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Oscars: Nominees react

(CNN) -- Nominees shared their excitement over Tuesday's Oscar announcements on CNN. Even Baz Luhrmann chimed in though he was passed up in the best director category.

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Halle Berry
Nominee, lead actress
"Monster's Ball"

"I just am out of my head. I never thought in my career that my name would ever be mentioned with Oscar. I'm just in shock. I guess maybe tonight at some point it will sink in, but, it's just incredible."

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Russell Crowe
Nominee, lead actor
"A Beautiful Mind"

"You are always really gratified when you are nominated by the Academy. I've had a pretty intense last three years but don't worry I'm not getting used to it. It's a fantastic thing. I'm really appreciative that the Academy has acknowledged the movie. It's a very special collaboration that holds a very dear place in my heart."

"I am still unsatisfied, to a large degree but I think that is a healthy thing to be as an actor. Perhaps it has made me a little bit more relaxed as a person because I hold the Academy in a very high regard."

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Denzel Washington
Nominee, lead actor
"Training Day"

"What it means, is in this year there were three excellent performances by African Americans and that's all it should mean. What it means over time in the history of this business -- I don't know. What I do know is that they [Halle Berry and Will Smith] deserved to be there and I'm happy for both of them."

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Jennifer Connelly
Nominee, supporting actress
"A Beautiful Mind"

"I felt like I was blessed just to work on this movie. I haven't read that many projects I felt this passionate about in the course of my time working, which is 20 years."

"We had CNN on and I had the bright idea to make the volume a little louder just before [Oscar nominee announcements] came on. We inadvertently turned the TV off and then there was this scramble to find the button to turn it back on and then we couldn't find the button and then we got the wrong channel... We missed the whole thing."

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Ron Howard
Nominee, director
"A Beautiful Mind"

"It's a very broad wonderful acknowledgement of a movie that I care a lot about. This is something we have been working on for years. So to have the eight nominations literally in every category in which we were candidates, it meant a lot to me as a director."

Will Smith
Nominee, lead actor
"Ali"

"Well, actually we were asleep. It was probably about 10 minutes to 1 a.m. when the telephone rang, and Jada answered the phone, and it was my publicist letting her know that I [received] the nomination, at which point she proceeded to jump out of the bed, in the dark and hit her head on the door."

"I heard the statistics -- Sidney Poitier was the last black man to win, and that was 28 years ago. This year, Denzel and I and Halle are all nominated in major categories. The work is undeniable, and I'm really honored and excited to be a part of this point in history."

Marisa Tomei
Nominee, supporting actress
"In the Bedroom"

"I was thrilled. My friend called me from L.A. and she told me. But when I went to the television, it is not until you actually see it, you really believe it."

"I had no foresight that it would come to this. [There] was a great harmony on the set. We enjoyed each other very much, and we all really loved the piece. We loved the writing, we loved Todd, our director, and we got to know each other so well and enjoy each other's company so much so, which is such a thrill about today also, to know that Tom will be there, and Todd and Sissy, that we'll all be there together. It really, really, really makes it special."

Peter Jackson
Nominee, director
"Lord of the Rings"

"I feel like a proud father, because it's wonderful that people [who] have worked on this film for so long have been honored in this way. Some of the people that were nominated have been working for four or five years on these movies."

John Voight
Nominee, supporting actor
"Ali"

"You never know about these things. A lot of people, your friends and family, of course, are very encouraging and people in the industry are hopeful -- especially those associated with the film. It's always one of those things where it comes down to the last moment, and you don't know, and some people get the nod, and some people don't. I am trying to prepare myself, anyway, for not hearing my name. But, fortunately I -- I was I was very, very, you know, moved to hear my name."

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"It's something of a childhood dream for every child who is going to get into the acting profession, and it's a great, great honor. So, it's very exciting, and you say to yourself that it is not the most important thing in the world, and it certainly isn't the most important thing in the world, but it certainly does, you know, test your nerves a little bit in the process."

"There [are] certainly many people, maybe 10 more on the outside of this group, that could have been nominated with us. So we're very fortunate, we five. Now it comes down to this journey toward the Oscar night, and that will have its own stresses too, you know, but I'm very, very glad to be part of this group."

Baz Luhrmann
Director, "Moulin Rouge"

"I'm certainly really honored and I think it's a great moment in terms of... the idea that a musical can be back in the place where it came from. Musicals used to be nominated a great deal in the best picture [Oscar] category. Not since 1979 has a musical been nominated...

We are really incredibly happy about it."






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