THEY'D LIKE TO THANK THE ACADEMY...

Hollywood was buzzing this morning after the nominations for the 2007 Academy Awards were announced. Dreamgirls led the nominees with eight nominations, including Jennifer Hudson for Best Supporting Actress and Eddie Murphy for Best Supporting Actor but it failed to score a nod for Best Picture, although it won the Golden Globe. Films that did make the cut for Best Picture were The Departed, The Queen, Letters from Iwo Jima, Babel and Little Miss Sunshine. A happy Best Actress nominee Helen Mirren, who won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for The Queen, said, 'When the idea of making The Queen was first mooted we had no idea that the result would have quite the impact it has had. It is astounding the way that audiences have responded by taking the film to their hearts.' Other happy actresses include Penelope Cruz for her role in Volver, along with Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal), Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada) and Kate Winslet for Little Children. Winslet's Titanic costar Leonardo DiCaprio also scored a nomination for Best Actor for Blood Diamond. Other leading men recognized include Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness), Peter O'Toole (Venus) and a surprise nod went to Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson.The nominees for Best Supporting Actress were Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi for Babel, joined by Cate Blanchett for Notes on a Scandal. Ten-year-old Abigail Breslin also scored her first nod for Little Miss Sunshine.The nods for Best Supporting Actor went to Djimon Hounsou for Blood Diamond, Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine, Jackie Earle Haley for Little Children and in another surprising nomination, Mark Wahlberg for The Departed. Will this be Martin Scorsese's year? The Departed director, earned his eighth nomination for Best Director, joins Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Babel, Clint Eastwood for Letters from Iwo Jima, Stephen Frears for The Queen and Paul Greengrass for United 93.