And the Oscar goes to......

This morning we found who the nominees are for the 80th Annual Academy Awards, when they were announced around 8:30 AM EST. There were some small surprises, but the biggest surprise of them all is that the show might not happen this February. As of yet, there is no deal between the WGA and AMPTP, and conversations between the two groups ceased a month ago. Right now, no one is even sure exactly how the Oscar awards will be presented, but Jon Stewart is still confirmed as host and Motion Picture & Television Fund's annual Night Before fund-raiser the night before the Oscars, since funds raised aid the entertainment community.

This year the race to Oscar was definitely predictable in certain categories, but in others the little guys seemed to prevail. I think one of the biggest shocks to me was the presence of Juno’s Jason Reitman in the Best Director category, as opposed to Sean Penn for Into the Wild. The Best Performance for a Female in a Lead Role was also an interesting one, as expected shoe ins Keira Knightleyand Angelina Jolie were left out in the cold, while newbie Ellen Page and Laura Linney landed spots in the coveted category. While Juno is an adorable film, I am not sure how Oscar worthy it is, especially this year when the Best Picture category is chock full of quality. My bets are on No Country For Old Men to sweep picture and director category and as predicted by pretty much everyone, Daniel Day-Lewis will step away with the Best Actor award. In the supporting categories, Blanchett is almost a given and it’s the supporting actor category that has people guessing between Hal Holbrook, who has yet to win an on Oscar and Casey Affleck. Enough with the predictions, lets get to the nominees…….


For Best Picture:

"Atonement" (Focus Features)

"Juno" (Fox Searchlight)

"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)

"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)

For Actor in Leading Role:

George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"

Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"

Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah"

Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises”

For Actress in Leading Role:

Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)

Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)

Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)

Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)

Ellen Page in "Juno" (Fox Searchlight)

For Supporting Actor:

Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"

Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men"

Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild"

Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson’s War"

Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton"

For Supporting Actress:

Cate Blanchett in "I’m Not There"

Ruby Dee in "American Gangster"

Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement")

Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone"

Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton"

For Best Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson - "There Will Be Blood"

Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - "No Country For Old Men"

Tony Gilroy - "Michael Clayton"

Jason Reitman - "Juno"

Julian Schnabel - "The Diving Bell And The Butterfly"

You can check out the rest, here Hopefully, we will learn of the fate of the Oscars cause I can’t take a NY winter without some red carpet shenanigans. Later today, you’ll get some Daily Rounds and the third installment of the CSI and the Wrath of Cruise.

ENJOY!!!