81st Academy Award Nominations!
Filed under: Awards, Newsstand, Oscar Watch
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If you've recovered from the stunning awesomeness of the Golden Globe awards still itching for some gold, some statues and some more nominations, then do we have some news for you. The 81st Academy Award nominations are here! Check them out below ...
Shockers!
- The Dark Knight gets snubbed for Director, Best Picture, Score
- Darren Aronofsky gets snubbed for Best Director
- Leonardo DiCaprio snubbed for Best Actor
- Clint Eastwood fails to get a Best Actor nod
- Kate Winslet doesn't get double nomination
- The Wrestler snubbed for Best Picture
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button leads nominations with 13
- But Richard Jenkins -- yay!
- No Sam Mendes either ... wow
- Australia snubbed for Best Cinematography. The film was flawed, but come on!
- Last but not least...Robert Downey Jr for Tropic Thunder.
- THEY SNUBBED THE BOSS FOR BEST SONG?!
Best Motion Picture of the Year
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins for The Visitor
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn for Milk
Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie for Changeling
Melissa Leo for Frozen River
Meryl Streep for Doubt
Kate Winslet for The Reader
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin for Milk
Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams for Doubt
Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis for Doubt
Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler
Best Achievement in Directing
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry for The Reader
David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant for Milk
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Courtney Hunt Frozen River
Mike Leigh Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black Milk
Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter Wall E
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
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
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Tom Stern Changeling
Claudio Miranda The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wally Pfister The Dark Knight
Roger Deakins, Chris Menges The Reader
Anthony Dod Mantle Slumdog Millionaire
Best Achievement in Editing
Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Lee Smith The Dark Knight
Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill Frost/Nixon
Elliot Graham Milk
Chris Dickens Slumdog Millionaire
Best Achievement in Art Direction
James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis Changeling
Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando The Dark Knight
Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway The Duchess
Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt Revolutionary Road
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Catherine Martin Australia
Jacqueline West The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Michael O'Connor The Duchess
Danny Glicker Milk
Albert Wolsky Revolutionary Road
Best Achievement in Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Alexandre Desplat The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Newton Howard Defiance
Danny Elfman Milk
A.R. Rahman Slumdog Millionaire
Thomas Newman WALL·E
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Slumdog Millionaire A.R. Rahman, Gulzar ("Jai Ho")
Slumdog Millionaire A.R. Rahman, M.I.A ("O Saya")
WALL·E Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman ("Down to Earth")
Best Achievement in Sound
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL·E
Wanted
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL·E
Wanted
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL·E
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (Germany)
Entre les murs (France)
Revanche (Austria)
Okuribito (Japan)
Vals Im Bashir (Israel)
Best Documentary, Features
The Betrayal - Nerakhoon
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
Best Documentary, Short Subjects
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306
Best Short Film, Animated
Ubornaya istoriya - lyubovnaya istoriya
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
And the Oscar Nominees Are ...
Best Picture
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Fox Searchlight
Best Picture
'The Wrestler'
Fox Searchlight
Best Picture
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Paramount
Best Picture
'The Dark Knight'
Warner Bros.
Best Picture
'Doubt'
Miramax
Best Picture
'Frost/Nixon'
Universal
Best Picture
'Gran Torino'
Warner Bros.
Best Picture
'Milk'
Focus Features
Best Picture
'Revolutionary Road'
Paramount Vantage
Best Picture
'The Reader'
Weinstein Co.
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
1-22-2009 @ 9:16AM
Matt said...
the academy should prepare for the fanboy wrath.
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 11:36AM
totoro said...
ahahahah, it has begun :p
1-22-2009 @ 9:18AM
NP said...
Ugh. How underwhelming.
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 9:22AM
Peter Hall said...
Fools. Ailing ratings year after year, shameful attempts to skew to the mass demographics and finally an opportunity to nominate one of the highest grossing movies of all time, one of the most popular movies of 2008 AND one of the most impressive cinematic endeavors of '08 and they play the same minimalist hand they have for years.
