his one-man camera show, grabbing an interesting video podcast with Kevin O'Connell out in the lobby.  We chatted about this Tilda Swinton craziness that has been spreading through the Oscarweb like wildfire since the BAFTA awards and, to be truthful, he almost made me rethink my position on the matter.  Almost.

Here are some images from the show:


Kevin O'Connell (left) and Bill Condon chat in the ballroom lobby.



The most surreal shot I've ever taken: Condon, ever the sport, films
Tom O'Neil's video podcast with O'Connell.  Only on the Oscarweb.



The strike has taken its toll on poor Mr. Condon, moonlighting
anonymously as an Envelope employee.  (I kid the Times.)



Condon accepts the Filmmaker Award.



The "No Country" sound crew reigns victorious.  O'Connell
and Greg P. Russell look on from the table directly in front of the stage.

I'll be attending tonight's Cinema Audio Society Awards at the Millennium Biltmore downtown and will try to post some commentary and pics from the event later this evening.

Greg P. Russell and Kevin O'Connell, of course, are trying not only for their first Oscar win this year, but for their first embrace from their peers in the society.  However, "No Country for Old Men" has become a popular choice in the guild circuit and, indeed, has been championed for its creative aural touches by the sound community as a whole.  So it'll be interesting to see how things play out.

Tomorrow the American Cinema Editors dish out their kudos.  From what I'm hearing, "The Bourne Ulatimatum" should reign triumphant there and not the Coens' Roderick Jaynes composite, believe it or not.  I think the Oscars might follow suit there.

And finally, the Art Directors Guild will hand out awards in three categories.  The period field will be the one to watch, where three Oscar nominees square off against one another: "Atonement," "Sweeney Todd" and "There Will Be Blood."

•  Jeffrey Wells spotlights a hair-raising quote from "No End in Sight" helmer Charles Ferguson in that New York Times doc piece. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Richard Corliss digs into the Academy membership in a slightly different piece on the Oscars. [Time]

•  Sasha Stone previews all the guild commotion this weekend. [Awards Daily]

•  Tom O'Neil wonders whether Entertainment Weekly Oscar voter collective can be trusted. [Gold Derby]

•  David Carr reviews "There Will Be Blood," bubble-wrap style. [The Carpetbagger]

•  Stu VanAirsdale comments on Jane Fonda's C-bomb from last week, worships its usage in "Atonement." [Little Gold Men]

•  Anita Gates writes up Oscar's memories throughout the boob-tube years. [New York Times]

•  Randee Dawn, via slideshow, takes a look at the making of an Oscar -- no, an ACTUAL Oscar, at the R.S. Owens & Company plant in Chicago. [Gold Rush]

•  Todd Leopold asks whether anyone cares about the Oscars. [CNN]

•  In his first post in nearly a month, Ramin Setoodeh responds to the piece. [The Gold Digger]

•  The media, who wanted so desperately to have a story like Diablo Cody to cover, continue to tear the poor woman down because they're bored with their own Frakenstein. [Cinematical]

•  Donna Freydkin sits down with "La Vie en Rose" star Marion Cotillard. [USA Today]

•  According to the local paper, surfers love Best Animated Feature Film nominee "Surf's Up." [Los Angeles Times]

•  T.L. Stanley takes umbrage with Josh Brolin's SAG acceptance speech on behalf of the cast of "No Country for Old Men." [Gold Rush]

•  "Easern Promises" and "Shake Hands with the Devil" dominate the Genia Award nominations. [Variety]

•  Tom O'Neil offers some thoughts on the noms. [Gold Derby]

•  Jeffrey Wells may be hopping mad if "Falling Slowly" gets the boot from the best Original Song category. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Picking through the 'dos of Sunday's SAG fashion extravaganza. [The Envelope]

•  Pete Hammond responds to the week in guild presentations. [The Envelope]

•  Ryan Adams spotlights some of the favorable reviews of the SAG telecast. [Awards Daily]

•  Claudia Puig talks to Catherine Deneuve about lending her voice to the Oscar-nominated "Persepolis." [USA Today]

With all pre-nom guilds accounted for (save for the MPSE, which tends to nominate after the Oscar nods), the six frontrunners remain unscathed, and even pull closer to one another with "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" missing with the Costume Designers Guild.  "Sweeney Todd" still lurks in the shadows, and "Atonement" is hoping for major support from BAFTA cross-over voters, but this looks to be the dance.  Pick five and hold your breath.


