George Clooney to rule Oscars

Jan 22, 2008, 16:30 GMT

12/13/2007 - George Clooney - © Insidefoto / PR Photos

George Clooney and Cate Blanchett are set for Oscars glory following the announcement of today's Academy Award nominations (22.01.08).

The Hollywood stars are up for the night's most prestigious accolades, with Clooney nominated for Best Actor for his performance in 'Michael Clayton', while Blanchett is in the running for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for her turns in 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age' and Bob Dylan biopic 'I'm Not There' respectively.

'Michael Clayton' - which is in the running for seven prizes in total - is also up for the coveted Best Picture award, but will face stiff competition from Joel and Ethan Coen's 'No Country for Old Men' and director Paul Thomas Anderson's 'There Will Be Blood', which top the nominations list with eight nods each.

Also on the shortlist are British World War II drama 'Atonement' - which has been named in seven categories - and 'Juno', an independent film about a teenage girl's unplanned pregnancy.

Clooney, 46, is up against 'There Will Be Blood' star Daniel Day-Lewis for the Best Actor gong, as well as Johnny Depp for his performance in 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'. 'In The Valley of Elah' star Tommy Lee Jones and Viggo Mortensen, who has been named for his portrayal of a Russian gangster in 'Eastern Promises', round off the category.

Blanchett - who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2004 for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in 'The Aviator' - is up against 20-year-old 'Juno' star Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard for her turn as French singer Édith Piaf in 'La Vie En Rose', Laura Linney for her performance in 'The Savages' and Ruby Dee for 'American Gangster'.

'Atonement' star Keira Knightley, who many thought would be a frontrunner for the prize, has been surprisingly overlooked.

The event's organisers insist the 80th Academy Awards will definitely go ahead with a star-studded ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in California on February 24, despite the current Hollywood writers' strike which saw the Golden Globes ceremony cancelled earlier this month.

80th Academy Awards main nominations:

Best Picture

'No Country for Old Men'

'There Will Be Blood'

'Atonement'

'Juno'

'Michael Clayton'

Actor In A Leading Role

Daniel Day-Lewis, 'There Will Be Blood'

George Clooney, 'Michael Clayton'

Johnny Depp, 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'

Tommy Lee Jones, 'In the Valley of Elah'

Viggo Mortensen, 'Eastern Promises'

Actress In A Leading Role

Marion Cotillard, 'La Vie En Rose'

Ellen Page, 'Juno'

Julie Christie, 'Away from Her'

Cate Blanchett, 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age'

Laura Linney, 'The Savages'

Actor In A Supporting Role

Javier Bardem , 'No Country for Old Men'

Philip Seymour Hoffman, 'Charlie Wilson's War'

Casey Affleck, 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'

Hal Holbrook, 'Into the Wild'

Tom Wilkinson, 'Michael Clayton'

Actress In A Leading Role

Ruby Dee, 'American Gangster'

Cate Blanchett, 'I'm Not There'

Saoirse Ronan, 'Atonement'

Amy Ryan, 'Gone Baby Gone'

Tilda Swinton, 'Michael Clayton'

Directing

Ethan and Joel Coen, 'No Country for Old Men'

Paul Thomas Anderson, 'There Will Be Blood'

Julian Schnabel, 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'

Jason Reitman, 'Juno'

Tony Gilroy, 'Michael Clayton'

Animated Feature Film

'Persepolis'

'Ratatouille'

'Surf's Up'

Foreign Language Film

'Beaufort', Israel

'The Counterfeiters', Austria

'Katyn', Poland

'Mongol', Kazakhstan

'12', Russia

Music (Song)

'Falling Slowly' from 'Once' (performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)

'Happy Working Song' from 'Enchanted' (performed by Amy Adams)

'Raise It Up' from 'August Rush' (performed by Jamia Simone Nash and Impact Repertory Theatre)

'So Close' from 'Enchanted' (performed by Jon McLaughlin)

'That's How You Know' from 'Enchanted' (performed by Amy Adams)

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

'Atonement '

'Away from Her'

'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'

'No Country for Old Men'

'There Will Be Blood'

(C) BANG Media International