This morning (Jan 31), shortly after 5:30am PST, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and his co-host, Oscar®-winner Mira Sorvino, took to the podium to announce ten of the 24 categories for this year's Academy Awards.

Many of those nominated were expected to receive the nods, but the Academy membership still threw a few surprises into the mix.

Unlike recent years, no one film received double-digit nominations, but Brokeback Mountain leads this year's pack with a grand total of eight nominations. Among them, the film received a Best Picture nod, as did director Ang Lee, and the principal actors -- Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams. The film is considered a front-runner in the Best Picture category, having swept through many of the other awards that have been given out this season, with the acception of this week's SAG Awards. If it does win, it will be the first film in the history of the category to take top honors with explicit homosexual themes.

This year also happens to be a good one for George Clooney, who received three nominations today. He got a nod in the Best Supporting Actor category for his work on the political drama Syriana, as well as best director and co-writer for his Edward R. Murrow biopic Good Night, and Good Luck.

Each of the acting categories had a nominee who surprised me, mostly because they have been mostly overlooked by the other industry awards given out this season. In the Best Actor category, Terrence Howard of Hustle & Flow received a slot, one that many thought might go to Russell Crowe for his work on the biopic Cinderella Man. In the Best Actress category, Keira Knightley's name drew a surprised gasp from those in attendance at the event. At the young age of 20, she is being recognized for her work in Pride & Prejudice. William Hurt is a dark horse nominee in the Best Supporting Actor category, for his work on A History of Violence. Even more surprising is that his role as a mobster only appears briefly near the end of the film. And in the Best Supporting Actress category, Amy Adams got a nod for her work in the film Junebug, which was only shown in limited release last summer.

I was a bit shocked with the nominees for Best Animated Film, as there wasn't a single Disney or Pixar title in the bunch. The three films actually making the final cut were more all ages-orientated fare: Howl’s Moving Castle, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

The other surprising shut-out in this year's nominations, for me, was the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line, which didn't make the Best Picture cut, though both leads (Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon) received nods.

This week's edition of Newsweek has an insightful roundtable-style interview with the five men up for Best Director honors -- Bennett Miller (Capote), Steven Spielberg (Munich), George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck), Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) and Paul Haggis (Crash). The quintet discuss their films, the Oscars and the state of movies, in general. You can read most of it online at msnbc.msn.com.

Now that the nominations have been released, official screenings of all pictures with a nomination will begin this weekend for members of the Academy. The Academy's entire active and life membership is eligible to select the winners in all categories.

The winners will be announced March 5, 2006, during a live ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA. The show will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 5pm PST/8pm EST.

For more on the Oscars or the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, please visit oscars.org.

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