NBR: Naturally Bizarre Recognition

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Variety Reports - LETTERS OF IWO JIMA BEST FILM!

Best Film: LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Best Director: MARTIN SCORSESE, The Departed
Best Actor: FOREST WHITAKER, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress: HELEN MIRREN, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor: DJIMON HOUNSOU, Blood Diamond
Best Supporting Actress: CATHERINE O'HARA, For Your Consideration
Best Foreign Film: VOLVER
Best Documentary: AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Best Animated Feature: CARS
Best Ensemble Cast: THE DEPARTED
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: RYAN GOSLING, Half Nelson
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: (2)
JENNIFER HUDSON, Dreamgirls and RINKO KIKUCHI, Babel

Best Directorial Debut: JASON REITMAN, Thank You for Smoking
Best Original Screenplay: ZACH HELM, Stranger Than Fiction
Best Adapted Screenplay: RON NYSWANER, The Painted Veil


The top 10 from the National Board of Review:

"Letters From Iwo Jima"
"Babel"
"Blood Diamond"
"The Departed"
"The Devil Wears Prada"
"Flags Of Our Fathers"
"The History Boys"
"Little Miss Sunshine"
"Notes on a Scandal"
"The Painted Veil"


Um....wow. No Dreamgirls, no 9/11 films, no Little Children, no The Queen. I was on the edge of including Letters from Iwo Jima for the win, but I wasn't sure if the film was seen enough. The Devil Wears Prada and Blood Diamond get some pretty big boosts here, but I can't imagine that they would be put into the final five.

Djimon Hounsou and Catherine O'Hara get HUGE kudos here and their performances are now back on the market. The Painted Veil and Stranger Than Fiction grab some screenplay noms that are somewhat expected, but still surprising.

Forest Whitaker gets a renewal of the buzz that had long since faded, and is now reentering the frontrunner battle with Peter O'Toole.

This is very very interesting now.