Movies January 23, 2007
'Dreamgirls' Scores 8 Oscar Nods; Shut Out of Best Picture Category
The "Dreamgirls" dream team led the Oscar pack on Tuesday, with eight nominations, but surprisingly, the film was shut out of the Best Picture category after being considered a potential frontrunner.
"Babel" tailed close behind with seven nods, including a Best Picture nomination and acting nods for newcomers Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi.
Also scoring Best Picture nominations were "The Departed, "Letters from Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Queen."
Helen Mirren nabbed a nod for "The Queen," while Golden Globe winner Forest Whitaker was nominated for "The Last King of Scotland."
"Dreamgirls" stand-outs, and Golden Globe winners, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson were nominated in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories.
Meryl Streep was nominated for Best Actress for her role as a demonic and overly demanding boss in "The Devil Wears Prada," which marked her 14th Oscar nomination and made her the most nominated actor of all time.
Joining Mirren and Streep in the Best Actress category are Penélope Cruz for "Volver," Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal" and Kate Winslet for "Little Children."
Best Actor nominees included Leonardo DiCaprio for "Blood Diamond," Ryan Gosling for "Half Nelson," Peter O'Toole in "Venus" and Will Smith for "The Pursuit of Happyness."
In the Best Director category, many speculate this may be the year for perennial loser Martin Scorsese, who is tied with four other directors for the record of five nominations and no wins.
Scorsese is surely hopeful "The Departed" will break his losing streak.
