So, now that the nominations are out, what would you consider as surprises (if you think there were any)? Who/What are your picks for the big categories?

A few surprises for me:
  • No "Cold Mountain" for Best Picture. I thought Cold Mountain was a much better movie than Master and Commander so i'm surprised to see one in and the other out.
  • No Nicole Kidman for her Cold Mountain role and no Tom Cruise for his Last Samaurai role. I didn't particularly like Nicole in Cold Mountain, but thought for sure the "Academy" was gonna cream their collective shorts over her. Haven't seen Last Samaurai, but from the buzz i thought Cruise might've been nominated.
  • Two relative no-names get the nod for best actress. Keisha Castle-Hughes and Samantha Morton? Who are these gals? Haven't seen either movie they're in so can't really comment on their performances.
  • Fernando Meirelles getting a nod for best director for his City of God. Nice to see the "Academy" can get away from the traditional big studio crap.
My picks (not who/what i think should win, but who/what i think will win):
Best Picture - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (more for the collection of the trilogy as a whole)
Best Actor - Bill Murray gets an "upset" win over Penn.
Best Actress - Charlize Theron
Supporting Actor - Tim Robbins
Supporting Actress - Rene Zellweger
Director - Coppola seems to be this years darling so she gets the nod over Jackson.

T-