A hush fell over the crowd at the Oscar nominations this morning when it became increasingly clear that “Dreamgirls” was being shut out from the Best Director and Best Picture categories. With “Dreamgirls” out of contention, the new leading contenders for best picture are “Letters from Iwo Jima” and “The Departed.” “Letters from Iwo Jima” picked up three nominations and “The Departed” earned four nominations.

With the exception of the “Dreamgirls” predictions, Oscar Frenzy did well this morning. In the acting categories, we only missed two nominations — Mark Wahlberg for best supporting actor and Ryan Gosling for best actor.

Here are the nominations announced this morning:

Best Picture
Babel
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Best Animated Feature Film
Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Best Foreign Film
After the Wedding
Days of Glory
The Lives of Others
Pay’s Labyrinth
Water

Adapted Screenplay
Borat
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes on a Scandel

Original Screenplay
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Queen

Best Director
Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, “Babel”
Martin Scorsese, “The Departed”
Clint Eastwood, “Letters from Iwo Jima”
Stephen Frears, “The Queen”
Paul Greengrass, “United 93″

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Blood Diamond”
Ryan Gosling, “Half-Nelson”
Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland”
Peter O’ Toole, “Venus”
Will Smith, “The Pursuit of Happyness”

Best Actress
Kate Winslet, “Little Children”
Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”
Penelope Cruz, “Volver”
Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada”
Helen Mirren, “The Queen”

Supporting Actor
Mark Wahlberg, “The Departed”
Jackie Earle Haley, “Little Children”
Alan Arkin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
Eddie Murphy, “Dreamgirls”
Djimon Hounsou, “Blood Diamond”

Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, “Notes on a Scandal”
Adrianna Barrazza, “Babel”
Rinko Kinkuchi, “Babel”
Abigail Breslin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”

Wisegal psp