MUMBAI: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) in the US has announced the nominees for the 80th edition of the Oscar Awards. The ceremony is scheduled to take place next month and will air on Star Movies.

The Coen Brothers' No Country For Old Men and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood lead with eight nominations each. The former fuses three storylines including the lust for easy money and a vengeful serial killer who kills as per the toss of a coin. Bardem is the favourite to win for suppotring actor.

There is just one light comedy in the best picture lineup. That is Juno with Ellen Page in a star-making turn as a teenager who becomes pregnant. Instead of having an abortion, she decides to keep the baby and give it up for adoption.

Anderson's film meanwhile looks at the search for oil in America at the turn of the century. Hollywood is besides itself with admiration for Daniel Day Lewis' powerhouse turn as an oil prospector who lets greed blind him morally which eventually leads to his downfall.

Also competing for best film is the moral drama Michael Clayton. Its three actors George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson have all been nominated. The story focuses on a potentially crippling lawsuit. Wilkinson threatens to spill the beans on his company. Clooney is sent in to keep him quiet. However, after listening to what their client has been doing, he thinks that maybe the best way forward is to not silence Wilkinson's character.

The fifth nominee for best picture is the British period movie Atonement. Interestingly, the one great serious film that made money at the box office American Gangster has been sidelined. In the main categories, it has bagged just one nomination for Ruby Dee who has less than five minutes of screen time.