Blood and No Country lead shock Oscar noms

Well the Academy members (or their partners) have voted - and produced some surprising Oscar nominations. No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood lead the race, with eight noms each, followed by one of the big shocks: Michael Clayton with seven (with all three key players nominated and writer/director Tony Gilroy).

Atonement also has seven noms, but only two of which are in major categories. Neither of its lead actors, Keira Knightley nor James McAvoy, secured nods. The other Best Film nominee must be considered a surprise, picking up four nominations in total for its key architects: director Jason Reitman, star Ellen Page and writer Diablo Cody. Also on four noms is The Diving Bell And The Butterfly.

The Best Actress category is largely predictable, buoyed by Laura Linney's nomination for The Savages (a nomination and performance I fully support, but which didn't cut the mustard with the Golden Globes or BAFTA). Cate Blanchett, as expected, doubled up with a Best Supporting Actress nom for I'm Not There. The surprise in that category is Ruby Dee in American Gangster (the only major nomination Ridley Scott's film got).

In the Best Actor category, the Academy members leaned towards some muscular performances: Oscar-fave Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood and Viggo Mortensen's ruthlessly committed turn in Eastern Promises (now this is a surprise). Also surprisingly on the list: Tommy Lee Jones for In The Valley Of Elah; Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd (that film's only major nomination); and another Oscar-fave, Goerge Clooney in Michael Clayton. His co-star Tom Wilkinson is nominated for Best Supporting Actor, up against three hard to beat performances from Bardem, Hoffman and Affleck. The surprise here is Hal Holbrook in Into The Wild - and should be considered a real dark horse.

Some commentators are describing the lack of nominations for Into The Wild as a surprise - but the Academy voters have rarely shown interest in such grim films of such independent sensibility.

Michelle Pfeiffer's re-birth, with great turns in Hairspray and Stardust, have been over-looked, while the Academy clearly wasn't taken with Ang Lee's Lust, Caution.

Nice to see Roger Deakins get two nominations for his wonderful cinematography on both No Country and Assassination.

My predictions for the winners are in bold, while the dark horses are in italics.


Best Film
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Director
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
The Coens, No Country For Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Best Actor
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones, In The Valley Of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, The Assassination Of Jesse James
Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into The Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saorsie Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Original Screenplay
Juno
Lars & The Real Girl
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
The Savages

Adapted Screenplay
Atonement
Away From Her
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood