Oscar has mixed feelings about 'Dreamgirls'

Oscar has mixed feelings about 'Dreamgirls'
Copyright CNN
POSTED: 10:04 a.m. EST, January 23, 2007

• "Dreamgirls" nabs eight nominations but no best picture nod
• "Babel" grabs seven nominations
• Meryl Streep scores 14th nomination -- a record for an actor


(CNN) -- The nominations for the 79th annual Academy Awards, announced Tuesday, presented a mixed bag for a number of films -- none more so than the musical many thought would be leading the way.

"Dreamgirls," the film version of the 1981 Broadway show, received a leading eight nominations but was shut out of two of the biggest categories -- best picture and director.

The film did receive nominations for two of its performers, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson, both in supporting categories. Both performers won Golden Globes for their performances and are considered Oscar front-runners.

"Babel," Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's ensemble cross-cultural tale of families in crisis, had seven nominations, though just two for its performers, both in the supporting actress category. Neither of its major stars, Brad Pitt or Cate Blanchett, earned a nomination for the film -- but Blanchett did get a supporting nod for her work in "Notes on a Scandal."

And "The Departed," Martin Scorsese's tale of the mob and the cops in Boston, was nominated for best picture and best director, but only Mark Wahlberg earned an acting nomination, for supporting actor.

"The Queen," starring Helen Mirren as British monarch Elizabeth II in the days after Princess Diana's death, earned nominations for the actress, as well as best picture, best director (Stephen Frears) and best original screenplay.

"When the idea of making 'The Queen' was first mooted, we had no idea that the result would have quite the impact it has had. It is astounding the way that audiences have responded by taking the film to their hearts," Mirren said in a statement. "I hope that my performance has conveyed a sense of Elizabeth the woman as well as the queen."

Mirren already has won a Golden Globe and several critics' awards for her performance.

The year's sleeper hit, "Little Miss Sunshine," earned nominations for best picture, best supporting actor (Alan Arkin), best supporting actress (Abigail Breslin) and best original screenplay.

One dark horse that came out shining bright was Clint Eastwood's Japanese-language "Letters From Iwo Jima," which was nominated for best picture, best director and best original screenplay. The director nomination pits Scorsese against Eastwood for the second time in three years; Eastwood prevailed in 2004, when his "Million Dollar Baby" went up against Scorsese's "The Aviator."

And though "United 93" only earned one major nomination, it was a big one: a nod for its director, Paul Greengrass. The film also was nominated for its editing.

Forest Whitaker, who won the Golden Globe for his performance as Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland," was nominated for best actor. He's the category's likely front-runner, though he's up against 74-year-old Peter O'Toole -- an eight-time nominee who's never won an Oscar for a performance. O'Toole was nominated for "Venus."

A sampling of surprises

"Dreamgirls" wasn't the only surprise the academy supplied.

Though his Golden Globe win had some talking Oscar nomination, Sacha Baron Cohen didn't get an acting nod for his performance as the Kazakh interviewer Borat Sagdiyev in "Borat." The film was nominated for adapted screenplay, an odd designation for a largely improvised film, but perhaps the best the academy could come up. (The film was "adapted" because Baron Cohen had played the character before, on his television show.)

On the other hand, critics' favorite Ryan Gosling was nominated for best actor for "Half Nelson," a little-seen independent work about a drug-addicted teacher.

"Little Children," another critics' favorite, received nominations for best actress (Kate Winslet), best supporting actor (Jackie Earle Haley, perhaps best known for his performances in the original 1976 version of "The Bad News Bears" and "Breaking Away") and best adapted screenplay. However, it didn't get nominated for best picture or best director.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who earned two best actor nominations from the Golden Globes, could receive only one in the category by Oscar rules. "The Departed" star was nominated for "Blood Diamond."

Key nominations

The nominees for best picture are "The Departed," "Babel," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Queen."

The nominees for best actor are Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland"), DiCaprio ("Blood Diamond"), Gosling ("Half Nelson"), O'Toole ("Venus") and Will Smith ("The Pursuit of Happyness").

The nominees for best actress are Mirren ("The Queen"), Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), Penelope Cruz ("Volver"), Meryl Streep ("The Devil Wears Prada") and Kate Winslet ("Little Children"). Streep's nomination is her 14th; she's won two Oscars.

The nominees for best supporting actor are Murphy ("Dreamgirls"), Arkin ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Haley ("Little Children"), Djimon Hounsou ("Blood Diamond") and Wahlberg ("The Departed").

The nominees for best supporting actress are Hudson ("Dreamgirls"), Adriana Barraza ("Babel"), Blanchett ("Notes on a Scandal"), Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine") and Rinko Kikuchi ("Babel").

The nominees for best director are Scorsese ("The Departed"), Eastwood ("Letters From Iwo Jima"), Frears ("The Queen"), Greengrass ("United 93") and Gonzalez Inarritu ("Babel").

Only three animated features were nominated this year: "Cars," "Happy Feet" and "Monster House."

ABC will broadcast the Oscars live February 25 from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. Ellen DeGeneres is hosting the show.