 8 guild mentions:
"No Country for Old Men" -- ACE, ADG, ASC, CAS, DGA, PGA, SAG (3), WGA


 7 guild mentions:
"There Will Be Blood" -- ACE, ADG, ASC, DGA, PGA, SAG (1), WGA


6 guild mentions:
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" -- ASC, ADG, CDG, DGA, PGA, WGA (also AMPAS makeup bake-off finalist)
"Into the Wild" -- ACE, CAS, CDG, DGA, SAG (4), WGA
"Michael Clayton" -- ACE, ADG, DGA, PGA, SAG (3), WGA


 5 guild mentions:
"Juno" -- ACE, CDG, PGA, SAG (1), WGA


4 guild mentions:
"300" -- ADG, CAS, CDG, VES (1) (also AMPAS makeup and visual effects bake-off finalist)
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" -- ADG, ACE, CDG, VES (6) (also AMPAS makeup and visual effects bake-off finalist)
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" -- ACE, ADG, CDG, VES (1) (also AMPAS makeup bake-off finalist)


3 guild mentions:
"Atonement" -- ADG, ASC, CDG
"The Bourne Ultimatum" -- ACE, ADG, CAS (also AMPAS visual effects bake-off finalst)
"Elizabeth The Golden Age" -- ADG, CDG, SAG (1)
"The Golden Compass" -- ADG, CDG, VES (1) (also AMPAS visual effects bake-off finalst)
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" -- ADG, CDG, VES (3) (also AMPAS makeup and visual effects bake-off finalist)
"Ratatouille" -- ACE, ADG, VES (4)


2 guild mentions:
"3:10 to Yuma" -- CDG, SAG (1)
"American Gangster" -- ADG, SAG (2)
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" -- ASC, SAG (1)
"Blades of Glory" -- CDG, VES (1)
"Hairspray" -- ACE, SAG (1)
"La Vie en Rose" -- CDG, SAG (1) (also AMPAS makeup bake-off finalist)
"Lars and the Real Girl" -- SAG (1), WGA
"Transformers" -- CAS, VES (5) (also AMPAS visual effects bake-off finalist)
"Zodiac" -- WGA, VES (2) (also nominated for USC Scripter award)


1 guild mention:
"Away from Her" -- SAG (1)
"Beowulf" -- VES (2)
"Eastern Promises" -- SAG (1)
"Enchanted" -- CDG
"Gone Baby Gone" -- SAG (1)
"Knocked Up" -- WGA
"I Am Legend" -- VES (5) (also AMPAS visual effects bake-off finalist)
"I'm Not There" -- SAG (1)
"The Kite Runner" -- ADG
"Live Free or Die Hard" -- VES (1)
"A Mighty Heart" -- SAG (1)
"Ocean's Thirteen" -- CDG (1)
"The Savages" -- WGA
"Spider-Man 3" -- VES (3)
"Shrek the Third" -- VES (2)
"Surf's Up" -- VES (4)
"The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" -- VES (2)
"We Own the Night" -- VES (1)

From Award Central (I've bolded what I think might be the Oscar frontrunners):

Contemporary Film:

"Blades of Glory"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"Into the Wild"
"Juno"
"Ocean's Thirteen"

Period Film:

"3:10 to Yuma"
"Atonement"
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Fantasy Film:

"300"
"Enchanted"
"The Golden Compass"
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

The Producers Guild of America announced its list of nominees this morning, but there weren't many surprises in store for those hoping to start the week off with a little film awards excitement.

In the midst of box office dominance, Fox Searchlight's "Juno" received a rather expected notice as the film continues its march toward $100 million, while "Michael Clayton," a bona-fide contender as the guilds continue to embrace it, grabbed a notice as well.

