McAvoy and Knightley miss out, but other Brits to fore in Academy Award shortlist
BRITISH hopes of an Oscars sweep on the back of the hit UK film Atonement faded to black yesterday as the film's Scottish leading man, James McAvoy, and his co-star, Keira Knightley, failed to land nominations.
But there was good news for Britain
as the Academy Award nominations were rolled out in Hollywood. Julie Christie is a favourite as best actress, London-born Daniel Day-Lewis is in the running for best actor and Scottish actress Tilda Swinton was nominated as best supporting actress.
Atonement is in the running for seven awards: best picture; best supporting actress for its 13-year-old co-star, the Irish schoolgirl Saoirse Ronan; art direction; cinematography; costume design; music and adapted screenplay. But Joe Wright missed out on a best director nomination.
Two American films emerged as heavyweight Oscar contenders, with eight nominations each, including best picture. They are No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers' film about a Texas manhunt, and the early 20th-century California oil epic There Will Be Blood.
The other best picture contenders are the legal thriller Michael Clayton and the teenage pregnancy saga Juno.
The Australian actress Cate Blanchett earned an unusual double, nominated as best actress in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and for her astonishing supporting act as Bob Dylan in I'm Not There.
Atonement, based on Ian McEwan's novel, has been a huge hit in Britain, but it has clearly struggled to gain momentum with the Academy's voters in the US.
The list of nominations was another disappointment for McAvoy, who has failed to convert his growing stardom into awards. Last year, he missed out on any Oscar recognition for The Last King of Scotland, and he failed to land a Golden Globe best actor award earlier this month.
The Anglo-Irish veteran Daniel Day-Lewis, who won the Golden Globe for best actor and is one of McAvoy's rivals in the race for a Bafta, was nominated as best actor for his role as the oil tycoon in There Will Be Blood.
He is up against Johnny Depp for murderous musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, surprise choice Tommy Lee Jones for In The Valley Of Elah, Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises and George Clooney for Michael Clayton.
The latter has a total of seven nominations, including best supporting actor for the British star Tom Wilkinson and best supporting actress for Swinton, who is patron of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Christie, shortlisted for her role as an Alzheimer's sufferer in Away From Her, will compete for the best actress crown with Blanchett, Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose), Laura Linney (The Savages) and Ellen Page (Juno).
The best director category features few big names. The award will go to either Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Jason Reitman for Juno, Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton, Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country For Old Men, or Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood.
The nominations were announced at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Los Angeles. They come as the strike by US writers moves into its 12th week, with no sign of an end to the dispute that has already derailed the Golden Globes ceremony.
The Screen Actors Guild has said it will honour writers' picket lines, so unless the dispute is resolved, many stars may stay away from the 80th Academy Awards on 24 February.
STARS FIGHT IT OUTTHESE are the main categories for the 80th Academy Awards:
BEST ACTOR: George Clooney – Michael Clayton; Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood; Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd; Tommy Lee Jones – In The Valley Of Elah; Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: 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; Hal Holbrook – Into The Wild; Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton.
BEST ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age; Julie Christie – Away From Her; Marion Cotillard – La Vie En Rose; Laura Linney – The Savages; Ellen Page – Juno.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett – I'm Not There; Ruby Dee – American Gangster; Saoirse Ronan – Atonement; Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone; Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton.
BEST PICTURE: Atonement; Juno; Michael Clayton; No Country For Old Men; There Will Be Blood.
The full article contains 739 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
