Movies
‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘There Will Be Blood’ Lead Oscar Nominations
By Bryan Ochalla

Jan 22, 2008

There were few surprises when the 2008 Oscar nominations were announced early this morning. Two critically acclaimed films— There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men—walked away with eight nods each, while Michael Clayton earned seven.

All three were nominated for Best Picture, along with Atonement and Juno. All but Atonement received Best Director nods as well— Julian Schnabel, director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, joined Paul Thomas Anderson ( There Will Be Blood), Joel and Ethan Coen ( No Country for Old Men), Tony Gilroy ( Michael Clayton) and Jason Reitman ( Juno) in earning nominations.

One of the few surprises of the morning came when Tommy Lee Jones’ name was listed among the nominees for Best Actor (for In the Valley of Elah). Others receiving Best Actor nods included George Clooney ( Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis ( There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp ( Sweeney Todd) and Viggo Mortensen ( Eastern Promises).

Daniel Day-Lewis and Director Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of There Will Be Blood

Laura Linney garnering a nomination for her role in The Savages also qualified as a bit of a shock, though the same can’t be said for her competitors: Cate Blanchett ( Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie ( Away From Her), Marion Cotillard ( La Vie en Rose) and Ellen Page ( Juno).

Although Sean Penn’s Into the Wild failed to earn a Best Picture nomination, Hal Holbrook was recognized with a Best Supporting Actor nod. Casey Affleck ( The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Javier Bardem ( No Country for Old Men), Philip Seymour Hoffman ( Charlie Wilson's War) and Tom Wilkinson ( Michael Clayton) rounded out the nominees in the category.

Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men

Blanchett also earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her performance in I'm Not There, with Ruby Dee ( American Gangster), Saoirse Ronan ( Atonement), Amy Ryan ( Gone Baby Gone) and Tilda Swinton ( Michael Clayton) also earning nods.

Ratatouille topped the list of those in the running for Best Animated Feature, followed by Persepolis and Surf's Up.

What wasn’t mentioned during this morning’s announcement: will the Academy Awards ceremony, set for Feb. 24, be televised as planned? Considering how the continuing writers’ strike affected the Golden Globes earlier this month, it would seem to be a valid question, but it wasn’t answered by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis.