The great Cate

Well, Keira Knightley got snubbed, and, despite her brilliant turn as a plain Jane, so did Charlize Thereon, but the Academy has spoken…

Now let’s just cross our fingers that the studios and the writers can work it out before show time!

And the nominees for all the juicy awards are…

Dreamy Mc Clooney looking pensive in Michael Clayton

Best Picture: “Atonement,” “Juno,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”

A depressing lot of movies!

Actor: George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”; Daniel Day Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”; Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”; Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”; Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises.”

We love how Daniel Day Lewis only pops out of his cave or woodshed or whatever once every leap-year to make a film - but then does it so brilliantly that he collects an Oscar before disappearing back into his alternate universe.

The real question though is: who is the CUTEST nominee? A tough choice!

Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”; Julie Christie, “Away From Her”; Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”; Laura Linney, “The Savages”; Ellen Page, “Juno.”

Laura Linney should win just for being so overlooked most of the time, despite being one of the greatest actresses around.

Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”; Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”; Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”; Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton.”

Won’t big bro Ben Affleck be proud?! But we know who Penelope Cruz will be rooting for. And yes, yes, the actor’s actor Phillip Seymore Hoffman always does a great job… but still… isn’t he just a bit… actorly? On a side note - did you know that Hal Holbrook used to spend most of his time impersonating Mark Twain? He’s the master of the one-man show.

Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”; Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”; Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”; Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”; Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton.”

Wouldn’t it be funny if Cate won both awards? Can’t you just picture her second acceptance speech?

Director: Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”; Jason Reitman, “Juno”; Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood.”