•  "Lust, Caution" and "Warlords" tops list of Asian Film Award nominations. [Variety]

•  Not Oscar related, but let us all take a moment to thank Warner Bros. for letting "Justice League" die a silent death.  Boy was THAT giving me an icky feeling inside. [Variety]

•  Anne Thompson responds to the BAFTA nominations, wonders whether "Atonement" can manage peripheral nods with the Academy, even though Best Picture is looking like a tough sell. [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  But Jeffrey Wells wants to make sure you realize the film is "dead." [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  David Thompson, meanwhile, thinks the coast is clear for director Joe Wright.  Back and forth, back and forth. [Guardian]

•  The Times of London wonders if the BAFTAs could one-up the Oscars for once, given the hammer-lock AMPAS is in. [Times Online]

•  But, mind you, the show will go on.  In what capacity, well...we'll see. [Variety]

•  But if it's business as usual, the ceremony WILL BE PICKETED. [Scribe Vibe]

•  Scott Foundas is pretty pissed about that AMPAS snub of "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days."  But "Academy Awards infamy" is typically reaching. [LA Weekly]

•  So is Nancy Vialatte. [Hollywood Wiretap]

•  Tom O'Neil rounds up a provocative list of thesps nominated for the "wrong" performance. [Gold Derby]

•  The Gurus o' Gold check int, post-Globes and, assumably, for the final time before next week's Oscar nominations announcement. [Movie City News]

•  New York Magazine wants the Academy to remember "The Host" in the Best Picture category. [Vulture]

In a month given to superlatives lists, this post at New York Magazine's Vulture blog gets my vote for best blog entry of the year.

The entry is a response to a New York Observer story about Hollywood's willingness this year to rock out with its c*** out.
There are plenty of chuckle-inducing wang awards throughout, but here are the Oscar-related ones, I suppose:

Fiercest Wang: Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises. In Mortensen's much-talked-about naked knife-fight scene, he skillfully used his wang to create a diversion. It worked. On us, anyway.

Most Committed to Wangs: Judd Apatow, who has vowed to put wangs in all of his films, like he does with Seth Rogen.

Best Foreign-Language Wang: Tony Leung, Lust, Caution. Unfortunately, not even its NC-17 rating, full-frontal nudity, and violent, kinky sex scenes were enough to make Ang Lee's three-hour Chinese-language drama about the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in the thirties a box-office hit, proving once again that American moviegoers are a bunch of culture-less prudes.

Wang Most in Need of a Sandwich: Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild. Thanks to some cold water and the fact that Hirsch's character is in the midst of dying of starvation, his nude scene was not all that it could've been, tragically.

Best Wang in a Musical or Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen, Sweeney Todd. Baron Cohen's "augmented" member is so huge and so tightly constricted by the pants he's wearing, it very nearly distracts from his excellent performance. Actually, it steals the movie.

Best Wang-Related Credit Sequence: Superbad.

Much as I hate to put a damper on Mr. Hirsch's SAG nomination this morning by linking to a jest of his junk, I have to say that "Wang Most in Need of a Sandwich" is a phrase that will have me laughing for the rest of the holiday -- easily.

Also, with all this in mind, I can't help but wonder whether Viggo Mortensen's nude brawl in the bath house has at least 90% to do with his awards notices this season.

Erik Childress' "Oscar Eye" column has the full list of Chicago Film Critics nominations mixed in with his tally of who's won what.  You have to kind of pick things out, but the full list is there.

"No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" continue to show up, but the group went out of its way to personally champion "Once" in more than a few areas, including Best Picture.

Casey Affleck popped up again for his supporting turn in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," while Viggo Mortensen found some Best Actor love for his work in David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises."  Frank Langella also made another appearance in the lead field for "Starting Out in the Evening."

Another key contender showing up in the nominations is "Zodiac," which managed citations for Best Director (david Fincher) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

"Michael Clayton" led the way with seven nominations.  "Blood" wasn't far behind with six.  Nothing for "The Kite Runner" or "Sweeney Todd."

Best Picture
"Into the Wild"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Once"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
David Fincher, "Zodiac"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"

Best Actor
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Ryan Gosling, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Frank Langella, "Starting Out in the Evening"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

Best Actress
Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Angelina Jolie, "A Mighty Heart"
Laura Linney, "The Savages"
Ellen Page, "Juno"

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchet, "I'm Not There"
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Margot at the Wedding"
Leslie Mann, "Knocked Up"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"Atonement"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Zodiac"

Best Original Screenplay
"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"Ratatouille"
"The Savages"

Best Cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Score
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"Lust, Caution"
"Once"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Animated Feature
"Beowulf"
"Meet the Robinsons"
"Persepolis"
"Ratatouille"
"The Simpsons Movie"

Best Foreign Film
"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Lust, Caution"
"The Orphanage"

Best Documentary
"Darfur Now"
"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"
"Lake of Fire"
"No End in Sight"
"Sicko"

Promising Director
Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"
John Carney, "Once"
Craig Gillespie, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"

Promising Performer
Nikki Blonsky, "Hairspray"
Michael Cera, "Juno"/"Superbad"
Glen Hansard, "Once"
Carice van Houten, "Black Book"
Tang Wei, "Lust, Caution"

This isn't exactly a shocker, but Ang Lee's racy "Lust, Caution" swept the Golden Horse Awards this weekend (kind of the Asian version of the Oscars).  Variety has the story.

