Oscar fever is once again upon us, and this year’s assortment of The Academy’s favourite cinematic accomplishments has been announced.
Although there weren’t too many surprises overall, there was a wide variety of films up for gongs, with “Brokeback Mountain” leading the race with 8 separate nominations. “Crash”, “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “Memoirs of a Geisha” all managed to earn 6 nominations, whilst “Capote”, “Munich” & “Walk the Line” notched up 5 each.
Here’s my spin on the main
award nominations. “Brokeback Mountain” is expected to clean up, with Ang Lee boasting incredible 1/50 odds to be taking the celebrated Best Director trophy home with him.
Performance by an actor
in a leading role

Although he’ll face stiff competition (no pun intended) from Heath Ledger’s performance as the gay cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain”, I have little doubt that Joaquin Phoenix’s astonishing enactment of Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line” will triumph. He really is absolutely superb, and if any performance this year is worthy of an Oscar then this is surely it. The other hopefuls are Terrence Howard, David Strathairn and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Performance by an actor
in a supporting role
A tougher call this time, with each and every actor in with a worthy shout. However, should push come to shove, I’d have to say that Jake Gyllenhaal’s role in “Brokeback Mountain” was just about worthy of the gong. That’s not to say that I’ll be disappointed if I’m wrong, of course, as George Clooney, Matt Dillon, Paul Giamatti and William Hurt have all offered The Academy a very difficult decision to make.
Performance by an actress
in a leading role
With 2 English actresses (Judi Dench and Keira Knightley) up for the leading role Oscar, there stands a good chance of success for British film fans. However, I personally think that Reese Witherspoon’s exquisite performance in “Walk the Line” is worthy of the prize. The 2 other nominees, Charlize Theron and Felicity Huffman, may well beg to differ, however.
Performance by an actress
in a supporting role
Another arduous decision here for The Academy, with each and every actress in with a very good chance. Catherine Keener and Rachel Weisz seem to be the media’s picks, although Amy Adams, Frances McDormand and Michelle Williams will all fancy their chances. Me? I think that Racehl Weisz has just about managed to finish top of the heap.
Achievement in directing

True to the bookies’ odds, there really can be no other winner for best director than Ang Lee. His Brokeback Mountain was a joy to behold, with Lee’s directorial skills making it everything that it possibly could have been. Steven Spielberg and Paul Haggis will consider themselves unlucky, as indeed will George Clooney after being nominated for only his second film behind the camera lens. Fellow newcomer Bennett Miller’s excellent “Capote” would also have had more of a chance up against a less accomplished line-up.
Best motion picture
of the year
As much as I enjoyed “Munich”, “Crash” and especially “Good Night, and Good Luck”, I think that “Brokeback Mountain” will steal the best picture award, completing a near-sweep. “Capote” is the other nominee, mind, which in itself is a very strong entry.
Adapted screenplay
My own personal favourite entry here is “A History of Violence”, although I must be realistic in saying that it faces extremely stiff competition in the form of “Brokeback Mountain” (yet again), “Capote”, “The Constant Gardener” and “Munich”. If I was to be 100% honest, though, I’d have to go for Dan Futterman’s superb “Capote” screenplay. However, here’s hoping for an upset!
Original screenplay
As big a Woody Allen fan as I am, I don’t think that “Match Point” is one of his finer works, so I’d instead have to go for Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco’s fantastic “Crash” to come up trumps. With that being said, “Syriana”, “The Squid and the Whale” and “Good Night, and Good Luck” all offer fabulous screenplays of their own. Another interesting decision to be made here, I feel.