"I’m very happy for Martin Scorsese. He’s been overlooked too long." —Leonardo DiCaprio, best-actor nominee for "Blood Diamond" and co-star of Scorsese’s "The Departed."
"It is one of the hardest roles to play, not just a living person but one who is part of our everyday lives in Britain. … I hope that my performance has conveyed a sense of Elizabeth the woman as well as the queen." —Helen Mirren, in a statement on her best-actress bid for "The Queen."
"I’m in frighteningly good company. It is very nice of the queen to allow me in for a minute." —Judi Dench, best-actress nominee for "Notes on a Scandal," with a nod to Helen Mirren, in a statement from London.
"Without a doubt, receiving this nomination will stand out as one of the highlights of my career." —Eddie Murphy, supporting-actor nominee for "Dreamgirls."
"I am going to be screaming and whooping all day long. I really thought I wasn’t going to get a nomination. I am really going to try to enjoy this moment. I’m speechless." —Kate Winslet, best-actress nominee for "Little Children."
"Any time someone says you have an opportunity to work with Martin Scorsese you jump at the chance." —Mark Wahlberg, supporting-actor nominee for "The Departed."
"On a professional level, what’s really wonderful about it is to be part of a film that dealt with these difficult and painful and contentious events." — Paul Greengrass, best-director nominee for "United 93," speaking on BBC television.
"For years he’s been in the wilderness on global warming. Now he’s ready for his grand walk. Now he’s at the Academy Awards. It’s a hero’s return." — Davis Guggenheim, director of Al Gore’s "Inconvenient Truth," a documentary feature nominee.
"The biggest effect it’s having on little kids is they all want to go to tap-dancing lessons." — George Miller (news, bio, voting record), director of animated feature nominee "Happy Feet."
"If each one of them got nominated on their own, that would be great, but the fact that they all did … that’s just too much for one little girl this early in the morning." —Salma Hayek, nominations announcer, on a slew of bids for Hispanics, including friendsPenelope Cruz ("Volver") and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ("Babel").
"I still can’t believe that I was one of the cast members. I was nominated because of the energy and teamwork from every one of the talented people involved in the film." — Rinko Kikuchi, supporting actress nominee for "Babel."
"After tossing and turning all night my wife came running in … she was just screaming and crying and said, `You got it!’" — Jackie Earle Haley, supporting-actor nominee for "Little Children."
"I think the Academy responded to the movie on an emotional level." — Jon Kilik, a producer of best-picture nominee "Babel."
"If you get put in a list with those guys you’ve done pretty well." —Stephen Frears, director of "The Queen," talking to BBC television about fellow best-director nominees Clint Eastwood ("Letters From Iwo Jima") and Martin Scorsese ("The Departed").
I am now going out to buy a new dress." — Susanne Bier, director of Denmark’s foreign-language nominee "After the Wedding," talking to Copenhagen’s TV2 News.
"It’s sort of like asking who your favorite child is. We’re thrilled for both the films, the filmmakers." — Jonathan Sehring, president of IFC Entertainment, which distributed two foreign-language nominees, "After the Wedding" and "Days of Glory."
Via news.yahoo.com
Tags: oscars