BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN LEADS OSCAR NOMINATIONS

Gay cowboy movie BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is leading the nominations for the 78th annual Academy Awards with eight nods, including Best Director for ANG LEE and acting accolades for HEATH LEDGER, JAKE GYLLENHAAL and MICHELLE WILLIAMS.

Brokeback Mountain is set to fight CAPOTE, CRASH, MUNICH and GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK in the Best Motion Picture category.

Australian Ledger is up against PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN in Capote, TERRENCE HOWARD in HUSTLE + FLOW, JOAQUIN PHOENIX in WALK THE LINE and DAVID STRATHAIRN in Good Night, And Good Luck for the Actor In A Leading Role Oscar.

Golden Globe-winners FELICITY HUFFMAN (TRANSAMERICA) and REESE WITHERSPOON (WALK THE LINE) are nominated alongside CHARLIZE THERON for NORTH COUNTRY and Brits DAME JUDI DENCH and KEIRA KNIGHTLEY for MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE respectively, for Actress In A Leading Role.

Following Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, And Good Luck has garnered six nods, including Best Director for GEORGE CLOONEY, who is up against BENNETT MILLER for Capote, PAUL HAGGIS for Crash, Lee for Brokeback Mountain and STEVEN SPIELBERG for MUNICH. Clooney is also up for Best Supporting Actor for SYRIANA, as well as Best Original Screenplay with Good Night, And Good Luck co-writer GRANT HESLOV.

In the supporting category, Clooney is named alongside Gyllenhaal for Brokeback Mountain, PAUL GIAMATTI for CINDERELLA MAN, MATT DILLON for Crash and WILLIAM HURT for A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, while Brokeback Mountain star Williams is up against AMY ADAMS in JUNEBUG, CATHERINE KEENER in Capote, FRANCES McDORMAND in North Country and RACHEL WEISZ in THE CONSTANT GARDENER.

Like Good Night, And Good Luck, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA is up for six awards, mainly in technical categories, including Best Original Score.

Meanwhile, Capote, Munich and Walk The Line have all received five nods, but surprisingly the JOHNNY CASH biopic isn't up for Best Motion Picture.

The winners will be announced at the Oscars on 5 March (06) at Hollywood's Kodak Theater.

The full list of nominees for the 78th Annual Academy Awards is as follows:

Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role:

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN - CAPOTE

TERRENCE HOWARD - HUSTLE + FLOW

HEATH LEDGER - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

JOAQUIN PHOENIX - WALK THE LINE

DAVID STRATHAIRN - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK

Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role:

GEORGE CLOONEY - SYRIANA

MATT DILLON - CRASH

PAUL GIAMATTI - CINDERELLA MAN

JAKE GYLLENHAAL - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

WILLIAM HURT - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role:

JUDI DENCH - MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS

FELICITY HUFFMAN - TRANSAMERICA

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY - PRIDE + PREJUDICE

CHARLIZE THERON - NORTH COUNTRY

REESE WITHERSPOON - WALK THE LINE

Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role:

AMY ADAMS - JUNEBUG

CATHERINE KEENER - CAPOTE

FRANCES McDORMAND - NORTH COUNTRY

RACHEL WEISZ - THE CONSTANT GARDENER

MICHELLE WILLIAMS - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Best Animated Feature Film Of The Year:

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE

CORPSE BRIDE

WALLACE + GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

Achievement In Art Direction:

JIM BISSELL and JAN PASCALE - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK

STUART CRAIG and STEPHENIE McMILLAN - HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

GRANT MAJOR, DAN HENNAH and SIMON BRIGHT - KING KONG

JOHN MYHRE and GRETCHEN RAU - MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

SARAH GREENWOOD and KATIE SPENCER - PRIDE + PREJUDICE

Achievement In Cinematography:

WALLY PFISTER - BATMAN BEGINS

RODRIGO PRIETO - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

ROBERT ELSWIT - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK

DION BEEBE - MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

EMMANUEL LUBEZKI - THE NEW WORLD

Achievement In Costume Design:

GABRIELLA PESCUCCI - CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

COLLEEN ATWOOD - MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

SANDY POWELL - MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS

JACQUELINE DURRAN - PRIDE + PREJUDICE

ARIANNE PHILLIPS - WALK THE LINE

Achievement In Directing:

ANG LEE - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

BENNETT MILLER - CAPOTE

PAUL HAGGIS - CRASH

GEORGE CLOONEY - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK

STEVEN SPIELBERG - MUNICH

Best Documentary Feature:

HUBERT SAUPER - DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE

ALEX GIBNEY and JASON KLIOT - ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM

LUC JACQUET AND YVES DARONDEAU - MARCH OF THE PENGUINS

HENRY-ALEX RUBIN and DANA ADAM SHAPIRO - MURDERBALL

MARSHALL CURRY - STREET FIGHT

Best Documentary Short Subject:

DAN KRAUSS - THE DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER: CASUALTY OF THE BANG BANG CLUB

KIMBERLEE ACQUARO and STACY SHERMAN - GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA

STEVEN OKAZAKI - THE MUSHROOM CLUB

CORINNE MARRINAN and ERIC SIMONSON - A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN

Achievement In Film Editing:

MIKE HILL and DAN HANLEY - CINDERELLA MAN

CLAIRE SIMPSON - THE CONSTANT GARDENER

HUGHES WINBORNE - CRASH

MICHAEL KAHN - MUNICH

MICHAEL McCUSKER - WALK THE LINE

Best Foreign Language Film Of The Year:

ISAAC H EATON - DON'T TELL (Italy) CHRISTIAN CARION - JOYEUX NOEL (France) HANY ABU-ASSAD - PARADISE NOW (Palestine) MARC ROTHEMUND - SOPHIE SCHOLL - THE FINAL DAYS (Germany)

GAVIN HOOD - TSOTSI