Come Oscar night (March 7), Colorado---"Holy cow, Colorado!" as producer Sarah Siegel-Magness tells The Denver Post---will have a stake in several awards. Siegel-Magness and her husband, Gary Magness, will lead the way with their powerful effort, Precious, which has nabbed several Academy Award nominations, including one for best picture. A similar sentiment was expressed by Denver filmmaker Daniel Junge after learning he and former Just Media partner Henry Ansbacher have been nominated for their documentary short The Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner. In an e-mail Junge sent me yesterday, he simply writes, "It's truly surreal." Documentary director Louie Psihoyos of Boulder is also nominated for The Cove (trailer below). The locals are in good company amid names like George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, James Cameron, and Kathryn Bigelow. Precious---the story of a girl facing abuse at the hands of her parents as she struggles with illiteracy---is leading the charge for Colorado-based artists. It was not filmed in the state, but the film has also received notable nominations for best actress (Gabourey Sidibe), best supporting actress (Mo'Nique), directing (Lee Daniels), and adapted screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher), notes the Denver Business Journal.