81st Academy Awards -- Nominations
Live Telecast February 22, 2009 (simultaneous with annual Wunn Oscar party; same drill as last year. I reposted this from Facebook. Feel free to comment on my picks or pick your own.)
Key:
* Have seen
** Will see before Oscar night
Tentative Oscar pick
BEST PICTURE
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “Frost/Nixon”
* “Milk”
** “The Reader”
* “Slumdog Millionaire”
NOTE: My pick here is based on what the Academy will select more than who I'd like to see win also. Milk probably should win it as any movie with a dance montage at the end can't be a serious Oscar contender for Best Picture can it?
DIRECTING
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “Frost/Nixon”
* “Milk”
** “The Reader”
* “Slumdog Millionaire”
NOTE: I am tempted to hack for Ron Howard and to go with the favored Danny Boyle but I'm sticking to my guns: Van Sant wins this round.
ACTOR, LEADING
** Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon”
* Sean Penn in “Milk”
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”
NOTE: Mickey Rourke deserves serious attention for this film and this category. My pick here is based on what the Academy will select more than who I'd like to see win.
ACTOR, SUPPORTING
* Josh Brolin in “Milk”
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder”
** Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road”
ACTRESS, LEADING
** Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”
** Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”
** Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
** Kate Winslet in “The Reader”
NOTE: I haven't seen enough of the womens' performances this year to pick yet. Stay Tuned.
ACTRESS, SUPPORTING
** Amy Adams in “Doubt”
** Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
** Viola Davis in “Doubt”
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”
NOTE: Also pending a weekend of movie watching but I anticipate Tomei winning my pick.
FILM EDITING
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “The Dark Knight”
* “Frost/Nixon”
* “Milk”
* “Slumdog Millionaire”
NOTE: This is a tie in my mind. I think poor overall directing on Fincher's part created problems for Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall with Button, giving the edge to Slumdog.
ANIMATED FEATURE
“Bolt”
* “Kung-Fu Panda”
* “WALL-E”
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”
NOTE: I definitely don't know the difference between mixing and editing. EDIT: Alex Stephenson clued me in to the difference so I switched my picks because I anticipated they were the opposite.
ART DIRECTION
* “Changeling”
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
* “Revolutionary Road”
NOTE: This is actually a tough category this year. Changeling, Dark Knight, and Revolutionary Road all have legitimate claims here.
VISUAL EFFECTS
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “The Dark Knight”
* “Iron Man”
CINEMATOGRAPHY
* “Changeling”
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “The Dark Knight”
** “The Reader”
* “Slumdog Millionaire”
SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
** “Doubt”
* “Frost/Nixon”
** “The Reader”
* “Slumdog Millionaire”
NOTE: I didn't really like Button but I think it probably is the best adaptation. Doubt doesn't really adapt -- it's stage to screen, Frost/Nixon hangs dead until the end, but Slumdog's relationship to Q&A may be another option.
COSTUME DESIGN
“Australia”
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Duchess”
* “Milk”
* “Revolutionary Road”
More than a little surprised that Changeling and some others didn't make this list. So, the Academy will pick Button.
SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
“Frozen River”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
* “Milk”
* “WALL-E”
NOTE: Easy win for Milk in this category.
MAKEUP
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”
NOTE: Definitely would not have known it was Ledger; the makeup folks brought that character to the screen.
ORIGINAL SCORE
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “Defiance”
* “Milk”
* “Slumdog Millionaire”
* “WALL-E”
NOTE: Very deserved win for Slumdog.
ORIGINAL SONG
* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
NOTE: I'm going to need to rewatch Slumdog to figure out which song is which and pick one but it will be one of those.
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Listings below this line represent the categories that I know nothing about so I will just pick the favorites. I haven't done that research yet.
SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
“La Maison en Petits Cubes”
“Lavatory - Lovestory”
“Oktapodi”
“Presto”
“This Way Up”
SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)”
“Manon on the Asphalt”
“New Boy”
“The Pig”
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)”
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
“Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
“The Conscience of Nhem En”
“The Final Inch”
“Smile Pinki”
“The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306”
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“The Class”
“Departures”
“Revanche”
“Waltz with Bashir”
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