Producer Scott Rudin went 2 for 2 today, as Miramax's "No Country for Old Men" and Paramount Vantage's There Will be Blood" received tips of the hat.  The former became the Coen brothers' highest grossing film over the weekend, so it should come as no surprise that the PGA would want to recognize it.  This becomes the 8th guild nomination for "No Country," the clear stand-out in the precursor season.

The real surprise, to some, anyway, would have to be "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" showing up on the list.  But given that Hollywood heavy-hitters Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Kilik are behind the scenes on this one, it really shouldn't come as a major shock.

Surprising omissions included "Into the Wild," "Sweney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" and, if you buy the line of logic that the PGA respects the green, "Hairspray."

And the nominees are:

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax)
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight)
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax/Paramount Vantage)
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage/Miramax)

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN ANIMATED THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
"Bee Movie" (Dreamworks Animation)
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation)
"The Simpsons Movie" (20th Century FOX)

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN DOCUMENTARY THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
"Body Of War" (Phil Donahue Productions/Mobilus Media)
"Hear And Now" (HBO)
"Pete Seeger: The Power Of Song" (The Weinstein Company)
"Sicko" (The Weinstein Company)
"White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki" (HBO)

THE DAVID L. WOLPER PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN LONG-FORM TELEVISION
"Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" (HBO)
"The Bronx Is Burning" (ESPN)
"High School Musical 2" (The Disney Channel)
"Jane Eyre" (PBS/BBC)
"The Starter Wife" (USA Network)

This is a guild that nominates 15 films in three categories, so it's a little difficult to judge how they may or may not translate in the actual Art Directio category (beyond knowing that contemporary films are almost always left out of the mix).  But it is certainly beneficial to see which films have clear insustry support.

The usual suspects are here: "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."  No "Juno" or "Into the Wild," but neither film showcases this craft.  However, with that in mind, "The Bourne Ultimatum" continues a stealthy trek through the guild precursor circuit by showing up in the contemporary category today.

"Atonement" gets its first guild mentions since the ASC mention at the beginning of the week (and what a long week it must have seemed to the Focus camp in that regard).  "American Gangster" also found its first industry love since two SAG nominations last month.

Finally, it has to be encouraging for Miramax to have "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" surprisingly pop up in the contemporary field.  As it continues to make a case for a Best Picture nomination, these guild citations only fuel the cause.

Here are the nominees:

PERIOD FILM:

"American Gangster" (Arthur Max)
"Atonement" (Sarah Greenwood)
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Guy Hendrix Dyas)
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (Dante Ferretti)
"There Will Be Blood" (Jack Fisk)

FANTASY FILM:

"The Golden Compass" (Dennis Gassner)
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (Stuart Craig)
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Rick Heinrichs)
"Ratatouille" (Harley Jessup)
"300" (James Bissell)

CONTEMPORARY FILM:

"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Peter Wenham)
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Michel Eric and Laurent Ott)
"The Kite Runner" (Carlos Conti)
"Michael Clayton" (Kevin Thompson)
"No Country for Old Men" (Jess Gonchor)

The only thing moderately surprising about today's WGA nominations is the inclusion of "Zodiac" in the field of adapted scripts.  Sure, the James Vanderbuilt adaptation of the Robert Graysmith novel received a nomination for the USC Scripter prize, but I felt that might have been more attributed to Graysmith than the actual script itself, which really has no structure to speak of and wouldn't seem the "typical" choice for this guild.  But, in any case, this reveals that industry support is indeed there.

The presence of "Knocked Up" in the original ranks should come as a shock to no one.  Judd Apatow was cited for his work two years ago on "The 40 Year Old Virgin" by the guild.  I don't expect this to translate to Oscar, however, given the WGA's penchant for recognizing comedies that AMPAS is fine with ignoring ("Stranger Than Fiction," "Thank You for Smoking," "Garden State," "Mean Girls,""Bend It Like Beckham," "The Station Agent," "Best in Show," "High Fidelity," the list goes on and on).

