RAY CHARLES BIOPIC NOMINATED FOR SIX OSCARS

Receives Fourth-Most Nods, Behind Aviator, Finding Neverland and Million-Dollar Baby

Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator landed the most Academy Award nominations this morning, picking up an 11-nod payload that includes Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Achievement in Art Direction, Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Directing, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay and Achievement in Sound Mixing.

And Clint Eastwood’s Million-Dollar Baby and Johnny Depp-starrer Finding Neverland each received seven nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor/Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Achievement in Editing, blah blah blah...

But the real news for us in this here story about music-related Oscar nominations is the Ray Charles biopicumentary, Ray, which scored six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (the rapidly rising Jamie Foxx, also nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for Collateral), Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Directing, Best Film Editing and Achievement in Sound Mixing.

That’s the fourth-most Oscar nominations for a movie about a musician, and that’s pretty cool. Of course, we are talking about Ray-freaking-Charles. What’d he say?

Here are the rest of the music related Academy Award nominations. The Oscars will be handed out Feb. 27 from the fabulous Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and broadcast live on ABC.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Accidentally In Love"
Shrek 2
Music by Adam Duritz, Charles Gillingham, Jim Bogios, David Immergluck, Matthew Mallery and David Bryson; lyric by Adam Duritz and Daniel Vickrey

"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)"
The Chorus
Music by Bruno Coulais; lyric by Christophe Barratier

"Al Otro Lado Del Río"
The Motorcycle Diaries
Music and lyric by Jorge Drexler

"Learn To Be Lonely"
The Phantom of the Opera
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyric by Charles Hart

"Believe"
The Polar Express
Music and lyric by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri

BEST SCORE

Finding Neverland
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
John Williams

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Thomas Newman

The Passion of the Christ
John Debney

The Village
James Newton Howard