As everyone awaits tomorrow’s Academy Awards, Josanne Cassar takes a look at this year’s contenders and finds some interesting trivia about the making of each film

According to its official website www.oscars.org, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organisation comprising over 6,000 motion picture artists and craftsmen.

Members represent 14 branches: actors, art directors, cinematographers, directors, documentary, executives, film editors, music, producers, public relations, short films and feature animation, sound, visual effects, and writers. Studios, independent distributors and publicists have to ensure that each of the voting members sees their film: this implies special screenings for Academy members, free admission to commercial runs of a film and the mailing of video cassettes and DVDs.

All voting for Academy Awards is conducted by secret ballot and tabulated by the international auditing firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Secrecy is maintained by the auditors and the results of balloting are not revealed until the now-famous envelopes are opened on stage during the live television program. Because the Academy includes among its members the ablest artists and craftsmen in the motion picture world, the Oscar represents the best achievements of the year in the opinion of those who themselves reside at the top of their craft. This explains why when receiving an Oscar, so many winners pay tribute to having their work recognized and appreciated “by their peers”.

This year’s nominees are…

Brokeback Mountain is about a forbidden and secretive relationship between two cowboys and their lives over the years.

Nominated for eight Oscars: best picture (producers Diana Ossana/James Schamus), best adapted screenplay (Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx), best director (Ang Lee), best actor (Heath Ledger), best supporting actor (Jake Gyllenhaal) best supporting actress (Michelle Williams) best cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto) and best original score (Gustavo Santaolalla).

It has already won 49 awards including numerous critics’ awards, BAFTAs, Golden Globes, SAG awards, and the Venice Film Festival.

Trivia: Director Ang Lee who, after Sense and Sensibility, swore that he would never again work with sheep, found himself directing this movie about two young men who meet while herding sheep. The director struggled continually with the sheep during the shoot. Sheep don’t drink from running water, but instead, only from ponds and dams. Ang in fact spent an entire day working on a shot wherein the sheep would drink from a stream, but the sheep wouldn’t oblige and thus he had to give up on the shot. Furthermore, American sheep carry a bacteria/virus that Canadian sheep don’t possess. The film’s scene where two herds of sheep become mixed up had some nightmarish real-life parallels, as the Canadian government had expressly warned the producers of the possible dire consequences if they caused any disease to spread to the local animals from the south-of-the-border variety.

Capote tells the real-life story of writer Truman Capote who, during his research for his book “In Cold Blood”, an account of the murder of a Kansas family, develops a close relationship with Perry Smith, one of the killers.

Nominated for five Oscars: best picture (producers Caroline Baron/William Vince/Michael Ohoven), best-adapted screenplay (Dan Futterman based on the book by Gerald Clarke), best director (Bennett Miller) best actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and best supporting actress (Catherine Keener).

Trivia: Philip Seymour Hoffman, who lost 40 pounds for this film, has openly acknowledged that with this film, he was handed the “role of his career”. Up until now he has been mostly known as a character actor playing secondary roles in such films as Along Came Polly, Cold Mountain, The Talented Mr Ripley and Magnolia.

Munich: The world was watching in 1972 as 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich Olympics. This is the story of what happened next.

Nominated for five Oscars: best picture (Steven Spielberg/Kathleen Kennedy/Barry Mendel), best adapted screenplay (Tony Kushner and Eric Roth based on a book by George Jonas), best director (Steven Spielberg), best editing (Michael Kahn) and best original score (John Williams).

Trivia: A crew truck imported from Germany and laden with heavy equipment, mysteriously caught fire during shooting in Malta, sparking fears of a possible terrorist attack. Local police attributed the fire to generators overheating due to the heat of the Maltese summer. Tony Kushner first declined to co-write the screenplay because he felt that it was too controversial and complicated to be his first screenplay for a feature film.

Crash: Several characters of different racial backgrounds collide in one incident. The different stereotypes society has created for those backgrounds affect their judgment, beliefs and actions.

Nominated for six Oscars: best picture (Paul Haggis/Cathy Schulman), best original screenplay (Paul Haggis/Robert Moresco), best director (Paul Haggis), best original song (In the Deep by Kathleen York), best actor in a supporting role (Matt Dillon) and best editing (Hughes Winborne).

Trivia: One of the things that inspired the movie was that Paul Haggis was carjacked himself. Sandra Bullock was so committed to appearing in this film, that she bought her own plane ticket to fly to the set. Arnold Schwarzenegger makes an appearance in the film not as an actor, but as the Governor of California: his photo in a frame hangs on the wall of Lt. Dixon’s office.

Good Night, and Good Luck: The story of how Broadcast journalist Edward Murrow tried to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Nominated for six Oscars: best picture (Grant Heslov), best original screenplay (George Clooney and Grant Heslov), best director (George Clooney) best actor (David Strathairn), best cinematography (Robert Elswit) and best art direction (James D. Bissell/Jan Pascale).

