By Franck Tabouring

"No Country For Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood,” two dark thrillers featuring two cold-blooded protagonists, topped the nominee list for the 80th Academy Awards on Tuesday with eight nominations each.

Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, “No Country For Old Men” earned nominations for best picture, best director, best supporting actor (Javier Bardem) and best adapted screenplay. The film also pulled nods for best cinematography (Roger Deakins) and best editing (Roderick Jaynes).

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood,” which focuses on the rise and fall of a ruthless oil tycoon, also scored in eight categories, including best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis earned a best actor nomination for his performance as lead character Daniel Plainview.

“Atonement” closely followed with seven nominations. The Joe Wright-directed drama starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy earned nods for best picture, best director and best supporting actress (Saoirse Ronan).

The political thriller “Michael Clayton” earned nominations in five major categories: best picture, best director (Tony Gilroy), best actor (George Clooney) and best supporting actress (Tilda Swinton).

Jason Reitman’s “Juno,” a comedy about a pregnant 15-year-old who gives her baby up for adoption, rounded out the best picture category. The film won a total of four nominations, including best original screenplay (Diablo Cody) and a best actress nod for Ellen Page.

The best actor category this year also included nominations for Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s bloody musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Viggo Mortensen as Russian bodyguard in David Cronenberg’s “Eastern Promises” and Tommy Lee Jones in Paul Haggis’s drama “In the Valley of Elah.”

Front-runners for the best actress trophy include Cate Blanchett for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” Julie Christie for her performance in Sarah Polley’s “Away From Her,” Marion Cotillard in “La Vie En Rose” and Laura Linney in “The Savages.”

The fifth nominee for best director is Julian Schnabel, whose “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” earned two Golden Globes last week.

Further surprises at Tuesday's news conference at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were the original screenplay bid for “Ratatouille,” Hal Holbrook’s best supporting actor nomination for his role in “Into The Wild,” and Ruby Dee’s shot at the best supporting actress trophy for “American Gangster.”

The 80th Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. EST.

 

Below is the complete list of nominees: 

Best Picture
"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country For Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Director
Julian Schnabel  for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Jason Retiman for "Juno"
Tony Gilroy for "Michael Clayton"
Joel and Ethan Coen for "No Country For Old Men"
Paul Thomas Anderson for "There Will Be Blood"

Best Actor
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd"
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah"
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises"

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Julie Christie in "Away From Her"
Marion Cottilard in "La Vie en Rose"
Laura Linney in "The Savages"
Ellen Page in "Juno"

Best Supporting Actor
Caey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesses James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem in "No Country For Old Men"
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War"
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild"
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton"

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett in "I'm not There"
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster"
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton"
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement"

Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody for "Juno"
Nancy Oliver for "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy for "Michael Clayton"
Brad Bird for "Ratatouille"
Tamara Jenkins for "The Savages"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton for "Atonement"
Sarah Polley for "Away From Her"
Ronald Harwood for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Joel and Ethan Coen for "No Country For Old Men"
Paul Thomas Anderson for "There Will be Blood"

Best Foreign Language Film
"Beaufort" - Israel
"The Counterfeiters" - Austria
"Katyn" - Poland
"Mangol" - Kasakhstan
"12" - Russia

Best Animated Film
"Ratatouille"
"Surf's Up"
"Persepolis"

Best Art Direction
"American Gangster"
"Atonement"
"The Golden Compass"
"Sweeney Todd"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Cinematography
"No Country For Old Men"
"Atonement"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Costume Design
"Across the Universe
"Atonement"
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
"Sweeney Todd"
"La Vie En Rose"

Best Documentary
"No End In Sight"
"Sicko"
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
"Taxi to the Dark Side"
"War/Dance"

Best Editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"Into The Wild"
"No Country For Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Visual Effects
"The Golden Compass"
"Pirates of the Caribbean" At World's End"
"Transformers"