The Oscar-winning Songs Countdown: 2007

2007 was a strange Oscar year; the Academy made an effort to go for quality since the year's box-office top 10 was comprised of films that were unsuitable Best Picture candidates. I guess the film-critics were satisfied... My favorites, however, were mostly not among the major Oscar players. One of those is pictured below.

The photo belongs to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, directed by Andrew Dominik, whose only film before that had been 2000's Chopper. His director of photography was the ultra-talented and multi-nominated Roger Deakins. He did an amazing job. His cast was led by heavyweights Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, who were surrounded by a formidable supporting cast: Mary-Louise Parker, Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner, and Sam Shepard. Entertainment Weekly was enthusiastic: "The nervy style of this newfangled Western, with its eerie, insinuating score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, is so effective that long after Pitt and Affleck have left the screen, emotional disturbance lingers like gun smoke."

Since Nick Cave is among my favorite recording artists, I couldn't resist sharing part of the soundtrack. In these scenes, you'll also get to appreciate the film's cinematography:

It was a good year for Roger Deakins; there was another critically acclaimed film where he was also DP: Joel and Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men. The critics were ecstatic over this violent, nihilistic film which eschewed their particular brand of humor that would serve as a balancing mechanism on their other films. The Chicago Tribune said: "As pure craftsmanship, No Country for Old Men is as good as we've ever gotten from Joel and Ethan Coen. Only Fargo is more satisfying (it's also a comedy, which this one isn't)." The review closer to my own appreciation of the film belongs to the Washington Post: "I appreciate No Country for Old Men for the skill in the film craft. I understand No Country for Old Men for its penetrating disquisition on narrative conventions and its heroic will in subverting them. I admire No Country for Old Men for the way it tightens its grip as it progresses, taking us deeper and deeper into a hellish world. I just don't like it very much."

The actor who stood out from the film's stellar cast was Spanish star Javier Bardem, giving us one of the most chilling and most memorable baddies in film history. Despite the ridiculous haircut, that is.

Another actor from the cast of No Country for Old Men, Tommy Lee Jones, starred in Paul Haggis' follow-up to Crash, In the Valley of Elah. Jones' performance was the main thing that stood out. As Chicago Tribune said: "Tommy Lee Jones is marvelous in the film. He has one scene, in particular, a simple two-person encounter, that's as good as it gets in the realm of American screen acting." The film itself, like Crash before it, was just OK.

Daniel Day-Lewis was no stranger to enthusiastic reviews. The ones he got for Paul Thomas Anderson's saga, There Will Be Blood, were beyond extraordinary. "Daniel Day-Lewis bestrides the narrow world like a colossus as Daniel Plainview," gushed Film.com. The film, which featured amazing cinematography, had the usual pros and cons one finds in a Paul Thomas Anderson film: TV Guide Magazine said it best: "Ambitious, deeply flawed and studded with sequences that achieve pure, majestic greatness." We shouldn't leave out the film's soundtrack, an amazing score by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood:

No Country for Old Men was an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same title. There Will Be Blood was an adaptation of Oil!, by Upton Sinclair. Atonement was originally a novel by Ian McEwan. I had started to read the novel a year before the film came out, but I stopped it midway. It upsets me when the narrative is driven by coincidence and misunderstanding. I am too much of a believer in free will - and that most predicaments are the consequence of an action or of a lack of action. At least these are the stories that make sense to me, morally.

Anyway, the film, directed by Joe Wright (Pride And Prejudice), and starring his muse, Keira Knightley, and up and coming James McAvoy, did well, both commercially and critically. Rolling Stone proclaimed: "Nothing in Joe Wright's screen version of Ian McEwan's dense, internalized 2001 novel of secrets and lies should really work, but damn near everything does. It's some kind of miracle. Written, directed and acted to perfection, Atonement sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance."

