2008 Academy Award Nominations (and Predictions)

The 2008 Oscar nominations were announced today. This is the 80th year of the awards, and it looks like this awards show might actually be on TV, and not just be a damn press conference. Jon Stewart is hosting again, which I think is awesome. In summary, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood lead the pack with 8 nominations each, and Juno thankfully gets some love.

Anyway, here's the list of nominees (only the categories that I care about/know anything about). My predictions are in italics.

BEST PICTURE
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
*No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

BEST DIRECTOR
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman - Juno
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
*Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
*Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
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
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*Cate Blanchett - I’m Not There
Ruby Dee - American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Christopher Hampton - Atonement
Sarah Polley - Away From Her
Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
*Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
*Diablo Cody - Juno
Nancy Oliver - Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Brad Bird - Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins - The Savages

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
*Dario Marianelli - Atonement
Alberto Iglesias - The Kite Runner
James Newton Howard - Michael Clayton
Michael Giacchino - Ratatouille
Marco Beltrami - 3:10 to Yuma

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
*“Falling Slowly” - Once
“Happy Working Song” - Enchanted
”Raise It Up” - August Rush
“So Close” - Enchanted
“That’s How You Know” - Enchanted

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
*Transformers

There were a few snubs in my opinion, namely 3:10 to Yuma not being up for Best Picture (Michael Clayton? Was it really that good?), and the There Will Be Blood score didn't get in on a technicality, though I heard it was awesome. Other than that though, I think these are good, and prove that it wasn't a bad year in movies.

So, what do you think? Agree or disagree? Your predictions? Comments on the new layout of the blog?