Oscar nominees announced!

Nominees for the Academy Awards were announced this morning. Here are some of the highlights:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio - BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling - HALF NELSON
Peter O'Toole - VENUS
Will Smith - THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Yay for Ryan Gosling! I heard his performance is this movie was really good - he didn't score a Golden Globe nod but at least he got the big one. Forest Whitaker has been cleaning up in this category so I think he's got the lead here.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jackie Earle Haley - LITTLE CHILDREN
Djimon Hounsou - BLOOD DIAMOND
Eddie Murphy - DREAMGIRLS
Mark Wahlberg - THE DEPARTED

As before, I would love to see Eddie Murphy win in this category. I'm surprised to see Mark Wahlberg get recognized here - there were so many good performances in The Departed that he didn't really stick out that much to me.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz - VOLVER
Judi Dench - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren - THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet - LITTLE CHILDREN

Cool that Meryl Streep got nominated for a role in a comedy film. I'm guessing Helen Mirren will win here?

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza - BABEL
Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL

Yay! Jennifer Hudson went from American Idol finalist to Oscar nominated actress - dreams do come true! Hope she wins...

Achievement in directing
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93

I think people want Martin Scorcese to win here since this is his sixth best director nomination but no wins.

Best motion picture of the year
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN

What??? No Dreamgirls??? This was the big shocker for me. Chicago just won the Best Picture Oscar four years ago so I would have thought Dreamgirls would at least get nominated. Well, they did score the most nominations with 8 total, I just wish Best Picture was one of them.

Full list of nominees is available here. The show airs on February 25th.