Oscar nominations announced

The nominations for the 2008 Oscars were announced today. Find out who exactly made the grade

The 2008 Oscar Nominations have been announced amid strike tension in Hollywood. The serious mood is reflected in the nominations with the Coen brothers’ ‘No Country for Old Men’ and alt oil epic ‘There will be Blood’ leading the way with eight nominations apiece. Britain has high hopes for the period romance ‘Atonement’ which has received seven nominations (including Best Film) but missed out on leading role and director nominations.

The thriller ‘Michael Clayton’ also received seven nominations including (surprisingly) Best Director for Tony Gilroy, and Best Leading Actor for George Clooney. Previous Oscar-winner Clooney will go up against Daniel Day-Lewis, another Oscar laureate, for his mad portrayal of an unknowable oil man in ‘There Will be Blood.’ Johnny Depp’s demon barber (‘Sweeney Todd’), Tommy Lee Jones’ Vietnam veteran (‘In the Valley of Elah’) and Viggo Mortensen’s ruthless Russian (Eastern Promises) win them places in the race for Best Leading Actor.

Since the nominations were announced, Day-Lewis commented: ‘You put me shoulder to shoulder with a group of fine actors. I'm proud to be in their company and to have the broader recognition for the film is a lovely thing. I couldn't be happier for Paul Thomas Anderson to whom we owe everything.

The critically acclaimed ‘Juno’, which received four nominations, will go head-to-head with ‘Atonement', ‘Michael Clayton', ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘There Will Be Blood’ in the prestigious race for Motion Picture of the Year. ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ also picked up four nods including (deservedly) Julian Schnabel for Best Director.

In the running for Leading Actress is previous Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett for her powerful monarch in ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age'. She will be battling against the likes of Julie Christie (‘Away from Her’), who won her Oscar in 1965 for ‘Darling’, French actress Marion Cotillard (‘La Vie en Rose’), Laura Linney (‘The Savages’) and Ellen Page (Juno). Blanchett also received a second nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her impersonation of the 1960s Dylan in Todd Haynes’ ‘I’m Not There'.

In other categories, Michael Moore is hoping for another documentary win with ‘Sicko’, after his success with ‘Bowling for Columbine’ in 2003. Disney’s ‘Enchanted’ has already done well with three out of the five in the Best Original Song category. Another of Disney’s achievements, ‘Ratatouille’, will be up against Marjane Satrapi’s excellent ‘Persepolis’ and penguin boarding flick ‘Surf’s Up’ in the animated feature award.

There are also some interesting surprise choices in the foreign language film section such as ‘Mongol’ about Chingiz Khan and the Russian courtroom drama ’12’ (neither of which has been seen in the UK). Stefan Ruzowitzky’s ‘The Counterfeiters’ looks like a shoo-in for the award.

For a more detailed list of all the nominations, please click here.

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