And The Award For Boosting Minnesota's Self-Esteem Goes To . . .

At the risk of sounding like one of those insecure rubes who'll trumpet anything that comes out of Minnesota, congratulations are in order for Diablo Cody and Joel and Ethan Coen, who have scored Academy Award nominations for the films Juno and No Country For Old Men, in that order. They join Michael Clayton, Atonement and There Will Be Blood for Best Picture honors.

Juno, about a pregnant teenager who gives up her child for adoption, is also nominated for Best Actress (Ellen Page), Director (Jason Reitman) and Original Screenplay (Cody).

No Country For Old Men's seven other nominations (for a film involving a drug deal gone bad) include Javier Bardem for Supporting Actor, and the Coens for directing and for adapted screenplay (based on a Cormac McCarthy book).

Cody, as we have already noted in a previous post, has been getting more attention than what is considered normal for a screenwriter. Now she's becoming insufferable, babbling in Hollywood-speak about how 'awesome' and 'amazing' her colleagues are. Go listen to Colin Covert's interview with Cody on startribune.com (or any other media interview, for that matter), and you'll find yourself rolling your eyes. Maybe she should start writing again.

The Coens, on the other hand, have been around the block a few times, with films such as Fargo (for which Frances McDormand got a Best Actress Oscar), Blood Simple, The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Being that they're from St. Louis Park (a suburb of Minneapolis), their next movie involves the old Red Owl supermarket at Knollwood Plaza where they used to hang out.

As for the films' chances, the Academy has been giving its nod for Best Picture in recent years to heavy dramas such as Crash in 2005 and The Departed in 2006. Comedies such as Juno don't meet Oscar's emphasis on acting skills and social message, so No Country For Old Men and the other dramatic films have a good shot.

Now let's all see if there's actually going to be an Academy Awards ceremony. The Writers Guild strike has crippled Hollywood to the point where one awards show was scrapped and the other had to be pretaped. There is the hope that the Directors Guild's settlement with producers and networks might lead to an agreement with the WGA, thereby saving the Oscar telecast. Otherwise, all bets are off.

But then again, Minnesotans are used to being disappointed.