Moon's Oscars! My Nominations!

"Slumdog Millionaire" was a good movie, but I always like it when the Academy Awards are shared among a number of films. If I was able to nominate, I would make the following selections in the major categories:

BEST PICTURE
MILK
Rachel Getting Married
The Wrestler
Slumdog Millionaire
Frost / Nixon

BEST DIRECTOR
GUS VAN SANT (MILK)
Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married)
Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler)
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Baz Luhrmann (Australia)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
DUSTIN LANCE BLACK (MILK)
Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
PETER MORGAN (FROST / NIXON)
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
Eric Roth & Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road)

BEST ACTOR
SEAN PENN (MILK)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Frank Langella (Frost / Nixon)
Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)

BEST ACTRESS
KATE WINSLET (THE READER)
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)
Kristin Scott Thomas (I've Loved You So Long)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN (DOUBT)
James Franco (Milk)
Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges)
Michael Sheen (Frost / Nixon)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
PENELOPE CRUZ (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA)
Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds)
Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

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Oscar Winners 2008 (February 2009 ceremony)

So most of the predictions came true - "Slumdog Millionaire" almost swept the board at the Oscars, leaving the 13 nominations of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in its wake. I really thought the Academy might end up giving Best Picture to "Button" while praising "Slumdog" director Danny Boyle, as history says that the epic Americana often takes home the top prize.
Had I been a betting man I would have lost money on Best Actor where the exceptional Sean Penn deservedly picked up his second trophy in a matter of years, ahead of sentimental favourite, Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler".

Here are the results in full:

BEST PICTURE
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk
Frost / Nixon
The Reader

BEST DIRECTOR
DANNY BOYLE (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Gus Van Sant (Milk)
Ron Howard (Frost / Nixon)
Stephen Daldry (The Reader)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
DUSTIN LANCE BLACK (MILK)
Andrew Stanton & Peter Docter (Wall-E)
Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
SIMON BEAUFOY (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
Eric Roth & Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
Peter Morgan (Frost / Nixon)
David Hare (The Reader)

BEST ACTOR
SEAN PENN (MILK)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Frank Langella (Frost / Nixon)
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

BEST ACTRESS
KATE WINSLET (THE READER)
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
Melissa Leo (Frozen River)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
HEATH LEDGER (THE DARK KNIGHT)
Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
Josh Brolin (Milk)
Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
PENELOPE CRUZ (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Amy Adams (Doubt)
Viola Davis (Doubt)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
DEPARTURES (Japan)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
The Class (France)
Waltz With Bashir (Israel)
Revanche (Austria)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
WALL-E
Kung-Fu Panda
Bolt

CINEMATOGRAPHY
ANTHONY DOD MANTLE (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Roger Deakins & Chris Menges (The Reader)
Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight)
Tom Stern (Changeling)

EDITING
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk
Frost / Nixon
The Dark Knight

ART DIRECTION
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
The Duchess
The Dark Knight
Changeling
Revolutionary Road

COSTUME DESIGN
THE DUCHESS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk
Australia
Revolutionary Road

VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

MAKE-UP
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

ORIGINAL SCORE
A.R. RAHMAN (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
Alexandre Desplat (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Danny Elfman (Milk)
Thomas Newman (Wall-E)
James Newton Howard (Defiance)

ORIGINAL SONG
"JAI-HO" (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
"O Saya" (Slumdog Millionaire)
"Down To Earth" (Wall-E)

SOUND
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Wall-E
Wanted

SOUND EDITING
THE DARK KNIGHT
Slumdog Millionaire
Iron Man
Wall-E
Wanted


Total Wins

*Only 9 0f the 31 movies nominated actually won an Oscar
* "Frost / Nixon" was the only Best Picture nominee to not win an award

8 Slumdog Millionaire
3 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2 Milk
2 The Dark Knight
1 The Reader
1 Vicky Cristina Barcelona
1 Wall-E
1 The Duchess
1 Departures
0 Frost / Nixon
0 Doubt
0 Changeling
0 The Wrestler
0 Revolutionary Road
0 Frozen River
0 Wanted
0 Iron Man
0 Rachel Getting Married
0 The Visitor
0 Tropic Thunder
0 Happy-Go-Lucky
0 In Bruges
0 Australia
0 Defiance
0 Kung-Fu Panda
0 Bolt
0 Hellboy II: The Golden Army
0 The Baader Meinhof Complex
0 The Class
0 Waltz With Bashir
0 Revanche

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