Los Angeles - The movies There Will Be Blood, Atonement, No Country For Old Men, Juno and Michael Clayton were nominated Tuesday as the candidates for the best picture Oscar. The acclaimed modern Western crime thriller No Country For Old Men picked up eight nominations including a best director nod and best screenplay nod for its creators Joel and Ethan Coen, while There Will Be Blood, a turn of the century oil-baron epic, also earned eight nominations earned nominations for best director, best screenplay and best actor for Daniel Day Lewis.
Atonement, the British war drama picked up seven nominations, as did the legal thriller Michael Clayton which snagged nominations for best screenplay, best supporting actress (Tilda Swinton), best supporting actor Tom Wilkinson and a best actor nod for Clooney himself.
One of the big surprises of the night was the success of Juno, an independent comedy about a pregnant teenager which in addition to its best pic nod was also nominated for a best actress award for Canadian newcomer Ellen Page. Write Diablo Cody, a former stripper was nominated for a best original screenplay award.
The announcement of the nominations came as Hollywood struggles to deal with a 12 week writers strike that forced the cancellation of the Golden Globes ceremony two weeks ago and also threatens the Academy Awards show set for February 24.
