Nominees & Winners for the 81st Academy Awards.

Posted by: michael encriketts on: February 23, 2009

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Hosted by Hugh Jackman.

Nominees & Winners for the 81st Academy Awards:

Performance by an actor in a leading role:

Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role:

Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role:
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role:

Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Best animated feature film of the year:

“Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
“Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction:

“Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in cinematography:
“Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design:
“Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

Achievement in directing:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature:

“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
“The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
“Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall in association with Red Box Films Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
“Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Best documentary short subject:

“The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
“The Final Inch” Vermilion Films in association with Google.org, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
“Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
“The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
“The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
“Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
“Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
“Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

Achievement in makeup
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score):
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song):
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Best motion picture of the year:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
“Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris, Producers
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer

Best animated short film:
“La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
“Lavatory – Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
“Oktapodi” (Talantis Films), A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
“Presto” (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
“This Way Up” A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Best live action short film:
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
“Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
“New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
“The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing:
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
“Wanted” (Universal), Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
“Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
“Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay
“Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
“Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
“In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
“Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Actress in a Supporting Role:
(Presented by: Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Anjelica Huston, Eva Marie Saint, and Tilda Swinton)

Amy Adams
DOUBT

Penelope Cruz
VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

Viola Davis
DOUBT

Taraji P. Henson
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

Marisa Tomei
THE WRESTLER

Writing (Original Screenplay):
(Presented by: Tina Fey and Steve Martin)

FROZEN RIVER
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
IN BRUGES
MILK
WALL-E

Writing (Adapted Screenplay):
(Presented by: Tina Fey and Steve Martin)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DOUBT
FROST/NIXON
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Animated Feature Film:
(Presented by: Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black)

BOLT
KUNG FU PANDA
WALL-E

Short Film (Animated):
(Presented by: Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black)

LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES
LAVATORY – LOVESTORY
OKTAPODI
PRESTO
THIS WAY UP

Art Direction:
(Presented by: Sarah Jessica Parker and Daniel Craig)

CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE DUCHESS
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Costume Design:
(Presented by: Sarah Jessica Parker and Daniel Craig)

AUSTRALIA
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DUCHESS
MILK
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Makeup:
(Presented by: Sarah Jessica Parker and Daniel Craig)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

Cinematography:
(Presented by: Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller)
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Short Film (Live Action):
(Presented by: James Franco and Seth Rogen)

AUF DER STRECKE (ON THE LINE)
MANON ON THE ASPHALT
NEW BOY
THE PIG
SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)

Actor in a Supporting Role:
(Presented by: Kevin Kline, Christopher Walken, Cuba Gooding, Jr. Alan Arkin, Joel Grey)
Josh Brolin
MILK

Robert Downey Jr.
TROPIC THUNDER

Philip Seymour Hoffman
DOUBT

Heath Ledger
THE DARK KNIGHT

Michael Shannon
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Documentary Feature:
(Presented by: Bill Maher)

THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
THE GARDEN
MAN ON WIRE
TROUBLE THE WATER

Documentary Short:
(Presebted by: ???)

THE CONSCIENCE OF NHEM EN
THE FINAL INCH
SMILE PINKI
THE WITNESS – FROM THE BALCONY OF ROOM 306

Visual Effects:
(Presented by: Will Smith)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN

Sound Editing:
(Presented by: Will Smith)

THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

Sound Mixing:
(Presented by: Will Smith)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

Film Editing:
(Presented by: Will Smith)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
FROST/NIXON
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Music (Score)
(Presnted by: Alicia Keys and Zac Efron)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DEFIANCE
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E

Music (Song):
(Presnted by: Alicia Keys and Zac Efron)

“Down to Earth”
WALL-E

“Jai Ho”
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

“O Saya”
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Foreign Language Film:
(Presented by: ???)

THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX
THE CLASS
DEPARTURES
REVANCHE
WALTZ WITH BASHIR

Directing:
(Presented by: Reese Witherspoon)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Actress in a Leading Role:
(Presented by: Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry)

Anne Hathaway
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

Angelina Jolie
CHANGELING

Melissa Leo
FROZEN RIVER

Meryl Streep
DOUBT

Kate Winslet
THE READER

Actor in a Leading Role:
(Presented by: Michael Douglas, Adrien Brody, Robert De Niro, Anthony Hopkins, and Ben Kingsley)

Richard Jenkins
THE VISITOR

Frank Langella
FROST/NIXON

Sean Penn
MILK

Brad Pitt
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

Mickey Rourke
THE WRESTLER

Best Picture:
(Presented by: Steven Spielberg)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Other presenters:
Jennifer Aniston & Jack Black – Animation 2008 Montage
Robert Pattinson & Amanda Seyfried – Romance 2008 Montage

Performers:

Queen Latifah performed “I’ll Be Seeing You” during the annual “In Memoriam” tribute.

James Marvel last minute addition violinist.

Anne Hathaway portrayed “Nixon” aside Hugh Jackman in the opening sequence.

Hugh Jackman, Beyonce Knowles, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Amanda Seyfried, and Dominic Cooper performed a medley created by Baz Luhrmann of songs from movie musicals. The medley of nominees for best song was performed by A. R. Rahman, John Legend, and Sukhwinder Singh.

Honorary award:
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:
Jerry Lewis

Other informations:

Changeling:

Angelina Jolie’s nomination for Changeling marks the first time since 2000 that she has been nominated for an acting Oscar. She previously won for Best Supporting Actress in Girl, Interrupted.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tied with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Chicago as the films with the most nominations of the decade (13), including Best Picture.

The Dark Knight:

The Dark Knight gathered a total of eight nominations, making it the most nominated superhero film in Academy Award history.

Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker has made him the second actor in Academy Award history to win posthumously (after Peter Finch).

The Dark Knight, along with Iron Man, is the first superhero film to be nominated since its 2005 predecessor Batman Begins.

Doubt:

Meryl Streep’s Best Actress nomination for Doubt brings her total Academy Award nominations to 15, the most nominations earned by any actor or actress in the history of the Academy Awards.

Doubt is the first film since Chicago (2002) to receive four or more nominations in the acting categories.

Frost/Nixon:

Frank Langella’s nomination, at age 71, ranks him as the sixth oldest nominee ever for Best Actor in the history of the Academy Awards.

Langella’s nomination makes him the second actor to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying Richard Nixon, the first being Anthony Hopkins in 1995.

Iron Man:

Iron Man is the first Marvel Studios film since Spider-Man 2 to be nominated for one or more Academy Awards.

Iron Man, along with The Dark Knight, is the first superhero film to be nominated since 2005’s Batman Begins.

Milk:

Milk is the first gay film to be nominated for Best Picture since 2005’s Brokeback Mountain.

The Reader:

Stephen Daldry’s Best Director nomination for The Reader makes him the first director to be nominated in the category for his first three films. He was previously nominated for Billy Elliot and The Hours.

Slumdog Millionaire:

Slumdog Millionaire is tied with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for the most nominations for a non-American production this decade (10), including Best Picture.

Slumdog Millionaire is tied with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for the most nominations for a low-budget film since 1984 (A Passage to India).

A. R. Rahman is the first Indian national to receive three Oscar nominations and the first Asian to receive three Oscar nominations in the same year.

WALL·E:

WALL·E received six nominations, tying it with Beauty and the Beast for the most nominated animated film.

Reactions:

Reactions were diverse; some pronounced the Oscar nominations this year to be surprising, particularly at Kate Winslet’s sole nomination for The Reader, and not for the expected film Revolutionary Road.

Nominations for Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road and Viola Davis for Doubt were also met with surprise, as both have under ten minutes of screen time. Further, the Academy has been accused of snubbing WALL-E and The Dark Knight, both of which were considered contenders for Best Picture nominations. After winning a Golden Globe for his song “The Wrestler”, Bruce Springsteen was not nominated for Best Song.

Controversies:

Like the previous year’s awards, this year’s Oscars has also faced multiple controversies.

Snubbed films

Following the nominations announcement, the Academy was accused of deliberately snubbing Gran Torino, WALL-E, The Dark Knight, Revolutionary Road, and The Wrestler, five critically praised films that were considered contenders for nominations in the five major categories. As a result, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for the films were widely expected.

It was also accused of snubbing Clint Eastwood for Best Actor in Gran Torino, Sally Hawkins for Best Actress in Happy Go Lucky, Kristen Scott Thomas for I’ve Loved You So Long, Ralph Fiennes for Best Supporting Actor in The Duchess, and Andrew Stanton and Christopher Nolan as Best Director for WALL-E and The Dark Knight, respectively, as well as the omission of Bruce Springsteen from the Best Song category, for his song from The Wrestler, which took the 2009 Golden Globe Award.

Disputes over Ledger’s statuette

Because Best Supporting Actor nominee Heath Ledger died in January of 2008 making his nomination one of posthumous recognition, the Academy had disputes over who should accept the award and who should gain ownership of it should Ledger win it. Following talks with Ledger’s family in Australia, the Academy ruled that his previous domestic partner Michelle Williams could not accept the award as the two were not married.

They then decided that Ledger and Williams’ three-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose Ledger, would own the award. However, due to Matilda’s age, she will not gain full ownership of the statuette until her eighteenth birthday in 2023. Until that time, Michelle Williams will hold the statuette in trust for Matilda. Ledger’s family attended the ceremony to accept the award on his behalf when he won.

Faked winners leak

Shortly after the voting polls were closed for the awards, a purported list of winners was posted online.[30] The list, which bore a purported signature from Academy president Sid Ganis, stated that Mickey Rourke won for Best Actor, Kate Winslet won for Best Actress, Amy Adams won for Best Supporting Actress, Heath Ledger won for Best Supporting Actor and Slumdog Millionaire won for Best Picture. It has since been confirmed as a fake list.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences spokeswoman Leslie Unger later revealed that the list was “a complete fraud”, and that PricewaterhouseCoopers had just began to count the ballots. The awards were last revealed prior to the ceremony in the 1950s. The list was proven to be false early in the ceremony when, at the very beginning of the show, Penélope Cruz was victorious as Best Supporting Actress, not Amy Adams, the winner in the fake list.

Other controversies

Prior to the nominations announcement, it was suggested that the 2008-09 Screen Actors Guild labor dispute could affect the awards by discouraging actors’ attendance at the ceremony, However, as talks to end the dispute between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) were ongoing, the expected strike did not affect the awards ceremony, although a resolution between SAG and AMPTP has not yet been reached.

Peter Gabriel, who was originally scheduled to perform his nominated song “Down to Earth” from WALL-E during the live broadcast, declined to perform after learning that he would be allowed to sing only 65 seconds of the song during the ceremony’s Best Original Song nominee performances. Gabriel still attended the ceremony. John Legend performed the song in place of Gabriel, backed by the Soweto Gospel Choir.

The Academy expressed an ongoing fear of low viewership during Oscar night.

Sources:

Wikipedia: 81st Academy Awards
Wikipedia: 81st Academy Awards nominees and winners
Oscars.org: 81st Academy Awards
Oscar.com: 81st Academy Awards

Tags: Entertainment, Holidays & Celebrations & Events, Technology