Modern-day Texas may be no country for old men -- unless the elder is an 80-year-old named Oscar. Then, he's as welcome as a pickup truck, a frosty beer and a scuffed pair of cowboy boots.

Ethan and Joel Coen's "No Country for Old Men" was nominated for eight Academy Awards yesterday, as was "There Will Be Blood," starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a hard-scrabble silver miner turned oilman who is slowly but surely poisoned by greed and hatred.

Those two movies are in contention for Best Picture with "Atonement," "Juno" and "Michael Clayton."

"Blood" director and writer Paul Thomas Anderson said yesterday he was delighted to be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"These nominations are a testament to the cast and crew, who I am deeply grateful to, for their talent and collaboration," he said in a statement. "It's a thrill to be in this."

Oscar's Class of 2007 is shaping up as a mix of sentimental favorites (Ruby Dee from "American Gangster," Hal Holbrook from "Into the Wild"), newcomers (Saoirse Ronan, Ellen Page) and players whose shelves already glisten with gold (Day-Lewis, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett).

Although "No Country" and "There Will Be Blood" top the list, "Atonement" and "Michael Clayton" each earned seven nominations and critical and commercial favorite "Ratatouille" cooked up five. Even the Spider-pig of "The Simpsons" couldn't swing the cartoon a slot, and Jerry Seinfeld's television clout meant nothing for "Bee Movie."

News of the nominations came amid the continuing turmoil of the writers' strike, which prompted the cancellation of the gala dinner for the Golden Globes. Producers of the Oscar telecast have vowed the show will go on Feb. 24, but picket lines or refusal to cross them would certainly cast a damper on Hollywood's glitziest night.

Viggo Mortensen, a nominee for his Russian mobster in "Eastern Promises," told the Associated Press his plans depend on the union.

"No, if there's a strike I will not go but I have a feeling they'll solve it. I hope they do. I'm sure my mom would like to see me on TV and so forth, but if there's a strike I'm not crossing the line," said Mortensen, headed to Pittsburgh next month to film "The Road."

As always, the pre-dawn announcement from Beverly Hills brought surprises of omissions and inclusions.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can cancel the baby sitter. Although he was a long shot for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," she was considered a sure thing for "A Mighty Heart." Her slot likely went to Laura Linney for "The Savages."

Denzel Washington, already a two-time winner, had a spectacular year in "American Gangster" and "The Great Debaters" but you wouldn't know it by Oscar's scorecard. He wasn't nominated and neither was co-star Russell Crowe, who was even better in "3:10 to Yuma" alongside an excellent Christian Bale. He, in turn, deserved attention for "Rescue Dawn," as did Steve Zahn.

Although much was written about audiences rejecting dramas about the Iraq war, Tommy Lee Jones overcame that jinx. He played the father of a murdered soldier in Paul Haggis' "In the Valley of Elah." Jones landed the spot that might have gone to Ryan Gosling for "Lars and the Real Girl" or to Emile Hirsch, who shed 40 pounds to play a free spirit whose dream of living in Alaska results in his tragic, premature death.

Hirsch wasn't the only one left off the list, with "Into the Wild" director-writer Sean Penn, composer Eddie Vedder and supporting actress Catherine Keener not making the cut, either.

Holbrook, 82, didn't neglect them in his reaction, however.

"I am grateful. Enormously grateful. Grateful to Sean Penn who gave me the role and directed this beautiful film, and grateful to Emile Hirsch -- we really should share this nomination because we worked together. And grateful that after all these years of acting, I got a shot at a recognition like this from the Academy. Miraculous."

As the countdown begins, some other Oscar talking points:

• Timing is everything -- No movie released before October made the cut for Best Picture. The "oldest" is "Michael Clayton," and the "newest" is "There Will Be Blood," which hit its first gusher Dec. 26 and made it to Pittsburgh five days ago. "Zodiac," released in March, was ancient history.

