Blue Ribbon Award nomination - KIMUTAKU is in this time.

Blue Ribbon Awards, selected by seven sports/entertainment newspapers in Tokyo, is considered one of the most prestigeous film awards in Japan, along with Mainichi Film Awards and Kinema Junpo Best 10, due to its long history and the tough selection process.  Blue Ribbon's 2006 nominations are announced in Tokyo, with "Hula Girls" and "What the Snow Brings" related people were nominated in multiple categories.  Takuya Kimura, the star of "Love and Honor", is in the nomination, but people are speculating if he will vow out again, as in Japan Academy.

Here are the nominees for the major categories.

• Best Movie (Japanese movie):  "Memories of Tomorrow", "Murder of the Inugami Clan", "Kamiya Etsuko no Seishun", "Kamome Diner", "Memories of Matsuko", "Suite Dreams", "Saga no Gabai Bachan", "The Letter", "DEATH NOTE", "Nada Soso", "Sinking of Japan", "A Hardest Night", "Professor and his Beloved Equation", "Honey and Clover", "HANA", "Love and Honor", "Hula Girls", "Machiaishitsu", "Brothers Mamiya", "What the Snow Brings", "Sway"
• Best Movie (Foreign movie):  "Letters from Iwo Jima", "King and the Clown", "Capote", "The Host", "Good Night and Good Luck", "Crash", "007 Casino Royale", "Da Vinci Code", "The Sun", "Riding Alone for Thousand Miles", "Flags of our Fathers", "Constant Gardener", "Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest", "Devil wears Prada", "Brokeback Mountain", "Hotel Ruwanda", "M:I:III", "The Wind That Shakes the Barley", "United 93", "World Trade Center"
• Best Actor:  Junichi Okada ("HANA", "Kisarazu Cats' Eye World Series"), Joe Odagiri ("Sway", "The Pavillion Salamandre"), Takuya Kimura ("Love and Honor"), Koichi Sato ("What the Snow Brings"), Ken Watanabe ("Memories of Tomorrow")
• Best Actress:  Yu Aoi ("Hula Girls", "Honey and Clover"), Satomi Kobayashi ("Kamome Diner"), Miki Nakatani ("Memories of Matsuko", "Christmas on July 24 Avenue"), Yasuko Matsuyuki ("Hula Girls"), Aoi Miyazaki ("Hatsukoi", "Tada Kimi wo Aishiteru")
• Best Supporting Actor:  Yusuke Iseya ("What the Snow Brings", "Honey and Clover"), Teruyuki Kagawa ("Sway", "Sea without Exit", "Memories of Tomorrow", "Memories of Matsuko"), Takafumi Sasano ("Love and Honor", "Nezu no Ban", "Tsuri Baka Nisshi 17"), Tetsuji Tamayama ("The Letter", "Check It Out Yo!", "NANA2"), Etsushi Toyokawa ("Hula Girls", "Sinking of Japan"), Kenichi Matsuyama ("DEATH NOTE", "Oyayubi Sagashi")
• Best Supporting Actress:  Yu Aoi ("Hula Girls", "Honey and Clover", "Niji no Megami"), Kyoko Koizumi ("Nada Soso", "What the Snow Brings"), Ryoko Shinohara ("Suite Dreams", "Boy Meets Ghost"), Kanako Higuchi ("Memories of Tomorrow"), Sumiko Fuji ("Hula Girls", "Murder of the Inugami Clan", "Nezu no Ban")
• New Face:  Ebizo Ichikawa ("Sea without Exit"), Rei Dan ("Love and Honor"), Takeo Tsukaji ("Brothers Mamiya"), Kenichi Matsuyama ("DEATH NOTE", "Oyayubi Sagashi"), Sizuyo Yamazaki ("Hula Girls")
• Best Director:  Naoko Ogiue ("Kamome Diner"), Tetsuya Nakashima ("Memories of Matsuko"), Miwa Nishikawa ("Sway"), Kichitaro Negishi ("What the Snow Brings"), Lee Sang-Il ("Hula Girls")

The final result will be announced around the end of January, and the award presentation will be held on February 13, 2007, with last year's winners Kyoko Koizumi and Hiroyuki Sanada as presenters.

Source:  SANSPO

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Daily Sports mentions today that the Best Leading Actor category seems to be head-to-head between Ken Watanabe and Joe Odagiri, while Miki Nakatani is ahead of the bunch in the Best Leading Actress category.

Source:  Daily Sports