Oscar Nominee Breakdown

First things first. God bless the Academy. It is so wonderful to see that Mark Wahlberg got nominated in the Supporting Actor category, but it is even more amazing to see that Dreamgirls did not get nominated for Picture or Director. Personally, I didn't think it was that great of a film. Now, the breakdown.

Best Picture

1) Babel

2) The Departed

3) Letters from Iwo Jima

4) Little Miss Sunshine

5) The Queen

The only big surprise is the obvious omission of Dreamgirls. I really thought that either Letters or Little Miss Sunshine would be nominated - not both. However, I think the Academy made the right choice here.

Best Director

1) Allejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel)

2) Martin Scorsese (The Departed)

3) Clint Eastwood (Letters from Iwo Jima)

4) Paul Greengrass (United 93)

5) Stephen Frears (The Queen)

Again here, the surprise is that Bill Condon did not get nominated for Dreamgirls. This is going to be a tough race, but I think Scorsese is the early front-runner.

Best Actor

1) Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond)

2) Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson)

3) Peter O'Toole (Venus)

4) Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)

5) Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)

I was right on with my predictions for this category. Right now, Forest Whitaker has the early momentum.

Best Actress

1) Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal)

2) Penelope Cruz (Volver)

3) Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)

4) Helen Mirren (The Queen)

5) Kate Winslet (Little Children)

Again here, there were no surprises. Congratulations, Helen Mirren.

Best Supporting Actor

1) Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine)

2) Jackie Earl Haley (Little Children)

3) Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond)

4) Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)

5) Mark Wahlberg (The Departed)

My incorrection in this category was that I had Jack Nicholson getting a nomination for The Departed. Instead, Alan Arkin scored a nomination for Little Miss Sunshine. The bigger story is that Mark Wahlberg got nominated for The Departed. Right now, Eddie Murphy has the momentum, but stranger things have happened. I would just like to point out that this is the toughest category of all. All the performances, including those listed in my predictions, are deserving of an Oscar. It is too bad that Michael Sheen did not get nominated for his role as Tony Blair in The Queen.

Best Supporting Actress

1) Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal)

2) Adrianna Barraza (Babel)

3) Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
4) Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
5) Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)

I had no incorrect predictions in this category. Jennifer Hudson is the early leader, but it would be great to see someone else get the Oscar. Wait and see.