Thursday, January 5, 2006

Oscars Central: SAG and DGA nominees, Jon Stewart hosting Academy Awards

This just in: The Directors Guild of America just announced it's shortlist of films for best director, and Brokeback Mountain is still the clear darling of the film circuit. The five directors vying to take home a DGA award on January 28th are: George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck), Paul Haggis (Crash), Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain), Bennett Miller (Capote), and Steven Spielberg (Munich). This officially breaks the Munich curse - the drama received a measley single nod from the Globes, and was snubbed by the Writers Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, and the Screen Actors Guild.

Speaking of the SAGs: Brokeback Mountain leads the Screen Actors Guild Awards with 4 nominations, including best ensemble cast. The SAG Awards, which will be given out to - as the name implies - actors on January 29, were announced earlier this morning, while the DGA's list was released at 10:00 am. Here's how the SAG nominations break down:

Lead actor nominees: Russell Crowe, Cinderella Man; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote; Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain; Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line; and David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck.

Lead actress nominess: Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents; Felicity Huffman, Transamerica; Charlize Theron, North Country; Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line; and Ziyi Zhang, Memoirs of a Geisha.

Supporting actor nominees: Don Cheadle, Crash; George Clooney, Syriana; Matt Dillon, Crash; Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man; and Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain.

Supporting actress nominees: Amy Adams, Junebug; Catherine Keener, Capote; Frances McDormand, North Country; Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener; and Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain.

Ensemble nominees: Brokeback Mountain; Capote; Crash; Good Night, and Good Luck; and Hustle and Flow.

That's right - 4 nominations for Brokeback Mountain, and 3 each for Capote and Crash. Cinderella Man, Walk the Line, North Country, and Good Night, and Good Luck each received 2 nods, while all of the remaining films were recognized once. Weird that Hustle and Flow made the ensemble list but didn't receive a nomination in any of the other categories. Hooray for Crash, although it will be hard to see Cheadle and Dillon up against each other - both were great performances. Yea! for Ledger, Gyllenhaal and Williams. And it's a great day for George Clooney, with a best director nod and a SAG nom.

More on the SAG awards here.
Read more about the DGA award here - but wait a while until web traffic slows down.

Meanwhile, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed this morning that Jon Stewart (Comedy Central's The Daily Show) will host the 78th annual Oscars on March 5th. Read how they gush about - and see a hot photo of - Stewart here.

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