Dec 8, 2006–The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has announced the fifty-six songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures being considered in the Original Song category for the 79th Academy Awards. It's no surprise that “Dreamgirls,” based on the hit 1981 Broadway musical, leads with 3 songs, but what'is surprising is including “O Kazakhstan” from “Borat.”

Dec 7, 2006–Documentaries rife during wartime
Nearly a third of the 15 docus short-listed for an Oscar nominations are centered on Iraq, such as: “The Ground Truth,” “Iraq in Fragments,” “My Country, My Country” and “War Tapes.”

Dec 1, 2006–Under his new deal at Paramount, Martin Scorsese will develop with an eye to direct the bigscreen adaptation of Eric Jager's historical tome “The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal and Trial by Combat in Medieval France.”

Nov 15, 2006–The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 15 films in the Documentary Feature category that will advance in the voting process for the 79th Academy Awards. Field has been narrowed down from 81 eligible docs. The films are “Blindsight,” “Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore,” “Deliver Us From Evil,” “The Ground Truth,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Iraq in Fragments,” “Jesus Camp,” “Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple,” “My Country, My Country,” “Shut Up & Sing,” “Sisters in Law,” “Storm of Emotions,” “The Trials of Darryl Hunt,” “An Unreasonable Man” and “The War Tapes.”

Sep 26, 2006–Once a season known for its Oscar contenders, fall has become home to young genre fare as studios push horror and comedies.
“DOA: Dead or Alive” is part of a glut of male-oriented horror films competing in the fall. New Line's “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” is part of the expansion of the horror film season leading up to Halloween.