"No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," and "Atonement" all received nominations for Best Picture this morning, as the Academy Award nominations were announced in Beverly Hills. "No Country" and "There Will Be Blood" are the front runners with eight noms apiece, including a Best Actor nod for perennial Oscar fav Daniel Day-Lewis, and directing nominations for the Coen Bros. and Paul Thomas Anderson. While Javier Bardem was recognized with a Best Supporting nom for his work in "No Country," neither Tommy Lee Jones nor Josh Brolin were nominated for the film (although Jones is in the running for a Best Actor award for his work in "In the Valley of Elah" -- did anybody actually see that?).

Cate Blanchett scored two more nominations to add to her already ridiculously long list of honors, a Best Actress nod for her work in the otherwise mediocre "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," as well as the expected Best Supporting Actress recognition for her work as Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There." She'll be going up against indie darling Ellen Page ("Juno" got the "Little Miss Sunshine" treatment this year, raking in a bucketful of noms), as well as Julie Christie for "Away From Her," Laura Linney in "The Savages," and newcomer Marion Cotillard for "La Vie en Rose."

A surprising absence in the top categories was Ridley Scott's epic and compelling "American Gangster" -- perhaps the strong showing of "Michael Clayton" (gotta add that one to my list) knocked Scott's picture out of the running. Call it the Clooney effect!

A complete list of the nominations is here at the AMPAS website. Oscar planners are still hoping for a big, sparkly, glittery night of bombast and spectacle, but the writer strikes continue to cast a dark shadow on the Hollywood awards season.

Who will you be rooting for? P.T. Anderson or the Coens? And who do you think was snubbed? Ridley Scott? Sean Penn for "Into the Wild"? Let us know!