Otherwise, it was buisness as usual.  "Into the Wild" and "No Country for Old Men" remain the standouts during the precursor season that matters, as "There Will Be Blood" continues to make a case for itself as a Best Picture contender.  That, frankly, is shocking to me.  And the potential is all too possible for Scott Rudin to be his own worst enemy this season, because if both "No Country" and "Blood" make Oscar's final five, I could tell you a day-long story about how they will cancel each other out in the voting process.  Which means things ought to be looking even better for "Wild" -- but that's a whole other conversation.

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is also still in the thick of the year's competition, grabbing two makjor guild mentions this week, while "Atonement" has officially sunk like the heaviest stone one could have imagined.  At this point, the only hope for Joe Wright's film is the entire BAFTA/AMPAS crossover contingent to stick it in the #1 spot on their ballots.  Then, and only then, does it seem to have a prayer of finding a Best Picture nomination.

Ah, the malleability of an Oscar season.

According to Variety, "Into the Wild" and "No Country for Old Men" were among the nominees for the Cinema Audio Society, making them the clear industry favorites as the guild announcements continue to flow this week.  Each film was well represented by the Screen Actors Guild (4 nods for "Wild," 3 for "No Country"), each received a Directors Guild nomination and now, the Cinema Audio Society.  "No Country" also got some love from the American Society of Cinematographers, but surely Eric Gautier was this close to getting a mention there as well.

All of this is substantially important because the case continues to be made that these two films are the two best bets for Best Picture nominations in two weeks time.  Everything else is way up in the air, so it'll be an ugly fight to see who lands in the final three slots.

The Writers Guild of America will take time away from the picket lines today to announce its screen nominees.  "No Country" and "Wild" figure to be represented there as well.  Both screenplays were nominated for the USC Scripter award, which "No Country" won yesterday.

The other CAS nominees were "300," "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Transformers."  No love for musicals "Hairspray" and "Sweeney Todd," the latter of which has been experiencing a nose-dive this awards season.

Yes, the BFCA awards are tonight, but tomorrow brings the most anticipated announcement of the Oscar season: the Directors Guild of America's list of feature film nominees.  According to the DGA's official site, Guild president Michael Apted will make the announcement at 10:00 a.m. (PT).

The DGA has long been considered the best predictor of the eventual Best Picture outcome at the Academy.  Going back over the last 35 years, the Guild has picked 139 of 170 nominees for an accuracy rate of 80% or so.  That's better than any of us "pros" could ever hope to manage, that's for sure.  The Guild has displayed 100% accuracy on nine separate occassions, the four of the last five years being chief among them.  Prior to 1970, the DGA sported 10 nominees for feature films, which makes tallying those totals kind of pointless, but this sufficient chunk of data ought to be enough to persuade you that tomorrow's announcement is an important one.

Tom O'Neil has been collecting predictions from various Oscarweb prognosticators over at Gold Derby, yours truly included.  You can see my black and white take on tomorrow's likely five over there, but let's take a moment to dig into the hopefuls in this space as well.

No one but no one can be considered a shoo-in except for the Coen brothers, whose "No Country for Old Men" has shown up this naysayer by already displaying some grit last month, taking down two Screen Actors Guild nomiantions.  (Critics awards just don't compute for me as great indicator of an industry award.)  Beyond that, it's really a free-for-all.

Sean Penn has been getting stellar reactions at DGA screenings of "Into the Wild," a film already leading the way at the BFCA and SAG.  One would have to consider the actor/director to be on solid ground.

Ridley Scott is a helmer clearly revered by his guild, taking down nominations in some cases that didn't correspond to Best Picture nods ("Thelma & Louise," "Black Hawk Down").  "American Gangster" was the only film to be making any box office headway until "Juno" came around, and two SAG nominations (in surprising categories) indicate industry love for the product.

