The boxing saga "Million Dollar Baby" has scored 7 nominations at the Academy Awards, including best picture and acting nominations for Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Hilary Swank (above) and Johnny Depp.
The Howard Hughes epic "The Aviator" led Academy Awards contenders with 11 nominations Tuesday, including best picture among them, plus acting honors for Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett and Alan Alda and a directing nod for Martin Scorsese.
Prediction: BEST Picture often means BIG, Epic sweeping Picture with voters. They go for heroic epics like "Gladiator," "A Beautiful Mind," "Schindler's List," "Braveheart," "Titanic" and "The Last Emperor." Hence, The Aviator could join these films, but don't be surprised if Academy voters split the Best Picture/Best Director combo and give the Oscar to Eastwood, instead of Scorsese.
There were several surprises in the announcements. Some of the more notable:
Paul Giamatti, a favorite for Best Actor with most critics, surprisingly did not get a nod for "Sideways."
"The Passion" scored a couple of smaller nods for Best Music Score and Best Makeup, while the year's other controversial film, Fahrenheit 9/11 got zip.
Clint Eastwood is nominated for Best Actor in "Million Dollar Baby" - which hasn't been talked about before this.
Read the full Nominee List at academyawards.com
