Oscar Nominations special on India-EU Film Initiative

California (USA), 22
Jan 2008. The nominations for the 80th Academy Awards (Oscars) were announced
Tuesday, 22 Jan 2008, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in California under the
shadow of the screenwriters' strike in the United States.

The nominees for best picture are "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Atonement," "Juno" and "Michael Clayton."

Blanchett,
a supporting-actress winner for "The Aviator," was also nominated as
best actress for Shekhar Kapur's "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." and In "I'm Not There".

Other best-actress nominees
included Julie Christie, "Away From Her"; Marion Cotillard, "La Vie En
Rose"; Laura Linney, "The Savages"; and Ellen Page, "Juno."

The
nominees for best supporting actress are: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not
There"; Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"; Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"; Amy
Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"; and Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton."

The
nominees for best supporting actor are 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."

London-based film
organisation's site www.iefilmi.com ,
India-EU Film Initiative, is running an Oscar special with two special features
on the history of the awards and films with most nominations.

Meanwhile, striking screenwriters (The Writers
Guild of America or WGA) are in latest talks with the Hollywood studios today,
raising hopes of an end to the three-month deadlock over better payment
conditions regarding DVD and digital media sales.

How many people know that only two films
in the history of cinema have been nominated in 14 categories of Oscars. They
are 'All about Eve', 20th Century-Fox, 1950
and 'Titanic', 20th Century Fox and Paramount, 1997.
 

A fimed based on modern India's founding
father 'Gandhi', Columbia, 1982, partly filmed in India recieved 11
nominations and managed to get 8 awards. So far, not a single Indian film has
been able to win an Oscar in any category, said IEFILMI's editor Pervaiz Alam.