The nominees for the 75th Annual Academy Awards have been announced and, as usual, there were some surprises.

In nominating Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" for Best Picture, the academy has given recognition to a film that, in parts, is even more powerful then "Schindler's List." Polanski also received a nomination for Best Director, his first since 1980. However, due to his legal problems revolving around an incident at Jack Nicholson's house with an underage girl, it's doubtful he will show up to accept his award, should he win. Speaking of Nicholson, he earned his 12th nomination for his work in "About Schmidt." That makes him the most nominated actor in Oscar history. And Meryl Streep, nominated for her supporting work in "Adaptation," became the most nominated performer with her 13th nomination.

Not surprisingly, "Chicago" leads the pack with 13 nominations. The only two surprise nominations to me on this film are the inclusion of John C. Reilly as a supporting actor nominee and the passing over of Richard Gere as a best actor choice. While Reilly is most deserving of his nomination, I thought he would cancel himself out because he did excellent work this year in two other Best Picture nominees, "Gangs of New York" and "The Hours." Gere, who delivered his best performance since "An Officer and a Gentleman," was snubbed in favor of academy favorite Michael Caine for his work in the little seen "The Quiet American."

Julianne Moore joins the ranks of Al Pacino, Sigourney Weaver and Jessica Lange in receiving nominations in both the lead and supporting actress categories. As in most years, the best director nominees went along with the picture nominees. The surprise this year was the nomination of famed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar for his film, "Talk to Her." Almodovar took the spot that seemed to be a lock for Peter Jackson, whose "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" received a Best Picture nomination.

I am pleased to see a nomination for "Bowling for Columbine" in the documentary feature category, as well as Eminem's "Lose Yourself" from the film "8 Mile" in the original song category. The academy has been known to ignore documentaries that have a successful run, among them "Roger and Me" and "The Thin Blue Line." And the music academy has snubbed original work from The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Prince, Neil Diamond and others in the past, failing to recognize the importance of the songs to their films.

With the awards scheduled to be announced March 23, the next month will give you ample time to catch a nominated film or performance you may have missed. And if you can, try to get to Vegas! Academy president Frank Pierson promised that the final award will be given out before midnight EST. I'm putting my money on 12:17 am!

Readers: the following list of Oscar contenders arrived Monday---in plenty of time to head off the Academy, but I had nowhere to put it at the time. Trust me, Mike really gets this close every year! Even tho the official list is out now, and Mike will comment on it, check out some of his list he sent Monday....---Nolan

Hello, gang! Oscar nominations are 4 hours away. Here are my choices if I had a vote. Again, I always preface this by saying that some films have not played Kansas City yet, or I haven't made it out to see them. So, if Michael Caine gets nominated for "The Quiet American," good for him. He's a great actor. However, I haven't seen the movie so he isn't making my list. On that note, here we go:

BEST ACTOR	BEST ACTRESS
Adrien Brody - "The Pianist" Nicholas Cage - "Adaptation" Daniel Day Lewis - "Gangs of New York" Richard Gere - "Chicago" Jack Nicholson - "About Schmidt" Wild card: Dennis Quaid - "The Rookie"	Nicole Kidman - "The Hours" Diane Lane - "Unfaithful" Julianne Moore - "Far From Heaven" Salma Hayek - "Frida" Renee Zellweger - "Chicago" Wild card: Meryl Streep - "The Hours"
Though I'm wary of his fellow actors recognizing him, Richard Gere gave his best performance since "An Officer and a Gentleman" in "Chicago." And Quaid brought former Tampa Bay Devil Ray pitcher Jim Morris to life with his portrayal in "The Rookie." Neither Gere nor Quaid have ever been nominated. For the women, unless something changes between now and the end of March, I've already given Renne Zellweger the Oscar for "Chicago." Should Streep be nominated, it would be her record 13th nomination.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR	BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Chris Cooper - "Adaptation" Ed Harris - "The Hours" Paul Newman - "Road to Perdition" Dennis Quaid - "Far From Heaven" Alfred Molina - "Frida" Wild card: Christopher Walken - "Catch Me If You Can"	Kathy Bates - "About Schmidt" Queen Latifah - "Chicago" Julianne Moore - "The Hours" Meryl Streep - "Adaptation" Catherine Zeta Jones - "Chicago" Wild card: Patricia Clarkson - "The Hours"
While I earlier championed Michael Constantine for his great work as the father in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," I think the movie became too successful, thereby costing him votes. I look for the Academy to throw it a bone in the guise of a screenplay nod. And, while I can't see it happening, I would love to see Andy Serkis, the actor who portrayed Gollum in "Two Towers" to get a nod. I really loved Molina in "Frida," and I hope he's recognized for his work. Though she has her name above the title, I think Zeta-Jones has a much better chance for a nomination in this category, though the Golden Globe people did nominate her as a lead actress.
BEST DIRECTOR	BEST PICTURE
Stephen Daldry - "The Hours" Peter Jackson - "LOTR - The Two Towers" Rob Marshall - "Chicago" Roman Polanski - "The Pianist" Martin Scorsese - "Gangs of New York" Wild card: Todd Haynes - "Far From Heaven"	THE HOURS LOTR: THE TWO TOWERS CHICAGO THE PIANIST GANGS OF NEW YORK Wild card: MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING
Polanski hasn't been nominated since 1980. Of course, with the LA police still waiting to arrest him once he steps on US soil, I don't look for him to attend the main event. However, he has certainly earned a nomination. I really think the Academy will give the Oscar to Peter Jackson next year as a combined award for his work on the "LOTR" trilogy. The only other director nominated for all three parts of a trilogy is Francis Ford Coppola for the three "Godfather" films. And "Greek Wedding" may be this years "Full Monty" and sneak in a nomination. Whether it gets one or not, this $5 million movie, which went on to gross more then $210 million was certainly one of the best films of the past year. Winners will be announced Sunday, March 23. I will comment on my choices and who the Academy chose later this week.