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'It's all about timing'18/02/2008
The sun has come out again for this year's Oscar ceremony after a very real cloud of doubt had long hung over the annual awards, in the form of the writers' strike.
The Academy had always maintained it would be business as usual, and had an elaborate 'plan B', but thankfully the Writers Guild resolved to end the strike which had still threatened to dampen the event at LA's Kodak Theatre on February 24.
So the stars will have no excuses not to shine on the red carpet - especially those who have been nominated for an Oscar this year.
At just 13, Saoirse Ronan is the youngest nominee and responsible for getting British flick Atonement one of its seven Oscar nominations - for Best Supporting Actress.
But there were surprisingly no nods for its director Joe Wright or main stars Keira Knightley or James McAvoy, fumes Empire magazine's associate editor Ian Nathan.
"Joe Wright not getting a nomination is the biggest shock, because how can you get Best Picture and not nominate the director? It's his interpretation of the book," says Ian.
Keira, James and Joe aside, Ian feels the nominations comprise a "strong" line-up with the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis competing against Johnny Depp and George Clooney for Best Actor and Golden Globe winner Julie Christie fighting it out with Cate Blanchett and relative newcomer Ellen Page for Best Actress.
Bafta winner Daniel Day-Lewis is Ian's pick for the Best Actor gong for his role as an oil baron in There Will Be Blood.
"No other performance has been that big. Daniel Day-Lewis owns that movie and he's so opposite to what he's like in real life," says Ian.
Whereas Best Actress is a harder one to call.
"Julie Christie is the frontrunner, but a lot of people are now talking about Ellen Page with Juno, because it did so well - that one's open," he adds.
Juno sits beside Atonement, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men in the Best Picture category - as the token indie choice in this year's line-up (like Little Miss Sunshine last year).
"It's a new phenomenon," admits Ian. "These quirky films that show the Academy's in touch with the youth of today, like when Sixth Sense got a load of nominations."
Ian says he wasn't surprised to see recent successes like American Gangster left off the list.
"It lost out because films like Michael Clayton and Juno gained momentum," he explains. "It's about timing, can you be the fashionable film? American Gangster and The Assassination Of Jesse James, to an extent, lost momentum. There are always these victims."
But don't expect There Will Be Blood to take the Best Picture gong, says Ian.
"The film is astonishing, but it's quite a trial and hard to watch in many ways. It's not a comfortable film. I wonder whether Atonement might actually win - it's much sweeter in tone."
As for Best Director, Ian says it is surely the Coen brothers' turn to shine.
"They are now in their 50s and they have got such a body of work - it's about time they were recognised."
© 2008 The Press Association Limited
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 25: Actress Amber Tamblyn arrives at the 2007 Vanity Fair Oscar... 
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