Tony Gilroy was one of Hollywood's successful screenwriters, mostly known for commercial fare like The Devil's Advocate, Armageddon, and the Bourne trilogy. It was, therefore, no surprise that his first directing gig used his own original screenplay. Michael Clayton was the kind of film that is dear to the Oscars - a serious commercial drama with socio-political overtones that are progressive enough, but not too progressive.

The film had megastar George Clooney in the leading titular role and two well-respected British actors supporting him: Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson. Two directors of Best Picture Oscar-winning films also turned up as actors, Sydney Pollack and Tom McCarthy.

The film did well at the box-office and received good reviews. The Hollywood Reporter had this to say: "As with the Bourne films, Gilroy has a knack for creating strong characters and situations that resonate with tension. It may be formula, but the guy is a solid chemist as he crafts excellent set-ups and payoffs."

A film that actually grossed 30 times its frugal budget, was one of the pleasant surprises that year, a small film called Juno. It was based on the original screenplay of a woman called Diablo Cody, who formerly worked as a stripper. This was her first screenplay. The film was directed by Canadian Jason Reitman, his second feature film. Jason's father was Slovakian Ivan Reitman (the original Ghostbusters).

The film had no big stars, but a lot of familiar faces (Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner) giving solid supporting performances and a couple of fresh faces from Canada, former child actors both, who, with this vehicle, managed to enter adult acting in the most spectacular way: Michael Cera and especially Ellen Page (who would come out as LGBT a few years later and actively work for the cause.) As Rolling Stone said, "There's a special kick that comes in finding a new star. So step up, Ellen Page, and take your bows."

A highly interesting film was a French-American co-production: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon). The film was based on the true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby (from Paris, France) who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed.

South-African born Ronald Harwood, who moved to London, England as an adult to pursue a career in the theater and had written the celebrated play (and later film) The Dresser, based on his experiences, wrote the screenplay, based on Bauby's book. New Yorker Julian Schnabel, who had already made a name for himself with Basquiat and Before Night Falls was set to direct.

The script was originally in English and Johnny Depp was cast to play Jean-Dominique Bauby. He dropped out because it conflicted with the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Gary Oldman was also in consideration. But eventually, director Julian Schnabel convinced the studio (Pathé, a French studio founded in Paris) to change the language to French to stay true to Bauby's life and story.

Excellent French actor Mathieu Amalric was cast as Bauby. Also, starring was a number of great actors: Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Niels Arestrup, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and Max von Sydow.

The film was gripping and of particular interest were the cinematography and editing, both designed to enlighten us on the hero's physical and mental condition. The New Yorker wrote: "Schnabel’s movie, based on the calm and exquisite little book that Bauby wrote in the hospital, is a gloriously unlocked experience, with some of the freest and most creative uses of the camera and some of the most daring, cruel, and heartbreaking emotional explorations that have appeared in recent movies."

Another French production that enjoyed worldwide success was La Môme, or as it was later called, La Vie en Rose. This Olivier Dahan directed biopic was about one of the biggest singers of the 20th century, Édith Piaf. The larger-than-life figure, whose life was equal parts tragedy and triumph, needed to be personified by an actress who was also larger-than-life. The solution was Marion Cotillard. The Parisian actress had been making TV and movies since 1993; her 2003 film Jeux d'enfants (Love Me If You Dare) introduced her to the world outside France, then Tim Burton's Big Fish and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) helped further her visibility. It was her portrayal of Édith Piaf, however, that made her an international superstar. By the time she gets on stage to sing Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, we're all with her, body and soul. The New York Post wrote: "Thanks to the extraordinary performance of Cotillard, who expertly lip-syncs to Piaf recordings and disappears into the part, few will regret seeing La Vie En Rose."

Another French film of a different kind was the animated feature called Persepolis. The adventures of a precocious and outspoken Iranian girl who grows up during the Islamic Revolution, it was the rare animated feature that would appeal to grownups more than to children. USA Today raved: "Cinematic poetry in black and white. It also is a deeply affecting tale of the power of resilience and an unflagging sense of humor through the worst of situations."

