Depp fans everywhere rejoiced this morning when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 77th annual Academy Awards. FINDING NEVERLAND received a total of seven nominations, including the coveted nod for Best Picture! Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Scottish playwright J. M. Barrie was honored with a Best Actor nomination, marking the second year in a row Johnny has been nominated in this category; last year, he was nominated for his Captain Jack Sparrow in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. Bravo, Johnny! Other nominees for Best Actor include Don Cheadle for HOTEL RWANDA, Leonardo DiCaprio for THE AVIATOR, Clint Eastwood for MILLION DOLLAR BABY, and Jamie Foxx for RAY. Although Johnny’s FINDING NEVERLAND co-stars, Kate Winslet and Freddie Highmore, were edged out in the supporting categories, Kate did receive a Best Actress nomination for her performance in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. Congratulations, Kate!

Other nominations for FINDING NEVERLAND include David Magee for Best Adapted Screenplay; Jan A. P. Kaczmarek for Best Musical Score; Gemma Jackson for Best Art Direction; Alexandra Byrne and Mary Kelly for Best Costume Design; and Matt Chesse for Best Film Editing. Congratulations to all the nominees for their outstanding work in creating this beautiful film, and congratulations as well to director Marc Forster, whose vision and commitment brought FINDING NEVERLAND to the screen and made it a work of art. Although he was denied a Best Director nomination, the excellence of his work speaks for itself.

The Zone thanks Vivi Sparrow, Conny, MommaDeppLover, Tasuki, Susanne, alias4, DeepinDepp, and emma for Oscar news, and sjc for her beautiful Oscar nomination wallpaper. You can see sjc’s wallpaper HERE. For the full list of Oscar nominees in all categories, go HERE. To share in the Zone’s ongoing Oscar celebration, visit any of the Zone’s forums!

Emma reports that this year’s Governor’s Ball will have a nightclub theme; Chef Wolfgang Puck will be serving an entree of braised Colby beef and lobster in puff pastry with black truffles, accompanied by winter vegetables. Chef Puck will also be decorating 6,000 chocolate Oscars with 24-karat gold paint! While it’s very sweet for the chef to want each of his guests to go home with an Oscar, we can’t help wondering how one eats chocolate coated with gold . . . or whether Johnny will be too nervous to eat anything at all. Answers to these and all other burning questions will be ours on Oscar night, Sunday, February 27th!