The musical "Dreamgirls" led Academy Awards contenders Tuesday with eight nominations, but surprisingly was shut out in the best-picture category after being considered a potential front-runner.
The sweeping ensemble drama "Babel" was close behind with seven, including best picture and acting honors for two newcomers to U.S. audiences, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi, but no nomination for star Brad Pitt.
Other best-picture nominees were Martin Scorsese's bloody crime saga "The Departed," Clint Eastwood's World War II spectacle "Letters From Iwo Jima," the road-trip comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" and the monarchy-in-crisis chronicle "The Queen."
Going into nominations day, the best-picture competition looked unusually wide open, with no consensus on a favorite.
With Golden Globe musical winner "Dreamgirls" now out of the running, the race could come down to Golden Globe drama winner "Babel" and "The Departed," though "The Queen" could be a dark-horse contender as well.
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But front-runners in all four acting categories nabbed nods and seem poised to come home with Oscars on Feb. 25: Helen Mirren for best actress, as British monarch Elizabeth II in "The Queen"; Forest Whitaker for best actor, as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland"; and Eddie Murphy and former "American Idol" semifinalist Jennifer Hudson, as soulful singers in "Dreamgirls."
Oscar attention is a new experience for Murphy, whose fast-talking persona has brought him devoted audiences but little awards acclaim in his 25-year career. For Hudson, the nomination caps a speedy rise to stardom with her first film role, just two years after making her name on "American Idol."
The best-actress category featured a 14th nomination for two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, padding her record as the most-nominated actor or actress ever, this time as a demonic boss in "The Devil Wears Prada."
Joining Mirren and Streep as best-actress nominees were Penélope Cruz, as a woman dealing with bizarre domestic crises in "Volver"; Judi Dench, as a scheming teacher in "Notes on a Scandal"; and Kate Winslet, as a woman in an affair with a neighbor in "Little Children."
Other best-actor nominees were Leonardo DiCaprio, as a mercenary hunting a rare gem in "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling, as a teacher with a drug addiction in "Half Nelson"; oft-nominated Peter O'Toole, as a lecherous old actor in "Venus"; and Will Smith, as a homeless dad in "The Pursuit of Happyness."
O'Toole would become the actor with the most losses if his eighth Oscar bid proves unsuccessful. Scorsese is tied with four other directors for the Oscar-futility record of five nominations and five losses.
Prim Oscar voters maintained their track record of ignoring over-the-top comic performances, snubbing Sacha Baron Cohen for his Golden Globe-winning role in the raucous "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."
The comedy front did bring supporting nominations for Alan Arkin, as a foul-mouthed grandfather, and 10-year-old Abigail Breslin, as a girl obsessed with beauty pageants, in "Little Miss Sunshine," though the film's three key performers, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carell, were overlooked.
The supporting-actor category also includes Mark Wahlberg, as a caustic cop in "The Departed," but not the legendary Jack Nicholson in the same movie.
While Murphy and Hudson made it into the supporting categories, "Dreamgirls" lead players Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé Knowles and director Bill Condon were left out.
Three of the eight nominations for "Dreamgirls" came in a single category — for original song.
The year's top-grossing movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," grabbed four nominations in technical categories, including visual effects.
Eastwood continued his late-career surge and Oscar magic with four nominations for the Japanese-language "Letters," including original screenplay. His World War II companion film "Flags of Our Fathers" also had two technical nominations, including sound editing, in which it will compete against "Letters."
Also in the sound-editing category is Mel Gibson's violent tale of the Mayan civilization, "Apocalypto," which had three nods.
See an interactive graphic with video clips from the major Oscar nominees on StarNet: www.azstarnet.com/ multimedia.