If you missed "Michael Clayton," it will return to theaters on Friday riding a wave of nominations for stars Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton, plus writer-director Tony Gilroy.

• Running the numbers -- Nine of the acting nominees are first-timers. The other 10 include six previous winners. Cate Blanchett double dips, accounting for the odd number of 19.

• Aliquippa connection -- Philip Seymour Hoffman has been nominated for playing Gust L. Avrakotos, an Aliquippa native and University of Pittsburgh graduate, in "Charlie Wilson's War." He's carrying the flag for the film, since co-stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts were not nominated.

• Take that, haters -- For reasons that remain unclear, "Atonement" has become the critics' favorite whipping boy. Some even predicted it wouldn't score a Best Picture nod.

It did. While its director was left in the cold, along with James McAvoy and Keira Knightley (shivering in that gorgeous emerald gown), it picked up nominations for young Saoirse Ronan, writer Christopher Hampton who adapted the Ian McEwan novel, plus art direction, cinematography, costume design and original score.

• United female front -- Although it often seems women writers are as invisible as a superhero, four solo authors were nominated for original or adapted screenplay, a record. Women scripted "Juno," "Lars and the Real Girl," "The Savages" and "Away From Her."

• Double vision -- Blanchett's nomination for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" makes her the fifth performer and first woman nominated for playing the same role in two different films. She joins Bing Crosby as Father O'Malley, Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson, Peter O'Toole as Henry II and Al Pacino as (all together now) Michael Corleone.

Roger Deakins also scored two nominations for cinematography ("Assassination of Jesse James ... " and "No Country for Old Men"). He's the first since Robert Surtees' double play in 1971.

• Increasing the odds -- Blanchett's double nominations, for "Elizabeth" in the leading actress category and a Bob Dylan look-alike in "I'm Not There," marks the 11th time performers scored nominations in the leading and supporting categories in the same year. No one has won awards in both acting categories in the same year.

• Crossing the gender line -- Blanchett, a trivia fanatic's best friend, is the second performer nominated for playing a member of the opposite sex. Linda Hunt won for supporting actress for portraying a man in "The Year of Living Dangerously." ("The Crying Game" revealed the gender of the Jaye Davidson character.)

John Travolta might have made Oscar history had he been nominated for his light-footed laundress in "Hairspray," but Edna was sidelined with the rest of the cast.

• A for Afflecks -- Ben Affleck already has an Academy Award, shared with Matt Damon, for writing "Good Will Hunting." Now, his younger brother, Casey Affleck, is a nominee for "Assassination of Jesse James ..." and actress Amy Ryan is nominated for Ben's directing debut, "Gone Baby Gone." It's about the disappearance of a 4-year-old girl from working-class Dorchester.

• Foreign language class -- Marion Cotillard, who delivers a stunning performance in French as Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose," is hoping to join a select class of performers.

Four have won Academy Awards for roles using spoken languages other than English: Sophia Loren in "Two Women," Robert De Niro in "The Godfather, Part II," Roberto Benigni in "Life Is Beautiful," and Benicio Del Toro in "Traffic."

Marlee Matlin was honored for delivering a performance largely in American Sign Language in "Children of a Lesser God."

• In an alternate universe -- Or another year, Amy Adams might have faced an "Enchanted" night.

Instead, the story of the animated princess who crosses over to real life and Manhattan is competing only in the original song category. It grabbed three of the five slots, with "Happy Working Song," "So Close" and "That's How You Know." Filling out that category are "Falling Slowly" from "Once" and "Raise It Up" from "August Rush."

Others whose names were floated early on: Helena Bonham Carter for "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," Keri Russell for "Waitress," Josh Brolin for "No Country for Old Men" and Paul Dano for "There Will Be Blood."

• A tragic note -- The saddest news about the 80th Academy Awards came at almost 5 p.m. yesterday. The "In Memoriam" segment of the show had gained a new name, inexplicably, sadly, prematurely. Heath Ledger. He will be missed.