Capote joins the BP race

Just when you think Spielberg is dead...they pull him back in. The DGA nods are out and here they are:

George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck.)
Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
Paul Haggis (Crash)
Bennett Miller (Capote)
Steven Spielberg (Munich)

I only went 3 for 5 here, picking Woody and Cronenberg instead of Haggis and Miller. So now this - along with the SAG noms (which are listed at the end of this entry) - puts Munich right back in. The DGA is usually only 3 or 4 for 5 with Oscar Director nods, but they have been 5 for 5 with corresponding BP picks - for three straight years.

BP looks like (and I'll make this "official" on Sunday when I update my Oscar Page) Brokeback Mountain (duh), GN&GL (duh again), Crash (which I had predicted to make a year-end comeback), Capote (kind of a surprise, but it could be this year's Ray, instead of Walk the Line), and then that damned fifth spot, which looks as if it will be a fight between Munich and Walk the Line. Otherwise, all other films may be officially dead now, with the dark horse possibilty of The Constant Gardener.

As for Director - Clooney and Lee are the only two I am calling sure things, although Spielberg and Haggis probably should be too, but I am still thinking Cronenberg and Allen will sneak in (wishful thinking??), but I am hoping for Wong Kar-wai and Michael Haneke as well, but we know that ain't happening (except for my upcoming Cinematheque Awards).

I'll blather on about this tomorrow, but I am really tired right now (just got back from NY), so I'll put it to rest now. Oh yeah, the Sag noms !!?? Here they are:

Best Ensemble
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Hustle & Flow

Actor:
Russell Crowe, Cinderella Man
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck

Actress:
Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
Ziyi Zhang, Memoirs of a Geisha

Supporting Actor:
Don Cheadle, Crash
George Clooney, Syriana
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain

Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDromand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback

I like surprises, and Cheadle and Hustle & Flow fulfilled that for me, but it is also a shock that Terrence Howard was snubbed from either actor category.