Daniel Day-Lewis a sure thing for "There Will Be Blood"

Oscar Watch concludes with a look at the final Best Picture nominee, Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood."

Based (somewhat loosely) on Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil!," "There Will Be Blood" is the tale of an oil speculator (Daniel Day-Lewis) obsessed with making his fortune, told in operatic tones. Released in theaters at the very end of 2007, its box-office total of $31 million is the lowest of the Best Picture nominees. Nonetheless, the film tied with "No Country for Old Men" for the highest number of Oscar nominations: eight, including picture, director, screenplay and actor.

Of those, only one is a sure thing: Daniel Day-Lewis practically had the best-actor Oscar handed to him before the film was even released, so strong was the buzz about his intense, larger-than-life performance. (He's a four-time nominee in the category, and a previous winner for "My Left Foot.") Otherwise, the film's chances of Oscar gold are as risky as ... well, oil speculating. "No Country for Old Men" is looking to lock up the major categories, and while Anderson's creativity and boldness is well-respected, "There Will Be Blood" may well lose impact when viewed on the DVD screeners many Academy voters watch.

And one of the film's most striking elements isn't eligible for an Oscar at all. Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's rich, dramatic score was not nominated, because much of it was not original to the film. (Some of it was from a BBC performance Greenwood had done previously; other elements are by Arvo Pärt and Brahms.) Academy rules specify that nominees for the original score category must be specifically written for the film in which it appears. Too bad Greenwood's score can't be rewarded Sunday night; "There Will Be Blood" is unimaginable without it.

Oscar trivia

Lots of you chimed in with an answer for last week's question — and lots of you, alas, were wrong. In honor of Johnny Depp's nomination, I asked who was the last singing Best Actor winner. Jamie Foxx, of "Ray," would seem the obvious answer — except he didn't actually sing. (That's Ray Charles we hear coming out of Foxx's mouth.) The last Best Actor winner to do his own singing was Robert Duvall, who played a country singer in 1983's "Tender Mercies." If you interpreted the question to specifically refer to musicals (fair enough), the answer would be Rex Harrison in 1964's "My Fair Lady"; if you want to argue that Harrison's trademark talking-in-rhythm isn't really singing (also, fair enough), it would be Yul Brynner for 1956's "The King and I."

OK, that was fun. Many thanks to all the readers who sent in their guesses, correct or incorrect. Here's one last bonus question, to be answered in my Oscar preview in Sunday's paper. If Joel and Ethan Coen win Best Director on Sunday night, it will be only the second time in Oscar history that two people won an Oscar for directing one film. Who were the first?

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