Silly move, Academy. I hope the ratings are even worse this year.
Reply
1-23-2009 @ 4:56PM
Hashbrown Hunter said...
I think that this is the one time where everybody would be happy if the Oscars sold out and nominated the most popular movie. I mean, it's a win-win situation but these pretentious bastards want to make sure they keep their 'classy' and 'prestigious' feel.
But even if they hadn't nominated the movie, Christopher Nolan should've gotten one. All of his movies are absolutely excellent and he's one of the most visionary directors in the business. I just saw Memento the other day and my mind was blown on multiple occasions by just how purely awesome the directing was. The Dark Knight's story had one or two wrinkles in it, but the directing was flawless and don't even get me started on the score.
And The Reader? Are you f*cking kidding me? The Academy fell for that Oscar bait filth? It was a pretty good movie, but it was trying WAY too hard to get a nomination but I guess Hollywood works on connections and connections alone.
/end rant ;D
1-22-2009 @ 9:27AM
E said...
Colin Farrell should have been nominated. Ok, Robert Downey Jr. was funny in Tropic Thunder but that movie is not Oscar worthy. Whoever was in charge of marketing for In Bruges sucked ass.
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 9:34AM
Brian said...
Robert Downey Jr in tropic thunder doesn't deserve an oscar nomination for that role. That's just horrible.
That movie was only funny because of Tom Cruise, he was the one that deserved the nomination.
Colin Farrel was incredible in "In Bruges" but it was released so long ago, no one's going to remember it. Still an great movie, and one of the best dark comedies ever.
1-22-2009 @ 5:01PM
pAT said...
Exactly! Where's the love for In Bruges?!? Definitely my favorite movie of the year (all respect to Slumdog)!
1-22-2009 @ 9:24AM
sean said...
*cough* bullshit *cough*
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 9:31AM
Kevin said...
I agree with Peter. Heres a movie that was praised by critics and adored by the general public, and the academy still overlooks it and chooses the same style of movie they always do. Whats so groundbreaking about a movie that looks and feels exactly like every movie nominated in years past? The academy to me is totally obsolete, because by ignoring TDK they have basically said "Listen, we don't care about the overall quality of the movie, what we care about is the quality of THESE SPECIFIC types of movies. If you want recognition than make a good holocaust, historical, or simply dramatic movie and we'll nominate you. Any other style of film could not possibly deserve our consideration for best picture." Basically they're saying that its impossible to make an excellent movie about superheroes. Also, how the hell was it nominated for best score? I thought they decided it didn't violate the rules put forth for consideration, so the soundtrack could be nominated? If thats the case then the music was definitely more original and important to the storytelling then ANY of the other nominees. Seems pretty ridiculous.
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 9:39AM
K J said...
This is the most underwhelming slate I've seen in years. TDK, Wall-E, The Wrestler, Eastwood, these would have given me a reason to watch. Now, other than the possibility of a Mickey Rourke speech, I have no interest at all.
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 9:40AM
Chris said...
Boring. Looks like another "record low" for Oscar ratings.
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 9:47AM
Kevin said...
Also, 13 nominations for TCCBB?!?! Thats two more than The Return of the King got, and I don't think this movie is artistically, or emotionally exceptional. Technically it was very good, but the movie as a whole was mediocre at best.
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 9:57AM
Dante said...
Talk about snubs! Bruce Springsteen wasn't nominated for "The Wrestler"? Are you kidding me????
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 10:10AM
Kevin said...
I didn't even look at that. Thats truly insane. How does the Golden Globe winner not even get nominated? That songs amazing too. I bought it off of iTunes as soon as it was offered.
1-22-2009 @ 10:15AM
Anis said...
I will most certainly not watch the Academy Awards, curse you for the Dark Knight snub!!! Whose with me?
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 10:23AM
Fargus said...
You wouldn't watch to see if Heath gets the award? Interesting....
