The Word is out - Oscar noms announced

Well, here we are on nomination day. I admit it was exciting to see the streaming live video of the announcement, even though it didn't start on time and only the big ones (acting, directing, film, writing) were shown. Of course the complete list was on the Oscar site very soon and all was good.

I am not surprized that both No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood head out the race with 8 nominations each, competing with each other in 6 categories. I still hold out that I'm not likely to see either which will make this Oscar race a bit of an odd one. I was surprized to see Michael Clayton with 7 noms, I barely know anyone who saw this it even though it received solid reviews. I am happy to see Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly pick up multiple awards, both films are excellent.

Congratulations to the numerous women writers who picked up nominations, Sarah Polley (Away From Her), Diablo Cody (Juno), Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl) and Tamara Jenkins (The Savages), this was delightful to see.

Setting a new bar for animated films, Ratatouille picks up 5 nominations (animated film, original score, sound editing, sound mixing and original screenplay). This is quite Oscar-forward as animated films only tend to get nods in song/score categories. Another history-in-the-making moment is saved for Norbit which is now a contender for both an Academy Award as well as multiple Razzie's.

Here are some of the hard the numbers

Total nominated films 58
Total films not including shorts: 44
Total films not including shorts, documentaries and foreign: 34

The challenge now is to see how many of the nominations can we see before showtime on Feb 24/08. I'm seen 14 total nominated films, but only 12 if you excluded shorts, docs and foreign. I gave those numbers and often it is hard to get an opportunity to see those films.

If you are also trying to get to see as many of the nominated films as possible, and live/have access to the Toronto area I have a few suggestions for you. Many of the films are playing in the big theatres but some of the hard to find ones are found at: Cumberland, The Carlton and The Bloor. For the chillier days if you don't want to go outside and have Rogers cable, TMN is currently showing Norbit, and the PPV/Rogers on Demand is showing Ratatouille, La Vie en Rose, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Surf's Up and Sicko.

Have a great Oscar season!

The Lists:
80th Academy Awards Nominations - detailed (includes winners)
80th Academy Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
80th Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

My Reviews of Oscar Nominated Films:
3:10 to Yuma
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Golden Compass
Gone Baby Gone
Once
Persepolis
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Feeling Nostalgic? Walk down memory lane and check out nominations and winners from last year