Trivia: Director/star George Clooney said that they opted to use archive footage of Joseph McCarthy instead of using an actor to portray the senator. Clooney said that when the movie had undergone test screenings, audience members felt that the McCarthy character was overacting a bit, not realising that it was the actual McCarthy through archive footage.

During the actual footage of McClellan questioning McCarthy, a very young Bobby Kennedy can be seen when the camera pans to the right.

The Constant Gardener: A widower is determined to get to the bottom of a potentially explosive secret involving his wife’s murder, big business, and corporate corruption.

Nominated for four Oscars: best adapted screenplay (Jeffrey Caine based on the novel by John Le Carré), best supporting actress (Rachel Weisz) best editing (Claire Simpson) and best original score (Alberto Igelsias).

Trivia: The novel was originally banned in Kenya because it depicts corrupt Kenyan officials. The scene in the slum where Rachel Weisz (Tessa) walks through and numerous children ask her “How are you?” and she responds “I’m fine, how are you?” was unscripted. The children are not extras: instead, they are children who actually live in Kibera. After filming, the Constant Gardener Trust was set-up to help the inhabitants of the slums near Nairobi where the crew had been filming.

A History of Violence: A bloody self-defence incident involving a mild mannered man brings his hidden past back to haunt him and his family.

Nominated for two Oscars: best adapted screenplay (Josh Olson based on a graphic novel by John Wagner) and best supporting actor (William Hurt).

Trivia: The scene in the restaurant where Tom foils the robbery was cut to some extent. The original cut had the younger shooter being shot more than seven times and the older shooter being shot in the head twice. It was cut, not because of the rating certificate, but because of director David Cronenberg himself. Cronenberg thought the scene was way too much and thought it glorified violence, which he was against.

Syriana: A politically charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved and affected by it.

Nominated for two Oscars: best director (Stephen Gaghan) and best supporting actor (George Clooney).

Trivia: George Clooney gained 35 pounds on a pasta-heavy diet to play CIA operative Robert Barnes. However, the actor refused to shave his head for fear of the hair not growing back. Due to the weight he gained for the film, he suffered a spinal injury during a stunt that caused him severe migraine headaches and had him bedridden for a month. This injury was eventually corrected with surgery, and Clooney has since called his weight gain “pretty stupid”.

Match Point: At a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for a femme fatale who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.

Nominated for one Oscar for best original screenplay (Woody Allen).

Trivia: This is Woody Allen’s first film to be shot entirely in Britain and is his longest film to date. Kate Winslet was originally cast in this film as Nola Rice, but backed out in order to spend more time with her family. Since this was filmed in England, Woody Allen had to have a certain percentage of English cast and crew. Apparently he reached his quota before casting Winslet and after she dropped out, Woody Allen cast American actress Scarlett Johansson.

The Squid and the Whale: Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents’ divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980’s

Nominated for one Oscar: best original screenplay (Noah Baumbach).

Trivia: Laura Linney was given the script by Eric Stoltz in 2000 while they were filming The House of Mirth: she agreed to do it immediately. The title refers to a prized display of a giant squid fighting a whale at the American Museum of Natural History, which appears in the final shot of the film.

Other nominations include:

Hustle & Flow: Terrence Howard (who also appeared in Crash) was nominated for best actor in his role as a pimp who wants to become a rapper. The movie has also been nominated for best song (It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp by Jordan Houston/Cedric Coleman/Paul Beauregard).

Walk the Line: Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon have been nominated for best actor and best actress respectively for their portrayals of country music legend Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter. The film has also been nominated for best editing, best costume design and best sound editing.

Transamerica: Felicity Huffman – better known as Lynette from Desperate Housewives – has been nominated for best actress in this story of a man who, just before he has a sex change operation, finds out that he has a son and goes looking for him. The film has also been nominated for best song (Travelin’ Thru by Dolly Parton).

North Country: Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand have been nominated for best actress and best supporting actress respectively for their roles in this film about the very first sexual harassment case filed in the US by a woman who endured abuse while working as a miner.

Cinderella Man: Paul Giamatti was nominated for best supporting actor in his role as boxer Jim Braddock’s manager who stands by Braddock through wins, defeats and the poverty of the Great Depression. This film is also nominated for best editing and best make-up.

Mrs Henderson Presents: Judi Dench has been nominated for best actress in her role as an eccentric, mischievous widow who opens the first all-nude theatrical musicals. The film has also been nominated for best costume design.

Pride & Prejudice: Keira Knightley has been nominated as best actress for her role as the strong-willed Elizabeth Bennet in this adaptation of the Jane Austen classic.

Junebug: Amy Adams has been nominated for best supporting actress in her role as a young expectant mother trapped in a lonely marriage.

Memoirs of a Geisha: best cinematography, best art direction, best costume design, best original score, best sound, best sound editing.

The New World: best cinematography.

Batman Begins: best cinematography.