And the Oscar nominees are ... a bit on the dark side
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The films leading the race tended to be long on grandeur and bleak in outlook. Is it a reflection of America's mood?
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Hollywood had a wide-open horse  race on Tuesday as Oscar nominations pitted two hard-hitting  dramas by veteran directors Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood  against the charm of films about wine drinking, Peter Pan and  Ray Charles.
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Even two-time Oscar winners like  Kevin Spacey sometimes need a career makeover.
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Members of Hollywood's union for filmmakers had an interesting range of choices for their top prize this year.
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âFalling Slowly,â a song from âOnce,â is ruled eligible for this yearâs Oscar for best song.
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LOS ANGELES  - With the holidays just  one week away, everyone in Hollywood is about to shut down for  a fortnight -- everyone in Hollywood, that is, except for those  awards season campaigners whose job it is to fret about Oscar  nominations, since nominations ballots will be mailed Dec. 27.
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Beware films with protagonists depicted as vastly more sensitive than their fellow characters. The result may be a crock like âCashback.â
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With nearly six months until Hollywood's biggest party, everyone already is thinking about the Academy Awards. Not many will admit that the thought of winning an Oscar crosses their mind, though.
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The Oscar race appears to be off to a slow start this year as many early hopefuls have met only limited success at film festivals and in wide release, leaving award watchers hoping the best films are yet to come.
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The nominations for the 77th Academy Awards are just six weeks away, and critics are buzzing about Alexander Payneâs film, Sideways.
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At least one Oscar nominee is still doing her own dirty work.
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Some are unusual but compelling, while others are rather gruesome.
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Reactions to the announcement of this year's Oscar nominees:
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Its Oscar time folks! It is that time of the year whereby millions of ÂdirectorialÂ hearts broken to make one heart happy.
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It may be hard out there for a pimp, but for a group of   Oscar-winning rappers, life's not too bad.
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It's awards season in Hollywood,  with all red carpets leading to the Oscars. But winning that  prestigious award can sometimes lead to nothing more than bad  roles and even oblivion.
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LOS ANGELES  - If you wanted to take a few swipes at Sunday night's Oscar ceremony, it wouldn't be that hard.