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 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” A Vermilion Films Production, 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 andMaya 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, Nominees to be determined
- “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), 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
RDJ for Tropic Thunder? Really?
I haven’t been this surprised since Pulp Fiction got a best picture nod.
It looks like the speculation that “The Dark Knight” would be the first superhero film to get a Best Picture nomination was off-base.
And I thought RDJ totally deserves the nomination for Tropic Thunder. Ledger’s going to win, of course, but RDJ deserves his nomination. Brilliant performance.
I also love Anne Hathaway’s “Rachel Getting Married” nomination. Well-earned, too. She won’t win either.
I take it you don’t think he was any good? An actor (Downey Jr.) playing an actor (whatever the character’s name was) playing another character (whatever the character’s character’s name was)? I thought he was amazing, way better than the movie he was acting in (both of them :p). I haven’t seen a performance that layered since Felicity Huffman in Transamerica.
So I guess all that talk about “Wall-E” possibly being the first animated feature film to be nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year all came to nothing.
Brad Pitt for best actor, whu?
PS - The Wrestler and Aronofsky should demand a recount. Damn.
These nominations seem all over the place. I mean, The Wrestler was one of the best reviewed movies of the year and it gets no best pic nomination? What happened to Sally Hawkins and Kristen Scott? In Bruges completely got the shaft (not surprisingly). I haven’t seen The Reader, but it was not really that well reviewed, I just do not understand all the nominations.
Nice to see Brolin getting a nod for Milk (even though Ledger is a lock to win). Wall-E and In Bruges getting nominations for original screenplay was nice.
All in all, it seems after a brilliant 2007, we are back to Oscars-as-usual approach for 2008.
I’m surprised at the level of Benjamin Button love, but I guess I shouldn’t be.
You guess?
I imagine Rock8 means ‘first since they decided to shuffle off animated movies into their own category in the corner’.
And I didn’t think RDJ was bad in Tropic Thunder. I just thought that Tropic Thunder itself was bad enough to drag down anyone else in it.
I’m a lead farmer, motherfucker.
Ugh, god, these nominations suck.
Where the fuck is Kristen Scott Thomas for “I’ve Loved You So Long?”
That’s just one complaint. Worst list I’ve seen in years.
What was brilliant about it in 2007? It seemed just as out-of-touch and wrong as always.
No Country, Jesse James and There Will Be Blood getting significant nominations was great. The only let down from last year was that Zodiac got completely overlooked (though it looks like they are making it up to Fincher this year).
Jesse James was a piece of crap, and the other two were no-brainer picks. No Zodiac though? No Darjeeling Limited? That other piece of crap Juno everywhere? Johnny Depp nominated for Sweeney Todd?
No, just about as lame as ever.
You stand alone in your assessment of JJ. I like Darjeeling Limited but I’m not surprised or disappointed that it wasn’t nominated. Juno deserved some nominations but I know you are far to cynical for that. Having not seen Depp’s performance, I can’t comment.
I’m just saying, last year, some really great movies came out and were recognized. This year we have some easy, staid, safe pics (The Reader, Milk and BB come to mind) that in many ways are fine movies but won’t be remembered for years to come.
Yeah. He made his Oscar bait. Now they are rewarding him.
Benjamin Button was nowhere near as good as Zodiac.