1-22-2009 @ 10:18AM
stuntman-james said...
A letter to all fan boys:
This is my first and last attempt to shake your heads clear of this massive attempt of cellar dwelling fanboys who are sitting on their couches with a comic book clutched in their hands swearing up a storm and going on every message board complaining about why their movie of all movies ever made did not get more than a Best Supporting Actor nom.
I present to you the following. Regardless of how much money it has made and how many critics rate it as the best movie of the year, movies like this will never get nominated. Period. Go ahead and digest it for a second. Done. Good. Now for those that will reply that Lord of the Rings was nominated, why not Dark Knight. Lord of the Rings was nominated and won based on the achievement of it as a whole. All three movies really won the awards for the last. Now what about those that will stand up and say that Titanic won and it was the highest grossing movie of all time. Good for you. You can read. Titanic won not because it earned more than the gross national product of all 3rd world countries, but because it was a well acted film and in all realism, won because it was a good period piece. Period pieces win quite a bit. ( Shakespeare in Love anyone?!)
Now, the fact is that I wrote several reviews for it and I will be the first to say that it was one of my all time fav movies for 2008. It was an achievement to make a movie that transcends a genre movie and without the makeup and rubber suits, was a amazing crime noir drama. Ledgers portrayal of the Joker was what a villain should be and will go down as one of the greatest villain of all time. However, it had major plot holes, horrible acting by the lead( come on, Bale's acting was as good as a 8th grade production of Death of a Salesman) and for the most part was just good. Not great, just good.
So, instead of bellyaching to everyone that has the ability to read and hear, why not drop a few bucks and watch those movies that were nominated. Watch one of the best acting jobs by a man who was near the end of his career. Lay down some of that McDonalds money you were going to spend and watch a great movie with an original story that shows us the real pain and beauty of India. Celebrate that Melissa Leo, who most have not seen or heard from since her role on Homicide, was nominated for her role in a small and mostly unseen movie Frozen River. Revel in Richard Jenkins, an amazing character actor getting nominated for a movie that came out earlier this year.
The Oscars will be wonderful and all of those movie were amazing, not bland or boring like everyone has been posting. Those movies will surprise you, make you feel alive and you will leave feeling good that there are people out there taking chances and not putting out minimal and uninteresting schlock like every movie done by Bay or Bruckheimer. I know this because not only did I spend time in Film School hell, but I love movies.
Thank you
Reply
1-22-2009 @ 10:31AM
Brian said...
So basically what you're saying is this:
1. You didn't like the Dark Knight as much as others
2. The Titanic was a better acted movie than the Dark Knight
3. Return of the King only won because it was the last of the trilogy
4. The Academy can do no wrong
5. These picks don't show the disengagement that the academy has to the public, the public is just disengaged from the academy
6. You're right because you went to film school
Thanks, but this awards show is another one of the many that I can skip, as it's going to be boring watching Hollywood congratulate itself.
I'll stick to the film festivals, where I can see true exploration of film.
1-22-2009 @ 10:33AM
Kevin said...
Surprisingly, many people who are touting TDK have seen all those movies. I've seen Frozen River...decent flick with a wonderful lead performance. See The Wrestler, Rev. Road, CCBB, Slumdog, Milk, etc. I haven't read a comic book since I was 6, and even then I only read them when my brother left them laying around. You can disagree with whether or not TDK deserved to be nominated, but don't denigrate the people that think it does by claiming that we're all sitting around clutching our comic books on the couch. Just kind of insulting and asinine. I do agree with you though; I don't think a movie like this will ever get nominated. If TDK couldn't then I don't see anything else making it, which is why I won't watch this year. If the academy is willing to say that an entire Genre of films doesn't deserve its highest accolade than I don't think its a good representation of what film should. Comedies, superhero flicks, action movies, these are all styles that the academy thinks are sub-par. I believe any type can be exquisitely done, and if they transcend the genre then they deserve a nomination at the very least.