“Brokeback” leads Oscars with 8 nominations

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Brokeback Mountain,” about a pair
of cowboys who fall in love, earned a leading eight Oscar
nominations on Tuesday, including best picture, best director
and best actor for star Heath Ledger.

Race relations drama “Crash,” and “Good Night, and Good
Luck,” actor/director George Clooney’s look at newsman Edward
R. Murrow’s attack on McCarthyism in the 1950s, each had six
nominations and landed in the category for best film.

“Memoirs of a Geisha,” also had six Academy Award
nominations, but failed to be nominated for best movie.

Other best film nominees included “Capote,” about author
Truman Capote reporting for his novel “In Cold Blood,” with
five nominations overall, and director Steven Spielberg’s
“Munich,” about the aftermath of the killings of Israeli
athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, which also had five
nominations.

In the category for best actor, Ledger, who portrays a
lovelorn cowboy in “Brokeback,” was joined by Philip Seymour
Hoffman as the lead character in “Capote,” Terrence Howard as a
pimp in “Hustle & Flow,” Joaquin Phoenix for his role as singer
Johnny Cash in romance “Walk the Line” and David Strathairn as
Murrow in “Good Night.”

Best actress nominees were Judi Dench playing a theater
owner in World War II-era “Mrs. Henderson Presents,” Felicity
Huffman as a transgendered character in “Transamerica,” Keira
Knightley for romance “Pride & Prejudice,” Charlize Theron in
sexual harassment drama “North Country” and Reese Witherspoon
playing singer June Carter in “Walk the Line.”

Supporting actor nominations went to Clooney in “Syriana,”
Matt Dillon in “Crash,” Paul Giamatti in “Cinderella Man,” Jake
Gyllenhaal in “Brokeback Mountain” and William Hurt for “A
History of Violence.”

Supporting actress nominees were Amy Adams in “Junebug,”
Catherine Keener in “Capote,” Frances McDormand in “North
Country,” Rachel Weisz in “The Constant Gardener” and Michelle
Williams for “Brokeback Mountain.”

The Oscars, which are given out by the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, are world cinema’s top prize. They
will be handed out on March 5 in Los Angeles.