Speaking of "Juno," Jason Reitman's film has been unfairly relegated to consideration as "the 'Little Miss Sunshine' of 2007," when that's really not a computeable comparison.  Nevertheless, naysayers have been left mouth agape as the film has taken some major monetary strides on its way to potentially securing the light-hearted slot of the season with AMPAS.  Reitman's showing up here tomorrow should come as no surprise if it comes to pass, especially given all those TV directors in the guild with ties to actors like Allison Janney, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner.

There is a real opportunity for spoilerific things to happen, I think, outside of these strong potential candidates.  Tim Burton, for instance, has already nabbed a nomination from the BFCA and a win with the National Board of Review for helming the screen adaptation of "Sweeney Todd."

Denzel Washington, meanwhile, has seen his film, "The Great Debaters," met with standing ovations at DGA screenings.  But then, who wouldn't stand for Denzel?

Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" has been a critical darling throughout the precursor season, but did his Los Angeles antics while promoting the film leave a bad taste in voters' mouths?

Any number of peripheral surprises could pop up, from James Mangold ("3:10 to Yuma"") to Tony Gilroy (one to really watch for "Michael Clayton"), even Sidney Lumet ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"), a nominee here even when ignored by the Acadey ("Serpico," "Murder on the Orient Express").  David Fincher could even make good on a year-end rally of support for "Zodiac."

The real spoiler to watch, however, might just be Paul Thomas Anderson, whose "There Will Be Blood" has been the talk of the town, at least for the past two weeks.  A nomination tomorrow could be the first real step toward Best Picture aspirations, as an endorsement from the DGA has proven itself to be a telling seal of approval indeed.

But the safe bet always seems to surface, no?  Which leaves us with the very real possibility that Joe Wright could slide in for "Atonement," a film that lost steam after the festival circuit and a strong HFPA showing, but is still lingering in the mix nonetheless.

What do I know, right?  Whatever happens tomorrow, it still ain't the end of the road.  Crazy things happen, like Christopher Nolan grabbing a mention for "Memento" in 2000 or Robert Zemeckis sliding in for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" in 1988.  You just never can be too sure, so we'll have to see what the directors have in store for us in the morning.

(Post edited with correct attribution.  I got so used to seeing McNary's by-line on breaking news this week that I gave him this one, too.  Oops!)

Variety's David S. Cohen has the scoop on the Visual Effects Society nominations, which were dominated by "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."  The third installment in the trilogy took down six nods, while "Transformers" and "I Am Legend" weren't far behind with five.

"I Am Legend?"  Really?  For video game villains?

Anyway, those three vote hogs are each competing with "The Golden Compass" and "Spider-Man 3" in the Society's top award category, Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture.

Other nominations of interest included "Zodiac" finding room in the Best Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture category.  Well deserved.  If you've ever investigated the work that went into recreating the era, you'd agree.  The film received one other nomination, for Best Created Environment in a Live Action Motion Picture (where "Sweeney Todd" surprisingly finds its only mention).

The biggest surprise might be the fact that AMPAS visual effects bake-off contender "300" managed only one nomination, for Best Single Visual Effect, while other bake-off contenders "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Evan Almighty" turned up a goose egg.

Here are the full nominees.

•  "There Will Be Blood" and "Zodiac" top a critics poll of the year's best. [indieWIRE]

•  Gerard Kennedy surveys the top contenders for Best Original Song. [In Contention]

•  Award Central begins its Golden Globes countdown in the Features department. [Variety]

•  Pete Hammond weighs in on SAG and the blows felt by "Atonement" and "Sweeney Todd" yesterday. [The Envelope]

•  But Tom O'Neil makes sure it's clear that the winner of Best Cast doesn't always forecast the winner of Best Picture. [Gold Derby]

•  And David Poland is bored with the announcement, as usual. [The Hot Blog]

•  Sasha Stone has a comparison chart for contending performances this Oscar season across three awards-giving bodies. [Awards Daily]

•  Gurus 2.0 go on the record again, pre-SAG, having hastily knocked "Into the Wild" down far too many pegs in response to the HFPA near shut-out. [Movie City News]

•  Nathaniel Rogers can't get "Sweeney" tunes out of his head. [The Film Experience]

•  Hank Rosenfeld draws out the similarities between Nicole Kidman's evil Ms. Coulter ("The Golden Compass") and conservative nut-job Ann Coulter. [Los Angeles Times]

•  Scott Bowles gets in some quality time with Daniel Day-Lewis. [USA Today]

•  And a final list of awards designations before the holiday, courtesy of yours truly. [In Contention]

The Screen Actors Guild announced its list of nominees in five cateogries today, and boy did Focus Features' "Atonement" take a major hit.  The Golden Globe nom leader showed a big goose egg from the actors, leaving some serious doubt for its Best Picture prospects this season.

