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ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Oscar watchers narrow list of top film nominees

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-07 10:41





Sharon Leal Beyonce Knowles and Anika Noni Rose in a scene from the film
'Dreamgirls' in a photo courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures. Hollywood
experts on Friday narrowed their guesses for best film Oscar candidates
after seeing this week's key award nominations. [Reuters]

Hollywood experts on Friday narrowed their guesses for best film Oscar
candidates to a short list including widely touted musical "Dreamgirls"
and crime thriller "The Departed," after seeing this week's key award
nominations.

Close behind on the short list are comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" and
searing cultural drama "Babel." Several industry pundits caution that the
final spot on the list of five vying for the movies' top honor could go
to one of a range of films.

"The Queen," an inside look at the British royals, director Clint
Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima," which tells the Japanese side of the
World War II battle, September 11 drama "United 93," and the comeback
story this season, "Bobby," about the legacy of former U.S. Senator
Robert Kennedy, are all being given a shot -- if even a slim one in some
cases.

"It's an incredibly stable group, but it will be a wide open race" when
the five nominees are named, said David Poland, who runs the
Moviecitynews.com Web site.

The world's top film awards, the Oscars -- or Academy Awards -- are given
out annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in
Beverly Hills, made up of actors, actresses, directors, producers and
other movie industry professionals. This year, Oscar nominees will be
named on January 23, and winners will be unveiled in a star-filled
Hollywood gala on February 25.

This past week, nominees unveiled by the Producers Guild of America and
Screen Actors Guild helped define top contenders because many guild
members are also Oscar voters. And over the next 10 days, several crucial
events take place in the Hollywood sport of Oscar watching.

On Tuesday, the Directors Guild of America, names its nominees and
historically DGA contenders correlate strongly with Oscars. "The
Directors Guild will influence the race greatly. It always does," said
USA Today critic Claudia Puig.

OF GUILDS AND GLOBES

Critical favorite "Letters" would see its Oscar chances rise if the
directors single out Eastwood. The same is true for Britain's Stephen
Frears with "The Queen" and Paul Greengrass for "United 93," and
"Babel's" position as a true Oscar contender would solidify if Mexico's
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu made the DGA's list.

Two days later, the Writers Guild of America picks nominee for
screenplays, and on January 15, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
gives out its Golden Globe awards, which will help indicate choices in
the best actor and actress Oscar races.

The experts said the best actress race appears to be down to five
candidates who mirror SAG's picks this week.

Those five are Helen Mirren playing Queen Elizabeth in "The Queen," Judi
Dench as a manipulative teacher in "Notes on a Scandal," Meryl Streep
portraying a wicked fashion editor in "The Devil Wears Prada," Spanish
beauty Penelope Cruz as a working-class woman in "Volver" and Kate
Winslet playing a woman in an extra-marital affair in "Little Children."

"We seem to have these ladies locked in," said Tom O'Neil, columnist for
Theenvelope.com.

The race for best actor is less settled. The sure things seem to be
Forest Whitaker playing dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland,"
Peter O'Toole as an older man smitten with a young woman in "Venus" and
Will Smith portraying a man overcoming life's obstacles in "The Pursuit
of Happyness."

Leonardo DiCaprio also seems to be a good bet, but the question is for
what role: a diamond smuggler in "Blood Diamond" or an undercover cop in
"The Departed."

Finally, relative newcomer Ryan Gosling playing a drug abusing teacher in
low-budget "Half-Nelson" is given an edge to make the fifth Oscar
nomination spot.









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