The César / Oscar Crossovers

The Académie des César (aka the French version of our Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences -affectionality known as AMPAS i.e. the Oscars) announced their nominations yesterday for 2007 films. And the winner is... (likely to be) La Vie En Rose which led all the films with a rather impressive 11 nominations. That's more than any of the American pictures got in their parallel "best of year" race. Other Oscar nominees in the French César race include The Diving Bell and Butterfly (7 nominations but still no recognition for Max Von Sydow --my interview -- damn!) and Persepolis (6 nominations)

Best Picture
La Graine et le Mulet -directed by Abdellatif Kechiche
The Diving Bell and Butterfly -directed by Julian Schnabel
La Vie En Rose directed by Olivier Dahan
Persépolis directed by Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Un Secret directed by Claude Miller

Best Actress
This is not Marion Cotillard's first run @ the César. It's her fourth nomination. She previously won Best Supporting Actress for her work in A Very Long Engagement (starring Amelie Audrey Tatou) but it seems impossible that she'll lose for her Edith Piaf imitation. There's no Julie Christie juggernaut in the mix to stop her. Her competitors are Isabelle Carré (Anna M), Cécile de France (Un Secret), Marina Foïs (Darling), and Catherine Frot (Odette Toulemonde). The Césars are award in Paris on February 22nd so Marion is going to be travelling a lot that week if she wants to sit in the Kodak too for the Best Actress nail biter... that is if the Oscars roll on without a picket line.

Best Actor
Mathieu Amalric, who couldn't generate any Best Actor Oscar traction for his warm but limited work (hey, he can only blink his eye! it's not a judgment) in The Diving Bell and Butterfly is up for Best Actor across the pond. His competition includes Michel Blanch (Les Témains), Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Dialogue avec mon Jardinier), Vincent Lindon (Ceux qui Restent) and Jean-Pierre Marielle (Faut que ça Danse!)

and just for fun, here are the "breakthrough" nominees (or something equivalent I suppose) -- the French stars of tomorrow?

From left to right: Nicolas Cazalé, Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet, Johan Libéreau,
Jocelyn Quivrin, Laurent Stocker, Louise Blachere, Adele Haenel, Audrey Dana,
Hafsia Herzi and Clotilde Hesme (these images aren't necessarily from the
films they're nominated for --and French readers can let me know
if I made an error in a face with a name)

How about we hear from some of our European readers? Have these 10 actors truly "arrived" this year. Which do you think have international careers ahead of them?