Lee and Tony Leung were cited for Best Director and Best Actor, while Tang Wei grabbed the newcomer award.  The film also took down Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay Adaptation, Best Costume Design and Best Original Film Score.

They liked the film so much, they apparently tossed another award Lee's way, for Outstanding Taiwanese Filmaker of the Year.

Anyway, like I said, no major twist of events.  It'll be interesting to see if the film can gain any traction whatsoever with the Academy.  There are people who hate it, there are people who think it's in the realm of a masterpiece.  Funny how these things work out.

Nathaniel Rogers of The Film Experience has some reactions to the awards up.  Give it a look.

The New York-based National Board of Review has announced its list of award winners for the year, kick-starting the precursor circuit on the march through the 2007 film awards season.

The Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" took the Best Picture prize, leading a top ten list that included somewhat surprising mentions for "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "The Bucket List."

George Clooney won the Best Actor award for his performance in Tony Gilroy's "Michael Clayton," while Julie Christie took down Best Actress for her portrayal in Sarah Polley's "Away from Her."

Casey Affleck ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford") and Amy Ryan ("Gone Baby Gone") won in the supporting categories, while Tim Burton was named Best Director for "Sweeney Todd."

The last NBR Best Picture winner to miss a nomination from the Academy was "Quills" in 2000, and "Gods and Monsters" before that in 1998.  With "Charlie Wilson's War" coming up short (though some would argue this point), the film looks better for placement with AMPAS now than it did when it only had critics championing the cause.  Oh the give and take of Oscar season.

Winners from the press release:

Best Film: "No Country for Old Men"
Best Director: Tim Burton, "Sweeney Todd"
Best Actor: George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Best Actress: Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Foreign Film: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Best Documentary: "Body of War"
Best Animated Feature: "Ratatouille"
Best Ensemble Cast: "No Country for Old Men"
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Emile Hirsch, "Into the Wild"
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Ellen Page, "Juno"
Best Directorial Debut: Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Original Screenplay (tie): Diablo Cody, "Juno" and Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"

The top ten (in alphabetical order):
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"The Bucket List"
"Into the Wild"
"Juno"
"The Kite Runner"
"Lars and the Real Girl"
"Michael Clayton"
"Sweeney Todd"

Top five foreign films (in alphabetical order):
"4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days"
"The Band's Visit"
"The Counterfeiters"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Lust, Caution"

Top five documentary films (in alphabetical order):
"Darfur Now"
"In the Shadow of the Moon"
"Nanking"
"Taxi to the Darkside"
"Toots"

Top independent films (in alphabetical order):
"Away from Her"
"Great World of Sound"
"Honeydripper"
"In the Valley of Elah"
"A Mighty Heart"
"The Namesake"
"Once"
"The Savages"
"Starting Out in the Evening"
"Waitress"

Career Achievement: Michael Douglas
William K. Everson Film History Award: Robert Osbourne
Career Achievement in Cinematography: Roger Deakins
The BVLGARI Award for NPR Freedom of Expression: "The Great Debaters" and "Persepolis"

•  Jeffrey Wells draws a rather...definitive line between this year's Best Picture contending product. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Anne Thompson offers some thoughts on the supposed non-campaign campaign for "Atonement." [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  David Poland flails about wildly and takes Thompson's comparisons to other Oscar epics WAY too seriously on his way to being "a dick about it." (his words, not mine) [The Hot Blog]

•  Susan King talks method and "Blood" with Best Actor hopeful (frontrunner?) Daniel Day-Lewis. [The Envelope]

•  Romanian Oscar entry "4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days" wins big at the European Film Awards. [Variety]

•  Tom O'Neil responds... [Gold Derby]

•  ...then he chats it up with "Lust, Caution" helmer Ang Lee... [Gold Derby]

•  ...and Best Supporting Actress hopeful Amy Ryan ("Gone Baby Gone"). [Gold Derby]

•  Ramin Setoodeh responds to "Sweeney Todd," calls it "good, not great." [The Gold Digger]

•  Sasha Stone thinks "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is a formiddable contender in the Oscar race.  Duh! [Awards Daily]

•  Rebecca Ascher-Walsh forecasts indie Oscar hopefuls. [The Hollywood Reporter]