Though a comedy, and we know the Academy's long-held bias against the genre, “Stranger Than Fiction” deserves a serious look for Oscar considerations in the following categories:
Best Picture, Director (Marc Forster), Original Screenplay (Zach Helm), Actor (Will Ferrell), Actress (Emma Thompson), and others.

This season, Winslet shines (again) in Todd Field?¢¬Ä¬ôs ambitious and haunting anatomy of American suburbia ?¢¬Ä¬úLittle Children.?¢¬Ä With some luck, and savvy marketing from New Line, Winslet?¢¬Ä¬ôs brilliant interpretation of a tough, demanding role should earn her the fifth Oscar nomination and the third lead one.

It's hard to think of a better cast in any American movie this year than Scorsese's “The Departed.” Headed by Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson, the ensemble also includes Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Ray Winstone, and last but not least Vera Farmiga, the film's only female. The film is sure to receive a SAG nomination for Best Ensemble, but will it finally win Scorsese, a six-time Oscar loser, the elusive award

Nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, The Quiet Man won 2: Best Director for John Ford and Color Cinematography for Winston C. Hoch and Archie Stout.

As of September, Helen Mirren (“The Queen”), who just won the Venice Festival Award, and vet Peter O'Toole (“Venus”), a seven-time nominee, lead the 2006 Oscar race in the acting categories. If they're nominated–and win–they'll joing a long, illustrious list of British thespians, which began with George Arliss and Charles Laughton in the 1930s, and has continued to the present. Here is a look at strong years for British thespians in the Academy's history.