Oscar Nominations 2006...

Hey guys, it's Donnie...Not that I should have to point it out, but the 2006 Academy Award Nominations were announced this morning. What do I think? I think they are surprisingly pretty spot on. I'm ecstatic to see Terrence Howard and "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" getting nominations from Hustle & Flow. I'm glad that Clooney got a directing nomination, because he most assuredly deserves it. Crash is so completely overrated it blows my mind. I was so disappointed in the Screen Actors' Guild for giving it Best Picture and if the Academy does the same thing I'll probably spit on my TV. All three Animated Films are fantastic, although I'm obviously pulling for Wallace and Gromit.

I'm glad that Jake Gyllenhaal snagged a Supporting Actor nomination for Brokeback Mountain, although personally I think he deserved a Best Actor nomination for his work in Jarhead, which was truly phenomenal. I'm a little surprised to see Keira Knightly get the nom, although I didn't see Pride & Prejudice, so I can't really say anything. I will say that it's downright criminal that Maria Bello got snubbed for A History Of Violence, which was easily my favorite female performance this year. Cronenberg should have gotten the Directing nomination, but someone had the good sense to give William Hurt the Supporting Actor nod and that's pretty damn sweet. If only Fernando Meirelles and Ralph Fiennes got Directing and Acting credit for Constant Gardener...

Anwyay, here is the complete list of Nominees:

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, And Good Luck.
Munich

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller - Capote
Paul Haggis - Crash
George Clooney - Good Night, And Good Luck.
Steven Spielberg - Munich

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, And Good Luck.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - TransAmerica
Keira Knightley - Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - Syriana
Matt Dillon - Crash
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt - A History of Violence

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana - Brokeback Mountain
Dan Futterman - Capote
Jeffrey Caine - The Constant Gardener
Josh Olson - A History of Violence
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth - Munich

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco - Crash
George Clooney & Grant Heslov - Good Night, And Good Luck.
Woody Allen - Match Point
Noah Baumbach - The Squid and the Whale
Stephen Gaghan - Syriana

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Don't Tell
Joyeux Noel
Paradise Now
Sophie Scholl - The Final Days
Tsotsi

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
Howl's Moving Castle
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Wallace & Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Good Night, And Good Luck. Art Direction: Jim Bissell Set Decoration: Jan Pascale
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Art Direction: Stuart Craig Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
King Kong. Art Direction: Grant Major Set Decoration: Dan Hennah and Simon Bright
Memoirs of a Geisha. Art Direction: John Myhre Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau
Pride & Prejudice. Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Batman Begins: Wally Pfister
Brokeback Mountain: Rodrigo Prieto
Good Night, And Good Luck: Robert Elswit
Memoirs of a Geisha: Dion Beebe
The New World: Emmanuel Lubezki

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Gabriella Pescucci
Memoirs of a Geisha: Colleen Atwood
Mrs. Henderson Presents: Sandy Powell
Pride & Prejudice: Jacqueline Durran
Walk the Line: Arianne Phillips

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Cinderella Man: Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
The Constant Gardener: Claire Simpson
Crash: Hughes Winborne
Munich: Michael Kahn
Walk the Line: Michael McCusker

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - Howard Berger and Tami Lane
Cinderella Man - David Leroy Anderson and Lance Anderson
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith - Dave Elsey and Annette Miles

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SCORE)
Brokeback Mountain: Gustavo Santaolalla
The Constant Gardener: Alberto Iglesias
Memoirs of a Geisha: John Williams
Munich: John Williams
Pride & Prejudice: Dario Marianelli

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SONG)
"In the Deep" - Crash. Music by Kathleen “Bird” York and Michael Becker Lyric by Kathleen “Bird” York
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - Hustle & Flow. Music and Lyric by Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard
"Travelin' Thru" - TransAmerica. Music and Lyric by Dolly Parton

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - Terry Porter, Dean A. Zupancic and Tony Johnson
King Kong - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek
Memoirs of a Geisha - Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline and John Pritchett
Walk the Line - Paul Massey, D.M. Hemphill and Peter F. Kurland
War of the Worlds - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ronald Judkins

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
King Kong - Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn
Memoirs of a Geisha - Wylie Stateman
War of the Worlds - Richard King

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney and Scott Farrar
King Kong - Joe Letteri, Brian Van’t Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor
War of the Worlds - Dennis Muren, Pablo Helman, Randy Dutra and Daniel Sudick

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
God Sleeps in Rwanda
The Mushroom Club
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Badgered
The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
9
One Man Band

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Ausreisser (The Runaway)
Cashback
The Last Farm
Our Time is Up
Six Shooter