For a second, the film industry seemed to be getting ready for what looked like the beginning of a new era for Latinos and cinema. Unfortunately, the so-called boom lasted less than expected, without even reaching its climax. Now lose the long face, there’s always next year.  Unlike 2007, this year’s Academy Awards seem to lack the excitement that takes over the whole industry- blame it on the ever decreasing economy, the lack of original ideas, or why not, on the writer’s strike. Either way it’s worth giving it a shot by staying tuned on February 24. 

Back in 2007, the Oscars spotlight was brightly shinning on its Latino nominees, and even though the list was not that long, it was big enough to put Latinos on the map and inspire some more.  For the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, the Latino head count seems to have gone back to its usual amount. Representing all the Latinos out there you will find Javier Bardem from Spain, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his superb role in “No Country For Old Men”; also from Spain, Alberto Iglesias, nominated for Original Score for his work on “The Kite Runner”; and last  but not least the Colombian Documentary (Short Subect) “La Corona (The Crown)”. 

Who do you think will win?  Send us your list of who you’ll think will win each category and the person with the highest number of correct guesses will receive a very special Al Borde prize- either a $100 movie theatre gift certificate or the 80th Annual Academy Awards Poster. E-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or send your list to 1127 Goodrich Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90022 Attn. Rafael Acero.  To be eligible you must submit your entry by February 20.     

Following you will find the full list of nominees for the 2008 Academy Awards.

BEST PICTURE
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Brad Bird, Ratatouille
Diablo Cody, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Sarah Polley, Away From Her

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

BEST ART DIRECTION
American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Assassination of Jesse James…
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Across the Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie en Rose
Sweeney Todd

BEST DOCUMENTARY
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari’s Mother

BEST EDITING
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Beaufort (Israel)
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Katyn (Poland)
Mongol (Kazakhstan)
12 (Russia)

BEST MAKEUP
La Vie en Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Atonement
The Kite Runner
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
''Falling Slowly,'' Once
''Happy Working Song,'' Enchanted
''Raise It Up,'' August Rush
''So Close,'' Enchanted
''That's How You Know,'' Enchanted

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Transformers

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)
Peter & the Wolf

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
At Night
Il Supplente (The Substitute)
Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman