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'happy hunky-licking new year 2008'
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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.
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
"Dreamgirls," a golden globe winner out of the race, the best picture
competition is even more up for grabs.
but front-runners in all four acting categories nabbed
nominations 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"
finalist jennifer hudson as soulful singers in "dreamgirls."