Oscar loves "Dreamgirls" — but not for best picture

The makers of "Dreamgirls" woke up this morning with more Academy Award nominations than any other film this year — but they weren't celebrating.

The hit musical got eight nods, including three in the best song category, but was shut out of the top categories: best picture, director and screenplay. Contending in all three of those categories were Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Babel" (seven nominations total), Stephen Frears' "The Queen" (six), Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" (five) and Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima" (four). Rounding out the best picture category: the comedy "Little Miss Sunshine."

"Dreamgirls," a Golden Globe winner (for best motion picture — musical or comedy) last week, was widely expected to follow in the footsteps of "Chicago" a few years back as a major Oscar contender. Its absence may signal the academy's preoccupation with more serious films (with "Sunshine" as a wild card), or perhaps its pop-music story and score did not find favor with a generally older voting population. At any rate, the stage is set for another Eastwood/Scorsese duel (they last faced off at the Oscars in 2005, with "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Aviator"), with Scorsese believed to have the edge this year. Then again, that was the buzz in 2005, too.

Closer to home, Seattle producers James Longley and John Sinno earned their first Oscar nominations for the documentary "Iraq in Fragments," which Longley also directed (see related story). The film, shot in Iraq and completed in Seattle, has won numerous awards on the film-festival circuit. It will compete against "Deliver Us from Evil," "An Inconvenient Truth," "Jesus Camp" and "My Country, My Country."

The four acting categories featured few surprises. Meryl Streep received her 14th career nomination (breaking her own record) in the best-actress category for "The Devil Wears Prada"; indeed, the much-honored women of this category have 29 nominations between them. Streep is joined by first-time nominee Penélope Cruz ("Volver," in that film's inexplicable sole nomination), Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), Helen Mirren ("The Queen") and Kate Winslet ("Little Children").

Peter O'Toole, who almost turned down the honorary Oscar given to him in 2003 because he still hoped to "win the lovely bugger outright," gets another chance at his first competitive Oscar: His nomination for best actor, for "Venus," is the eighth in his long career. He's joined by two first-timers, Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland") and Ryan Gosling ("Half Nelson"). Leonardo DiCaprio ("Blood Diamond") and Will Smith ("The Pursuit of Happyness") round out the category. Early money's on Whitaker, but don't underestimate a sentimental vote in favor of O'Toole.

The supporting-actor group features an intriguing slate of comeback stories. Eddie Murphy, after years of toiling in forgettable (if lucrative) comedies, gets recognized for his terrific performance in "Dreamgirls" with his first nomination. Jackie Earle Haley, the former kid from "Bad News Bears" who left Hollywood and gave up on acting years ago, is on the list for his chilling work as a neighborhood pariah in "Little Children." And 72-year-old Alan Arkin, who had two nominations in the '60s but never won, is here for "Little Miss Sunshine." Also on the ballot: Djimon Hounsou for "Blood Diamond," and Mark Wahlberg for "The Departed."

Ten-year-old Abigail Breslin, last seen cutely showing off her (empty) designer purse at the Golden Globes, turned up on the supporting-actress list for "Little Miss Sunshine." It's a category that tends to reward little girls; consider winners Tatum O'Neal (10 years old) for "Paper Moon" in 1974 and Anna Paquin (11 years old) for "The Piano" in 1994. Her toughest competition is surely fellow first-timer Jennifer Hudson, who's been sweeping the year-end awards for her star turn in "Dreamgirls." "Babel" adds two nominated roles to this category: Adriana Barraza's loyal housekeeper, and Rinko Kikuchi's troubled schoolgirl. Cate Blanchett, the only Oscar veteran on this list, is nominated for "Notes on a Scandal."

In the Pleasant Surprises category, Guillermo del Toro's marvelous fantasy "Pan's Labyrinth" received an unexpected six nominations, including foreign language film, original screenplay, art direction and cinematography. But the absence of Pedro Almodóvar's critically acclaimed "Volver" from all categories but best actress was a shocker.

Another surprise: "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazahkstan" received a nominee for its five co-screenwriters in the adapted screenplay category, despite being widely believed to not have a script. Star/co-writer Sacha Baron Cohen, speaking to the Writers Guild of America last week, said that although the studio was given only a five-page outline, there actually was "a 60-page outline, and pages for each scene." Hmm.

The final ballots will be mailed next week and are due back Feb. 20, to be tallied for Oscar night on the 25th. Until then, expect plenty of campaigning, a bit of controversy (odd that in announcing the best-picture nominees, the producers for "The Departed" were "to be named later") and a lot of noise. Not much song and dance, though.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com