Morning Briefing:
And the nominees are ...: The Oscar nominations are in, and the list is a mixture of the expected -- eight nominations for "Brokeback Mountain," including best picture and nods to Ang Lee and Heath Ledger -- with some real surprises: Terrence Howard for best actor, "Paradise Now" for best foreign film, no best picture for "Walk the Line," and William Hurt and Amy Adams for supporting roles. And go George Clooney, with four nominations! Here are the nominees in the big categories:
Best Film:
"Brokeback Mountain"
"Capote"
"Crash"
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"Munich"
Actress:
Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"
Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"
Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"
Charlize Theron, "North Country"
Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"
Actor:
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"
Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"
David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Supporting Actor:
George Clooney, "Syriana"
Matt Dillon, "Crash"
Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain"
William Hurt, "A History of Violence"
Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams, "Junebug"
Catherine Keener, "Capote"
Frances McDormand, "North Country"
Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener"
Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain"
Director:
Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"
Bennett Miller, "Capote"
Paul Haggis, "Crash"
George Clooney, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Steven Spielberg, "Munich"
Get a complete list of the nominees here. (Associated Press)
No Oscars for Cruise, but three Razzies: Coming out just ahead of the Oscar nominee announcement, the Razzie Awards for the worst in Hollywood gave three nods to Oscar-less Tom Cruise: one worst-actor nomination (for "War of the Worlds") and two nominations for the newly created most tiresome tabloid target category (for "Tom Cruise & His Anti-Psychiatry Rant" as well as "Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Oprah Winfrey's Couch, The Eiffel Tower & 'Tom's Baby'"). Other big winners (losers?) include "Son of the Mask," which had a total of eight nominations, including worst actor (Jamie Kennedy) and worst supporting actors (Alan Cumming and Bob Hoskins), and Jenny McCarthy, who got three nominations -- worst actress, screenplay and screen couple -- for her hand in "Dirty Love." (Guardian, Razzies.com)
The senator from Kansas responds: Kansas Republican Sen. (and presidential hopeful) Sam Brownback, who is pushing a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, is apologizing for calling gay Swedes "fruits" during a recent interview. Rolling Stone writer Jeff Sharlet recorded the following exchange in a profile on Brownback called "God's Senator":
"You look at the social impact of the countries that have engaged in homosexual marriage." He shakes his head in sorrow, thinking of Sweden, which Christian conservatives believe has been made by "social engineering" into an outer ring of hell. "You'll know 'em by their fruits," Brownback says. He pauses, and an awkward silence fills the room. He was citing scripture -- Matthew 7:16 -- but he just called gay Swedes "fruits."
Brownback now says the quote was misinterpreted. "While this biblical passage was pertinent to our overall conversation about faith and deeds, it apparently led the writer to believe I was making a joke," said Brownback. "I was not and would never do so with such a personal and sensitive issue." (N.Y. Daily News, Rolling Stone)
Also:
Teri Hatcher has quashed the rumors about her and George Clooney with a simple e-mail (hence the lack of capital letters) to gossip columnist Ted Casablanca: "i am not dating george clooney." (The Awful Truth) ... Fox 411's Roger Friedman, in a long rant against "Chapter 27," the movie about Mark David Chapman's murder of John Lennon -- starring Jared Leto and currently being filmed in New York -- calls the movie "a new 'Springtime for Hitler.'" (Fox 411) ... The Gallery of the Absurd brings you a new concept in cross-promotional marketing: Cheetos Britney ... Andrew Lloyd Webber is planning to revive his musical "Evita" this summer in London's West End. (BBC) ... Wendy Wasserstein, the playwright who penned the Broadway hits "The Heidi Chronicles" and "The Sisters Rosensweig," died in New York at age 55. On Tuesday, Broadway theaters will dim their lights in her honor. (Associated Press)
Money Quote:
Director John Waters on what he thinks the real reason behind Hollywood's box office slump is: "I'd say it's because the American public would rather stay home and eat fattening food, and they can't go two hours in a movie theater without eating. Maybe it's the quality of the food, not the quality of the movies. The movies are good. Maybe if the theaters had more fatty food on hand." (Lowdown)
Turn on:
The big show of the night is President Bush's fifth State of the Union address (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS, CNN, 9 p.m. EST), and later in the evening, it will no doubt be the main focus of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EST).
-- Scott Lamb
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