On the other hand, Paramount Vantage's "Into the Wild" picked up a major head of steam after a weak HFPA showing by grabbing four nods, including a mention for Best Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.  The film led the pack with four nods altogether.

Surprises included Johnny Depp (and his film, "Sweeney Todd") being absent from the roster, the first major mention of the season for Ruby Dee's supporting performance in "American Gangster" and, in a total head-spinner, "3:10 to Yuma" picking up some attention for its enemble.

Regarding the latter, it seems all the hard work Ben Foster and Peter Fonda have been putting into Q&A appearances for the film, not to mention Christian Bale's latest wave of December publicity here in town, paid off in the long run.  I couldn't be happier as I've been waiting patiently for some awards notice for the film all season long.

Typically SAG gets the ladies' categories right when i t comes to forecasting Oscar, especially in the leading category.  So we might have those arenas sewn up.  The fellas' areas are a different bag of tricks, however, seeing past mentions for actors like Russel Crowe ("Cinderella Man"), Don Cheadle ("Crash") and James Garner ("The Notebook") that didn't carry over with AMPAS.  With that in mind, I would personally say the weak spots are Ryan Gosling ("Lars and the Real Girl"), Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises") and Tommy Lee Jones ("No Country for Old Men").

Today's announcement is significant in that it is the first set of nominations to come from the industry rather than critics groups and journalists.  The guilds are where it's at where predicting Oscar is concerned, so stay tuned over the next couple of weeks.

The full list of nominees:

Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Ryan Gosling, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Emile Hirsch, "Into the Wild"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Angelina Jolie, "A Mighty Heart"
Ellen Page, "Juno"

Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"
Tommy Lee Jones, "No Country for Old Men"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"

Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"
Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"
Catherine Keener, "Into the Wild"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"

Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
"3:10 to Yuma"
"American Gangster"
"Hairspray"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"

Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
"300"
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"I Am Legend"
"The Kingdom"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

I moderated a Q&A last night with Laura Linney and Tamara Jenkins for "The Savages," one of Fox Searchlight's hopefuls this awards season and Jenkins' first feature film since "Slums of Beverly Hills" nine years ago.

The crowd was mostly WGA, with some SAG members here and there.  Questions centered on Jenkins' obvious impusle to write about familial matters (a trend that stretches back to her student film days), the casting process that yielded Philip Bosco's surprising turn and Linney's on-set rapport with Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

The crowd wanted to know a number of insights, picking out nuances from the screenplay (Hoffman's character crying over a plate of cooked eggs, the use of seemingly Peter Pan-inspired character names Wendy and Jon).  One viewer was curious as to whether there was much improvisation involved in making the environment seem so true and genuine.  Apparently, there wasn't.  Jenkins charmed the crowd with her shoot-from-the-hip humor and everyone seemed to hold a considerable amount of respect for Linney and her portrayal.

Following the screening, the usual fawning from the crowd greeted the filmmaker and her star with this intimate note of gratitude or that, but I was really struck by one woman who brought Jenkins aside to tell her how much the screening hit home, and how the film felt so authentic, as her own father had passed away a few months back.

"The Savages" has been in the ether for nearly 12 months now, ever since a bow in Sundance back in January.  It's beginning the crucial guild/Academy screening circuit now, and reactions like this may be key if the film is going to make a play on the major categories.  The older-skewing Academy is, after all, at that age where dealing with life without one's parents, watching mothers and fathers get older and taking responsibility for loved ones is part of the daily consciousness.