More of this year Oscar Fact.

• In the acting categories, ten individuals are first-time nominees. The other ten share a total of 49 nominations. Three (Meryl Streep, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett) are previous Oscar® winners.

• Leading Actress nominee Judi Dench is the only performer who was also nominated last year (for Mrs. Henderson Presents)

• Penelope Cruz and Rinko Kikuchi are both nominated for foreign-language performances. Four performers have won Academy Awards for roles using spoken languages

• Should Letters from Iwo Jima win Best Picture, it would be the first foreign-language film to win in the category. The seven previous foreign-language Best Picture nominees were Grand Illusion (1938), Z (1969), The Emigrants (1972), Cries and Whispers (1973), The Postman (Il Postino) (1995), Life Is Beautiful (1998) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).