Gas up the yellow VW bus. "Little Miss Sunshine" is going to the Academy Awards and Grandpa and Olive are in the back seat, with supporting Oscar nominations.

Chris Pizzello, AP Photo Actress Penelope Cruz talks to Shaun Robinson, left, of "Access Hollywood," this morning about her best actress nomination for her work in the film "Volver." Click photo for larger image. Related articles Oscar factoids -- best enjoyed with light salt and butter List of 79th annual Academy Award nominations Here's what they said after being selected An AP interactive video on the nominations. Listen In: Hear PG movie editor Barbara Vancheri weigh in on this morning's Oscar nominations (interviewed by the PG's Peter King): "Dreamgirls" "Little Miss Sunshine," "Letters From Iwo Jima," Penelope Cruz in "Volver" Films and performances Vancheri feels the Oscar voters underrated or overrated

Ten-year-old Abigail Breslin, who plays an unlikely beauty pageant contestant, was the only nominee who had to go to school after hearing she will be strolling the red carpet Feb. 25 at the 79th Academy Awards. Her character's scream, in the most frequently shown clip from the film, was clearly heard 'round the world.

"Little Miss Sunshine" was, as many expected, nominated for Best Picture yesterday, but "Dreamgirls" was not, despite scoring the most nominations with eight, including a pair for newcomer Jennifer Hudson and veteran Eddie Murphy. Director Bill Condon was snubbed and three of the eight nominations were for original song, not exactly a sign of overwhelming Oscar love. "Chicago" aside, musicals may be an even tougher sell than comedies.

In addition to "Little Miss Sunshine" with its four nominations, the movies competing for Best Picture: "Babel" (seven nominations), "The Queen" (six), "The Departed" (five) and "Letters from Iwo Jima" (four).

The husband-and-wife directing team of "Little Miss Sunshine" were not nominated, with "United 93" director Paul Greengrass appearing to take their slot. Other directing nominees: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for "Babel," Martin Scorsese for "The Departed," Clint Eastwood for "Letters from Iwo Jima" and Stephen Frears for "The Queen."

The sixth time could prove to be the charm for sentimental favorite Scorsese, who was nominated but failed to win for "Raging Bull," "The Last Temptation of Christ," "GoodFellas," "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator." He also has two writing nominations but, again, no wins.

After learning Swahili, writing and memorizing a 45-second Oscar speech should be a breeze. That is the task facing Best Actor nominee Forest Whitaker in the next month.

Whitaker, who studied tapes of Idi Amin and learned the Ugandan dictator's first language of Swahili for "The Last King of Scotland," is competing along with Peter O'Toole as an aging actor in "Venus," Will Smith as a homeless dad in "The Pursuit of Happyness," Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-mercenary in "Blood Diamond" and Ryan Gosling as a crack-addicted teacher in "Half Nelson."

Although Whitaker is the early favorite, no one is counting out O'Toole, who is looking for a bookend to his Honorary Oscar from March 2003. This marks his eighth Oscar nomination, with his first for his signature role in "Lawrence of Arabia."

		PG Reviews Read Post-Gazette critics' features and reviews of the best picture nominees when the movies were released in Pittsburgh: LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA Movie review BABEL Movie review Barbara Vancheri's interview with the director LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Movie review Vancheri interview with the directors, a husband and wife team THE DEPARTED Movie review A look at the Scorsese-DiCaprio collaboration Wall Street Journal story about Scorsese's Oscar odyssey THE QUEEN Movie review

Sacha Baron Cohen failed to talk, in broken English or otherwise, his way into the acting race but he and three collaborators are nominated for the adapted screenplay of "Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Somewhere, the censors are exercising their trigger fingers.

On the leading actress side, Meryl Streep broke her own record by scoring her 14th nomination for "The Devil Wears Prada" (two more than Jack Nicholson and Katharine Hepburn, tied at 12 each).

Streep is facing off against odds-on favorite Helen Mirren for "The Queen," Penelope Cruz as a woman grappling with ghosts in "Volver," Kate Winslet as an adulterous suburban mother in "Little Children" and Judi Dench as a manipulative spinster in "Notes on a Scandal."

At 31, Winslet became the youngest performer to receive five acting nominations. The previous record holder was Olivia de Havilland, who was 33 when she managed the same feat for "The Heiress."

Should Cruz pull off an upset, it wouldn't be the first time a performer has won for a role in a foreign language. Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro (for "The Godfather Part II"), Roberto Benigni and Benicio Del Toro set that precedent.

In the supporting actress race, Breslin and Hudson are joined by Cate Blanchett as a teacher having an affair with a 15-year-old student in "Notes on a Scandal" and Adriana Barraza as a Mexican nanny and Rinko Kikuchi as a deaf Japanese teen in the globe-trotting "Babel."

