2009 Oscar Nominations

Here are the Academy Award Nominations for 2009!

Best motion picture of the year

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Frost/Nixon
* Milk
* The Reader
* Slumdog Millionaire

Performance by an actor in a leading role

* Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
* Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
* Sean Penn (Milk)
* Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
* Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

* Josh Brolin (Milk)
* Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
* Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
* Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

* Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
* Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
* Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
* Meryl Streep (Doubt)
* Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

* Amy Adams (Doubt)
* Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
* Viola Davis (Doubt)
* Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
* Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

Best animated feature film of the year

* Bolt
* Kung Fu Panda
* WALL•E

Best Documentary Short Subject

* The Conscience of Nhem En
* The Final Inch
* Smile Pinki
* The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

Best Short Film (Animated)

* La Maison de Petits Cubes
* Lavatory - Lovestory
* Oktapodi
* Presto
* This Way Up

Best Short Film (Live Action)

* Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
* Manon on the Asphault
* New Boy
* The Pig
* Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Achievement in art direction

* Changeling
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* The Duchess
* Revolutionary Road

Achievement in cinematography

* Changeling, Tom Stern
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Claudio Miranda
* The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister
* The Reader, Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design

* Australia, Catherine Martin
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Jacqueline West
* The Duchess, Michael O’Connor
* Milk, Danny Glicker
* Revolutionary Road, Albert Wolsky

Achievement in directing

* David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
* Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
* Gus Van Sant (Milk)
* Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
* Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best documentary feature

* The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
* Encounters at the End of the World
* The Garden
* Man on Wire
* Trouble the Water

Achievement in makeup

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Greg Cannom
* The Dark Knight, John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
* Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in film editing

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
* The Dark Knight, Lee Smith
* Frost/Nixon, Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* Milk, Elliot Graham
* Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year

* The Baader Meinhof Complex
* The Class
* Departures
* Revanche
* Waltz With Bashir

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat
* Defiance, James Newton Howard
* Milk, Danny Elfman
* Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman
* WALL•E, 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 andMaya Arulpragasam

Achievement in sound editing

* The Dark Knight, Richard King
* Iron Man, Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
* Slumdog Millionaire, Tom Sayers
* WALL•E, Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* Wanted, Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* The Dark Knight, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
* Slumdog Millionaire, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
* WALL•E,Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* Wanted, Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* The Dark Knight, Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
* Iron Man, John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay

* Eric Roth & Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
* John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
* Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)
* David Hare (The Reader)
* Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)

Original screenplay

* Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)
* Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
* Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
* Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
* Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon (WALL•E)


Broken down, here is the list of films nominated and how many nominations each film earned.

1. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (13)
2. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (10)
3. THE DARK KNIGHT (8)
4. MILK (8)
5. WALL-E (6)
6. DOUBT (5)
7. FROST/NIXON (5)
8. THE READER (5)
9. CHANGELING (3)
10. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (3)
11. THE DUCHESS (2)
12. FROZEN RIVER (2)
13. IRON MAN (2)
14. WANTED (2)
15. THE WRESTLER (2)
16. AUF DER STRECKE (ON THE LINE) (1)
17. AUSTRALIA (1)
18. THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (1)
19. THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON) (1)
20. BOLT (1)
21. THE CLASS (1)
22. THE CONSCIENCE OF NHEM EN (1)
23. DEFIANCE (1)
24. DEPARTURES (1)
25. ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (1)
26. THE FINAL INCH (1)
27. THE GARDEN (1)
28. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (1)
29. HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (1)
30. IN BRUGES (1)
31. KUNG FU PANDA (1)
32. LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES (1)
33. LAVATORY - LOVESTORY (1)
34. MAN ON WIRE (1)
35. MANON ON THE ASPHALT (1)
36. NEW BOY (1)
37. OKTAPODI (1)
38. THE PIG (1)
39. PRESTO (1)
40. RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (1)
41. REVANCHE (1)
42. SMILE PINKI (1)
43. SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND) (1)
44. THIS WAY UP (1)
45. TROPIC THUNDER (1)
46. TROUBLE THE WATER (1)
47. VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (1)
48. THE VISITOR (1)
49. WALTZ WITH BASHIR (1)
50. THE WITNESS - FROM THE BALCONY OF ROOM 306 (1)

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" earned the most nominations while "Slumdog Millionare" will most likely be taking home the most actual wins.
Some people seem upset that "The Dark Knight" didn't earn a Best Picture or Best Director nomination (others are upset about Kate Winslet getting the Best Actress nomination for "The Reader"). And might I add how "Gran Torino" is the biggest upset. That film was completely shafted by the nomination process. It should have gotten something!
But the Best Supporting Actor nomination for Heath Ledger is great news, especially since today is the one year anniversary of his death.
Jan. 22, 2008, news broke that Heath Ledger had tragically died of what would later be deemed as an accidental prescription-drug overdose.

"It was an exhausting process," Ledger explained to MTV News in November 2007. "I actually had quite a bit of time off between scenes — weeks sometimes. But it was required because whenever I was working, it exhausted me to the bone. At the end of the day, I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I was absolutely wrecked. If I had to do that every day, I couldn't have done what I did."

"Granted, all of the Oscar nominees deserve praise for their efforts in their given categories, but it's clear that Hollywood — and the film world in general — will be buzzing about Ledger in the weeks leading up to the February 22 ceremony. Win or lose — a gifted actor with years of potential still ahead of him was taken from us far too early."

So for all you fans out there who are celebrating the awards today, do not forget the ones we lost.