2007 Oscars 79th Academy Awards

2007 Oscars 79th Academy Awards

Winners Announced: February 25, 2007
Held at: Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, California
Host: Ellen DeGeneres
Eligibility Year: 2006

Oscar Trivia

  • Ellen DeGeneres hosting marked her first time leading the Oscars. Her casual banter and comedic approach added a unique vibe.
  • The Departed nabbed Best Picture and was a career milestone for Martin Scorsese. It was his first win for Best Director after many nominations, breaking his Oscar “curse.”
  • This year’s Oscars saw three African-American actors nominated for lead roles, a significant moment in Oscar history.
  • Environmentalism was a prominent theme, as the Academy promoted “green” practices for the event. They used eco-friendly materials for stage design and promoted carpooling among attendees.
  • The Best Foreign Language Film award went to The Lives of Others, beating the hot favorite, Pan’s Labyrinth, which won three other Oscars.
  • Will Smith, nominated for The Pursuit of Happyness, brought his son Jaden Smith as his plus-one, creating a memorable father-son moment.
  • An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s climate change documentary, won Best Documentary Feature, further spotlighting environmental issues.
  • The “Academy Award of Merit” is what the Oscar statue is officially called.

2007 Oscar Nominees and Winners

Best Picture:
The Departed – Graham King, producer (WINNER)
Babel – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, producers
Letters from Iwo Jima – Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, producers
Little Miss Sunshine – David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub, producers
The Queen – Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, producers
Best Director:
Martin Scorsese – The Departed (WINNER)
Alejandro González Iñárritu – Babel
Clint Eastwood – Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears – The Queen
Paul Greengrass – United 93
Best Actor:
Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland as Idi Amin (WINNER)
Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond as Danny Archer
Ryan Gosling – Half Nelson as Dan Dunne
Peter O’Toole – Venus as Maurice
Will Smith – The Pursuit of Happyness as Chris Gardner
Best Actress:
Helen Mirren – The Queen as Queen Elizabeth II (WINNER)
Penélope Cruz – Volver as Raimunda
Judi Dench – Notes on a Scandal as Barbara Covett
Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada as Miranda Priestly
Kate Winslet – Little Children as Sarah Pierce
Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin – Little Miss Sunshine as Edwin Hoover (WINNER)
Jackie Earle Haley – Little Children as Ronald James McGorvey
Djimon Hounsou – Blood Diamond as Solomon Vandy
Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls as James “Thunder” Early
Mark Wahlberg – The Departed as Staff Sergeant Dignam
Best Supporting Actress:
Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls as Effie White (WINNER)
Adriana Barraza – Babel as Amelia Hernandez
Cate Blanchett – Notes on a Scandal as Bathsheba “Sheba” Hart
Abigail Breslin – Little Miss Sunshine as Olive Hoover
Rinko Kikuchi – Babel as Chieko Wataya
Best Original Screenplay:
Little Miss Sunshine – Michael Arndt (WINNER)
Babel – Guillermo Arriaga
Letters from Iwo Jima – Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis
Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo del Toro
The Queen – Peter Morgan
Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Departed – William Monahan based on the film Infernal Affairs (WINNER)
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan – Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips based on characters created by Sacha Baron Cohen
Children of Men – Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby based on the book by P. D. James
Little Children – Todd Field and Tom Perrotta based on the novel by Tom Perrotta
Notes on a Scandal – Patrick Marber based on the book by Zoë Heller
Best Animated Feature Film:
Happy Feet – George Miller (WINNER)
Cars – John Lasseter
Monster House – Gil Kenan
Best Foreign Language Film:
The Lives of Others (Germany) in German – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (WINNER)
After the Wedding (Denmark) in Danish, Hindi, and Swedish – Susanne Bier
Days of Glory (Indigènes) (Algeria) in Arabic – Rachid Bouchareb
Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico) in Spanish – Guillermo del Toro
Water (Canada) in Hindi – Deepa Mehta
Best Documentary Feature:
An Inconvenient Truth – Davis Guggenheim (WINNER)
Deliver Us from Evil – Amy Berg and Frank Donner
Iraq in Fragments – James Longley and John Sinno
Jesus Camp – Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
My Country, My Country – Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer
Best Documentary Short Subject:
The Blood of Yingzhou District – Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon (WINNER)
Recycled Life – Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
Rehearsing a Dream – Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
Two Hands – Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr
Best Live Action Short Film:
West Bank Story – Ari Sandel (WINNER)
Binta and the Great Idea – Javier Fesser and Luis Manso
Éramos Pocos (One Too Many) – Borja Cobeaga
Helmer & Son – Søren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson
The Saviour – Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn
Best Animated Short Film:
The Danish Poet – Torill Kove (WINNER)
Lifted – Gary Rydstrom
The Little Matchgirl – Roger Allers and Don Hahn
Maestro – Géza M. Tóth
No Time for Nuts – Chris Renaud and Mike Thurmeier
Best Original Score:
Babel – Gustavo Santaolalla (WINNER)
The Good German – Thomas Newman
Notes on a Scandal – Philip Glass
Pan’s Labyrinth – Javier Navarrete
The Queen – Alexandre Desplat
Best Original Song:
“I Need to Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth – Music and Lyrics by Melissa Etheridge (WINNER)
“Listen” from Dreamgirls – Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler; Lyrics by Anne Preven
“Love You I Do” from Dreamgirls – Music by Henry Krieger; Lyrics by Siedah Garrett
“Our Town” from Cars – Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman
“Patience” from Dreamgirls – Music by Henry Krieger; Lyrics by Willie Reale
Best Sound Editing:
Letters from Iwo Jima – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman (WINNER)
Apocalypto – Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
Blood Diamond – Lon Bender
Flags of Our Fathers – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Christopher Boyes and George Watters II
Best Sound Mixing:
Dreamgirls – Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie D. Burton (WINNER)
Apocalypto – Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Cámara
Blood Diamond – Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock
Flags of Our Fathers – John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff
Best Art Direction:
Pan’s Labyrinth – Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta (WINNER)
Dreamgirls – Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
The Good Shepherd – Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall; Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau (posthumous nomination) and Leslie E. Rollins
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs; Set Decoration: Cheryl Carasik
The Prestige – Art Direction: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Julie Ochipinti
Best Cinematography:
Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo Navarro (WINNER)
The Black Dahlia – Vilmos Zsigmond
Children of Men – Emmanuel Lubezki
The Illusionist – Dick Pope
The Prestige – Wally Pfister
Best Makeup:
Pan’s Labyrinth – David Martí and Montse Ribé (WINNER)
Apocalypto – Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
Click – Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso
Best Costume Design:
Marie Antoinette – Milena Canonero (WINNER)
Curse of the Golden Flower – Yee Chung Man
The Devil Wears Prada – Patricia Field
Dreamgirls – Sharen Davis
The Queen – Consolata Boyle
Best Film Editing:
The Departed – Thelma Schoonmaker (WINNER)
Babel – Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione
Blood Diamond – Steven Rosenblum
Children of Men – Alfonso Cuarón and Álex Rodríguez
United 93 – Clare Douglas, Richard Pearson and Christopher Rouse
Best Visual Effects:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall (WINNER)
Poseidon – Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier
Superman Returns – Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum
Honorary Academy Award:
Ennio Morricone
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:
Sherry Lansing