Its biggest challenger to the best animated feature of the year was a film that took place in Paris, had a French title, but was very much American: Ratatouille was that year's Pixar offering, Brad Bird's follow-up to The Incredibles. The story of the kitchen rat that wants to be a chef resonated with both the critics and the public. Variety was bursting with praise: "Ratatouille is delicious. In this satisfying, souffle-light tale of a plucky French rodent with a passion for cooking, the master chefs at Pixar have blended all the right ingredients - abundant verbal and visual wit, genius slapstick timing, a soupcon of Gallic sophistication - to produce a warm and irresistible concoction that's sure to appeal to everyone's inner Julia Child."

The film even made the top ten moneymakers' list for 2007, at #6, with a worldwide gross of $620,702,951. #1 on the list was the film that Johnny Depp had abandoned The Diving Bell and the Butterfly for, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End; it grossed close to $1 billion. That was followed by three more sequels, the fifth Harry Potter, the third Spider-Man, and the third Shrek. None of the four were the best of their respective franchise. At #5 was Transformers, a film that I hate, along with its sequels. I do believe that Ratatouille is the only really good movie among the ten. Here's the full list:

At #10 on the list was 300, the controversial retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. Multiple Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender's film career began with this film. The same year, there was another semi-successful film starring Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, and Meryl Streep called Lions For Lambs. That was the first film in the career of last year's Oscar nominee, Andrew Garfield.

9 years before, in 1998, Britain had its moment in the Oscar sun with Elizabeth, the chronicle of the early years of the Virgin Queen. Attempting to catch lightning in a bottle twice, the powers that be decided to film a sequel, dealing with Elizabeth's mature years. The same director (Indian Shekhar Kapur) was employed and the same actress, the dazzling Australian Cate Blanchett, was signed to portray Elizabeth again. Another extremely talented Australian, Geoffrey Rush, also revisited his role, while fresh faces included Rhys Ifans, Samantha Morton, Clive Owen, and a young Eddie Redmayne.

Alas, it was not to be; the film lost money and the critics were not very kind; Austin Chronicle opined: "Despite good performances all around, particularly the ever-brilliant Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a gilded ornament, speculative and uninterested in much besides this queen's matters of the heart."

Canadian Sarah Polley had been acting since she was six and had to that point worked with most Canadian big-name directors. In 2007 she decided to get behind the camera: she wrote a screenplay based on a short story by Alice Munro and she also decided to direct. She had only written and directed a handful of short films till then, but since she managed to stick to a minimal budget, she was allowed to go ahead with the film. It really helped that she managed to lure two big names to the project, Greek-American Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis in a supporting part and more importantly, the British "it girl" of the 1960s and also Oscar-winner Julie Christie for the leading part.

The gamble paid off; Rolling Stone said it best: "All the acting is first-rate - Dukakis gives major dimensions to a supporting role. And Christie, a Sixties screen goddess in Darling and Doctor Zhivago, shows that her spirit and grace are eternal. She's a beauty. So is the movie."

One of the most impressive accomplishments of American Indie cinema that year was The Savages, directed by Tamara Jenkins and starring indie darlings Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman as a sister and brother who face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.

Rolling Stone wrote: "With the help of acting giants, Jenkins turns The Savages into a twisted, bittersweet pleasure," while the New York Magazine added: "The Savages is a delightful movie - the perfect companion piece (and antidote) to the year’s other superb convalescent-dementia picture, Away From Her."

The Savages wasn't the only notable film Philip Seymour Hoffman starred in that year. In veteran Mike Nichols' Charlie Wilson's War, he was surrounded by huge stars, like Tom Hanks, Amy Adams, and Julia Roberts. However, he managed to outshine them; per the Charlotte Observer: "Hanks has a good time, romping around with the assurance of a holy fool. He and Roberts seem "actorish," putting on accents and mannerisms, but they're entertaining. Hoffman is something more, a scenery-devouring force of nature irresistible as a cyclone and irreverent as a stand-up comedian at a midnight show."

