Oscar Noms were at 8:38 AM

Ok, I’ve been buzzing with excitement for days, in anticipation of this morning’s Oscar Nominations. I love awards ceremonies… the drama, the joy of winning, the pain of defeat. I get very emotional. In fact, I usually cry while watching the nominations, as I imagine some of those dark-horse or first-time nominees at home jumping up and down… And then, when they’ve all been announced… I start to boil with anger over the grievous errors in voting. And this year is no exception.

2006 was actually a great year for films and performances… there were many high-quality endeavors that are scattered across the field of nominees.

The Yays : )

• THE DEPARTED fitting securely in it’s Best Picture and Best Director categories. Please let this be Scorcese’s year!
• LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE getting so much recognition, including Best Picture nom and a nom for little Abigail Breslin, who was adorable. And Yay for Alan Arkin getting a Supporting Actor nod – he was fantastically funny.
• UNITED 93 getting a Best Director nod for Paul Greengrass. It was a powerful film, and perhaps it can win for editing.
• I haven't seen NOTES ON A SCANDAL yet, but I'm pleased with those nominations. And as impressive as Jennifer Hudson was in DREAMGIRLS, I'd kind of like Cate Blanchett to win it.
• Congrats to Al Gore for the nomination for AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH for Best Documentary. I hope it wins!
• And I can't wait for ELLEN to host... she's just freaking wonderful....

The Shocks & Disappointments : (

• DREAMGIRLS shut out from Best Picture and Best Director. Whaaa????!!
  We just saw DREAMGIRLS last weekend and it was fantastic. The performances, the music, the direction – all beautiful, inspiring, and worthy of awards. As long as Scorcese wins Director, I would have been okay with DREAMGIRLS winning Best Picture. *sigh* But Bill Condon definitely deserved a nod for directing a great visual and emotional film.
• Jack Nicholson not nominated for Best Supporting Actor for THE DEPARTED. I know he’s already award-laden, but this performance was the best of the year. His delivery of the one-liners alone deserves an ovation. Marky-Mark getting the nomination… priceless, and also well-deserved.
• Brad Pitt not nominated for Best Supporting Actor for BABEL . Granted, I haven’t seen the film, but I hear he was great, and it is a surprise he’s not nominated.
• As much as I love Meryl Streep and thought she was fantastic in DEVIL WEARS PRADA, I don't think she deserves an Oscar for it. It was a supporting role, for goodness sake. I would have preferred to see someone else get a chance
• Woah... that Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for BLOOD DIAMOND instead of DEPARTED. I bet that if he were allowed to be nominated twice, he DID have enough votes to be there for both roles. I desperately want him to win it.
• I'm disappointed that THE GOOD SHEPARD didn't garner any of the top nominations. It was a great script and well done. But it's tough competition this year.

I’m sure I’ll have more random feelings about this as we get closer to the awards…
Let the race begin!!