22/01/2009

The nominees for the 81st Academy Awards were announced today and Europe, particularly the UK, is very much in the running, with artists and films featuring in various categories.

British titles Slumdog Millionaire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Danny Boyle
film profile] (Danny Boyle) and The Reader [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Stephen Daldry) will compete for Best Picture alongside US films The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher), Milk (Gus Vant Sant) and Frost/Nixon (Ron Howard). These same five filmmakers are also vying for Best Director.

Benjamin Button leads the nominations pool with 13 while Slumdog Millionaire is close behind with 10 nominations.

British actress Kate Winslet failed to pick up an expected nomination for Revolutionary Road [+see also:
trailer
film profile] but stands out among Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep as the favourite to win the Best Actress Oscar for The Reader.

With Winslet out of the Best Supporting Actress category the hopes are higher now for Penelope Cruz, nominated for her exhilarating performance in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

European talent is also in the running for Best Original Screenplay (Mike Leigh for Happy-Go-Lucky [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Martin McDnough for In Bruges [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Best Adapted Screenplay (David Hare for The Reader and Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire).

In the Best Foreign Language Film category, France's Palme d'Or winner The Class [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carole Scotta
interview: Laurent Cantet
film profile] will compete against Germany's The Baader Meinhof Complex [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Austria's Revanche [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Götz Spielmann
film profile], Israel's Waltz with Bashir [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Japan's Departures.

The ceremony will take place on the evening of February 22 in Los Angeles.

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

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

Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Supporting actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Supporting actress
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

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

Foreign-language film
The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany
The Class, France
Departures, Japan
Revanche, Austria
Waltz With Bashir, Israel

Adapted screenplay
Eric Roth and 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, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, WALL-E

Animated feature film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E

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

Cinematography
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Sound mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

Sound editing
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

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

Original song
"Down to Earth" from WALL-E, Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
"Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman and Gulzar
"O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Costume design
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road

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

Documentary (short subject)
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness -- From the Balcony of Room 306

Film editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Animated short film
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory -- Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

Live action short film
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Visual effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man