Sarah Polley wasn't the only actor who tried their luck on the other side of the camera; Sean Penn was another; this time he tackled the true story of Christopher McCandless who, after graduating from Emory University, abandoned his possessions, gave his entire savings account to charity, and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Emile Hirsch was impressive as Christopher McCandless, but it was veteran actor Hal Holbrook who made waves in a small but showy role. ReelViews said it best: "Into the Wild is a beautifully made motion picture and some of the segments (especially those with Hal Holbrook and those that transpire around "the magic bus" in Alaska) are powerful."

Canadian director David Cronenberg is an auteur with a specific style and devoted fans. He and Viggo Mortensen hit it off two years earlier with the critically acclaimed A History of Violence. They would work together for the third time in 2011 and the film A Dangerous Method. In 2007 it was their second time together; the film was Eastern Promises - and it was a winner: Variety wrote, "A superbly wrought yarn set in the milieu of first-generation Russian mobsters in London that is simultaneously tough-minded and compassionate about the human condition, Eastern Promises instantly takes its place among David Cronenberg's very best films."

Johnny Depp may have done Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for the big fat paycheck, but he did Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street for the fun of it - and also it was directed by his friend and mentor, Tim Burton. The film version of Stephen Sondheim's hit Broadway musical, with the unusual subject (for a musical) of a mass murderer in Victorian London, was eaten up by the critics as if it were Mrs. Lovett's pies. The Hollywood Reporter was beaming, especially for Depp: "Teaming with Depp, his long-time alter ego, Burton makes Sweeney a smoldering dark pit of fury and hate that consumes itself. With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for the ages."

Cate Blanchett was a double threat; as impressive as she was in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, she was even more impressive in Todd Haynes' I'm Not There, portraying... Bob Dylan. In fact, there were six incarnations of Bob Dylan in this movie; five male actors and Cate. Interestingly, Cate came the closest to capturing the aura of the living legend. The Hollywood Reporter mused: "The star of the show is undoubtedly Blanchett, who has great fun playing Dylan as a showboat who quite knowingly goes about creating his reputation for rebellious independence."

Ridley Scott's sprawling gangster epic, American Gangster, starred the great Denzel Washington, flanked by such talent as Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Josh Brolin. It was a veteran that once again shone more brightly, Ruby Dee as Washington's mother.

Ben Affleck was, until that time, known as a very popular but moderately talented actor, as well as an Oscar-winning screenwriter. In 2007 he showed another facet of his artistic personality, that of a talented director. The film was Gone Baby Gone, a crime drama about two Boston area detectives investigating a little girl's kidnapping. Casey Affleck was great in the leading role, but Amy Ryan, as the kidnaped girl's mother, also was favorably noticed.

Before we go on to the nominations, let's see the most interesting of the foreign language submissions: Argentina submitted XXY, by Lucía Puenzo, a gay-interest film that I highly recommend. Austria presented the very good WWII drama The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher), by Stefan Ruzowitzky. Brazil entered the political drama (through a child's pov) The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias), by Cao Hamburger. Canada's entry was Days of Darkness (L’Âge des ténèbres), by Denys Arcand.

The Czech Republic gave us the interesting I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval Jsem Anglického Krále), by Jiri Menzel. Another film of borderline gay interest came from Estonia; it was called The Class (Klass), by Ilmar Raag. From France came Persepolis, which we've already presented, while Germany (like this year) placed its trust on Fatih Akin and The Edge of Heaven (Auf der Anderen Seite). Greece's entry also was sort of gay-themed; it was Eduart, by Angeliki Antoniou.

Hungary offered Taxidermia, by György Pálf, while Iceland came up with Jar City (Mýrin), by Baltasar Kormakur. Israel's submission was a war movie called Beaufort, by Joseph Cedar, while Italy went with the safe choice of Giuseppe Tornatore with the socially conscious La Sconosciuta. Kazakhstan came up with the biopic Mongol, by Sergei Bodrov. Lebanon gave us Nadine Labaki with Caramel. From Norway came Gone with the Woman (Tatt av Kvinnen), by Petter Naess. Poland bet on a veteran, Andrzej Wajda, with Katyn.