In addition to Alan Arkin (Grandpa in "Little Miss Sunshine") and Murphy, the supporting actor race includes former child star Jackie Earle Haley as a sex offender in "Little Children," Djimon Hounsou as a fisherman forced into the blood diamond market and Mark Wahlberg as a Boston cop in "The Departed."

Wahlberg emerged from an all-star cast that also included DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson.

As the countdown to the Oscars, being hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, begins in earnest, some other tidbits to contemplate:

Numbers game: "Dreamgirls" led with eight, "Babel" with seven, "The Queen" and "Pan's Labyrinth," six each; "Blood Diamond" and "The Departed," five apiece; "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Notes on a Scandal" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," four each.

0-for-2: In another year, Damon might have been a lock as a nominee, for either "The Departed" or "The Good Shepherd." To research his "Departed" role as a criminal masquerading as a cop, Damon pulled on a bullet-proof vest and tagged along with the police on a crackhouse bust.

Better luck next time: Other notables whose names had been floated but failed to convert the buzz: Catherine O'Hara, as an actress whose indie role becomes the subject of Oscar talk in "For Your Consideration"; Annette Bening, who delivered an excellent performance in the otherwise excruciating "Running With Scissors"; Beyonce Knowles as the Diana Ross surrogate in Dreamgirls"; Adam Beach, heartbreaking as Marine Ira Hayes in "Flags of Our Fathers"; and Brad Pitt in "Babel," as an American whose wife is accidentally shot in Morocco.

And then there were 3: In a year of a dozen and a half animated movies, three will compete for the top prize, although it's a two-picture race between "Happy Feet" and "Cars," with "Monster House" bringing up the rear.

World history: If "Letters from Iwo Jima" is named Best Picture, it would be the first foreign-language movie to win in that category. Previous nominees: "Grand Illusion," "Z," "The Emigrants," "Cries and Whispers," "The Postman (Il Postino)," "Life Is Beautiful" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Recent history: October, not December, was the biggest release month for Best Picture nominees. "Little Miss Sunshine" hit theaters July 26, while "The Departed" and "The Queen" landed Oct. 6, "Babel" on Oct. 27 and "Letters From Iwo Jima," Dec. 20, although just last week in Pittsburgh.

First-timers: Last year, 14 of the acting nominees were first-timers. This year, 10 are. The other 10 share a total of 49 nominations and three (Streep, Dench and Blanchett) are previous winners. Dench is the only performer who was also nominated last year, for "Mrs. Henderson Presents."

Return engagement: It's been 38 years since Arkin was last nominated ("The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" in 1968 and "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" in 1966). That is not a record for performers. He ties Jack Palance but falls behind Helen Hayes, who waited 39 years, and Henry Fonda, 41 years.

9/11? Not yet: Critics couldn't find enough superlatives to describe "United 93" when it was released but many acknowledged it would be a hard sell, although it did land nominations for director and film editing. Not even Oliver Stone on his best behavior with "World Trade Center" could swing a single nomination.

Sign of SAG: The acting races are almost a mirror image of the Screen Actor Guild Awards, except that the union nominated DiCaprio for "The Departed" and the Academy went for Wahlberg for the same picture. Those awards will be handed out on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Show him no money: Gosling reportedly worked for scale in "Half Nelson." The script originally was written for a 35-year-old, the trade paper Variety reported, but was recast to suit Gosling, who turned 26 in November.

Dust off the tuxedo: Will Al Gore arrive at the Kodak Theatre in a Prius? "An Inconvenient Truth," which features Gore warning the world about global warming, was nominated for Best Documentary and aides say he plans to attend the ceremony in Hollywood.

"The film ... has brought awareness of the climate crisis to people in the United States and all over the world," Gore said in an e-mail statement to the Associated Press. "I am so grateful to the entire team and pleased that the Academy has recognized their work. This film proves that movies really can make a difference."

Venus, calling Vegas: O'Toole , 0-for-7 in Best Actor races, has said in recent talk-show rounds that, in 1968, he believed the Vegas oddsmakers who understandably picked him to win for "The Lion in Winter." But the gold went to Cliff Robertson for "Charly" instead.

O'Toole's previous nominations: "Lawrence of Arabia," "Becket," "The Lion in Winter," "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," "The Ruling Class," "The Stunt Man" and "My Favorite Year." His Honorary Oscar was awarded for his remarkable talents which have "provided cinema history with some of its most memorable characters."

If O'Toole wins, he would join Henry Fonda and Paul Newman as actors who won the first competitive Oscars after getting Honorary Awards.