LOS ANGELES, Jan 25: "The Aviator", Martin Scorsese's epic film biography of Howard Hughes, received 11 Oscar nominations on Tuesday, beating out Clint Eastwood's boxing saga, "Million Dollar Baby"
, and drama, "Finding Neverland", which received seven each.
All three films were nominated for best picture for the 77th annual Academy Awards, along with the Ray Charles biography, "Ray", and comedy, "Sideways". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Frank Pierson called it the Academy's first "horse race" in several years.
"It's wide open," Mr Pierson said. Scorsese, the 63-year-old veteran who has never won an Oscar in six previous nominations, was nominated as best director for "The Aviator".
He is vying against the 74-year-old Eastwood who was nominated both as best director and as best actor. Eastwood, the archetypal screen tough guy, has won an Oscar for best directing but never as an actor.
"Ray" received six nominations, including one for Jamie Foxx, who played soul legend Charles, as best actor. In a rare twist, Foxx was also nominated for his supporting role in crime drama "Collateral" opposite Tom Cruise.
No actor has won both accolades in the same year, but Foxx has received rave reviews for both performances. "The Passion of the Christ", Mel Gibson's religious drama, picked up three nominations outside the major award categories for cinematography, makeup and original score.
Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11", which the director had positioned as a best-picture contender, did not receive any Oscar nominations. The other nominees for best actor were: Don Cheadle in "Hotel Rwanda", Johnny Depp in "Finding Neverland", and Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Aviator".
Best actress nominations went to Annette Bening in "Being Julia", Catalina Sandino Moreno in "Maria Full of Grace", Imelda Staunton in "Vera Drake", Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby" and Kate Winslet in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
"Sideways" received five nominations, including one for best supporting actor for Thomas Haden Church and best supporting actress for Virginia Madsen. But Paul Giamatti, the star of the movie, was not nominated for best actor - a major surprise.
Other best director nominees were Taylor Hackford for "Ray", Alexander Payne for "Sideways" and British director Mike Leigh for abortion drama "Vera Drake". The nominees for best foreign-language film were Sweden's "As It Is in Heaven", France's "The Chorus", Germany's "Downfall", "The Sea Inside" from Spain and South Africa's "Yesterday".
It was the first nomination for a South African film. China's highly praised "House of Flying Daggers" did not make the foreign film list although it was nominated for best cinematography.
The Oscar nominations were announced by Pierson and Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody, who sprayed his breath before speaking in a joking reminder of the long kiss he gave presenter Halle Berry when he won his Oscar for "The Pianist".
The Academy Awards will be presented on Feb 27 in a red-carpet ceremony in Los Angeles and broadcast live by ABC. "The Aviator" was distributed by Miramax, a unit of The Walt Disney Co, Initial Entertainment Group and Warner Bros, the studio owned by Time Warner. "Million Dollar Baby" was also distributed by Warner Bros.
"Finding Neverland" was distributed by Miramax. "Ray" was distributed by Universal, a unit of General Electric-controlled NBC Universal, while "Sideways" was distributed by Fox Searchlight and 20th Century Fox of News Corp. -Reuters