Portugal sent their go-to director, Manoel de Oliveira, with Belle Toujours. From Romania came the critics darling, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 Luni, 3 Săptămâni şi 2 Zile), by Cristian Mungiu. Russia sent their "usual suspect", Nikita Mikhalkov, with 12. From Serbia came The Trap (Klopka), by Srdan Golubović, from Spain came The Orphanage (El Orfanato), by Juan Antonio Bayona, and finally Sweden sent Roy Andersson's You, The Living (Du Levande).

My five picks would be Argentina, Austria, France, Israel, and Spain.

The Nominations

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Atonement

Juno

Michael Clayton

No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Best Achievement in Directing

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Julian Schnabel

Juno: Jason Reitman

Michael Clayton: Tony Gilroy

No Country for Old Men: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

There Will Be Blood: Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Eastern Promises: Viggo Mortensen

In the Valley of Elah: Tommy Lee Jones

Michael Clayton: George Clooney

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: Johnny Depp

There Will Be Blood: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Away from Her: Julie Christie

Elizabeth: The Golden Age: Cate Blanchett

Juno: Ellen Page

La Vie en Rose: Marion Cotillard

The Savages: Laura Linney

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: Casey Affleck

Charlie Wilson's War: Philip Seymour Hoffman

Into the Wild: Hal Holbrook

Michael Clayton: Tom Wilkinson

No Country for Old Men: Javier Bardem

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

American Gangster: Ruby Dee

Atonement: Saoirse Ronan

Gone Baby Gone: Amy Ryan

I'm Not There.: Cate Blanchett

Michael Clayton: Tilda Swinton

Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Juno: Diablo Cody

Lars and the Real Girl: Nancy Oliver

Michael Clayton: Tony Gilroy

Ratatouille: Brad Bird (screenplay/story), Jan Pinkava (story), Jim Capobianco (story)

The Savages: Tamara Jenkins

Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay

Atonement: Christopher Hampton

Away from Her: Sarah Polley

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Ronald Harwood

No Country for Old Men: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

There Will Be Blood: Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Achievement in Art Direction

American Gangster

Atonement

The Golden Compass

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

There Will Be Blood

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Across the Universe

Atonement

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

La Vie en Rose

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Achievement in Cinematography

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Atonement

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Best Achievement in Film Editing

The Bourne Ultimatum

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Into the Wild

No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

3:10 to Yuma

The Bourne Ultimatum

No Country for Old Men

Ratatouille

Transformers

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

The Bourne Ultimatum

No Country for Old Men

Ratatouille

There Will Be Blood

Transformers

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

The Golden Compass

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Transformers

Best Achievement in Makeup

La Vie en Rose

Norbit

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Best Documentary, Features

No End in Sight

Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience

Sicko

Taxi to the Dark Side

War Dance

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Persepolis

Ratatouille

Surf's Up

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Beaufort / Israel

The Counterfeiters / Austria

Katyn / Poland

Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan / Kazakhstan

12 / Russia

Unfortunately, neither Nick Cave nor Jonny Greenwood was nominated for their beautiful scores for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and There Will Be Blood, respectively. The nominees for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score were:

For 3:10 to Yuma, Marco Beltrami:

For Atonement, Dario Marianelli:

For The Kite Runner, Alberto Iglesias:

For Michael Clayton, James Newton Howard:

For Ratatouille, Michael Giacchino:

Worthy nominees, all. My favorite would be Dario Marianelli's elaborate and multi-faceted score for Atonement.

What about the songs? The nominees for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song were:

Raise It Up, for the film August Rush • Music & Lyrics: Jamal Joseph, Charles Ray Mack, and Tevin Thomas:

Happy Working Song, for the film Enchanted • Music: Alan Menken • Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz:

So Close, for the film Enchanted • Music: Alan Menken • Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz:

That's How You Know, for the film Enchanted • Music: Alan Menken • Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz:

Falling Slowly, for the film Once • Music & Lyrics: Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová:

Once is an Irish film that was made for $150,000 and found great success worldwide, thanks in great part to its lead actor and actress, who are in fact songwriters and singers Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová themselves.  They had no acting experience beforehand, and since then they have both moved on as they called the film a phase which they experienced and were glad to have experienced.  However, there was some controversy.  The duo had been performing Falling Slowly for a couple of years already at live shows.  These were all at very small venues though, and that’s why the Academy ruled that the song was eligible when questioned on this.

As for my personal choice: Raise It Up is a gospel-tinged, inspirational big ballad. Falling Slowly is an indie-flavored, confessional ballad. My choice would be between these two. In retrospect, I guess Raise It Up stood the test of time better, it's certainly being covered much more frequently than Falling Slowly. The three songs from Tangled are generic Alan Menken songs - not bad, but 10 years too late.

These are some other songs that could have been nominated but weren't: From Into the Wild, the song Guaranteed • Music & Lyrics: Eddie Vedder:

Also from Into the Wild, the song Rise • Music & Lyrics: Eddie Vedder:

From Grace Is Gone, the song Grace Is Gone • Music: Clint Eastwood • Lyrics: Carole Bayer Sager:

From Love in the Time of Cholera, the song Despedida • Music: Shakira and Antonio Pinto • Lyrics: Shakira:

From Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, the song Walk Hard • Music & Lyrics: Marshall Crenshaw, John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan:

Also from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, the song Beautiful Ride • Music & Lyrics: Dan Bern and Mike Viola:

Of these, my preference would go to Guaranteed from Into the Wild, by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. It was the song that won the Golden Globe that year, yet it wasn't even nominated for an Oscar.

All in all, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood led the pack with 8 nominations each, Michael Clayton and Atonement followed with 7 each, Ratatouille had 5, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly and Juno had 4 each, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, La Vie en Rose, The Bourne Ultimatum, Enchanted, and the Transformers had 3 each, while the rest had one or two each.

If the other major awards were an indication, Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem were sure bets in the Best Actor and the Best Supporting Actor categories respectively, while the Best Actress Award would be a fight between Marion Cotillard and Julie Christie. The Best Supporting Actress Award was anybody's guess, Best Director would probably go to the Coen Brothers, while Best Picture was a toss between No Country for Old Men and Atonement.

The Awards

It was definitely the Coens' year: No Country for Old Men got  Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor for Bardem, and Adapted Screenplay. There Will Be Blood got Best Actor for Day-Lewis and Cinematography. La Vie en Rose got Best Actress for Cotillard, the first time this award went to an actress in a French-language role, and Makeup. Tilda Swinton saved the day for Michael Clayton, taking the award for Best Supporting Actress.

Juno won Original Screenplay, while the Score award rightly went to Atonement. The Bourne Ultimatum won all three of its nominations (Film Editing, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing). Art Direction went to Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, while Costume Design went to Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and Visual Effects went to The Golden Compass.

No surprise for Ratatouille, it won the Animated Feature Oscar, while the Documentary Feature Oscar went to Taxi to the Dark Side, and the Foreign Film award went to Austria and The Counterfeiters.

Falling Slowly from Once was crowned Best Song. Upon winning the Oscar, Hansard gave his speech but then the orchestra played and the show went to a commercial.  Host Jon Stewart was having none of that and when the show returned from the break, he brought Irglová back out so she could give her thanks as well.

For the second straight year, a film garnered three nominations in the Best Song category and none of them won. This caused the Academy to institute a new rule effective immediately in that no film could have more than 2 nominations in this category. It was felt that other films, songs, and songwriters were perhaps being hampered of having their moment in the sun, so to speak.