OSCAR NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

It’s that time of year again, kiddies. The Oscar nominees were announced early this morning in Beverly Hills, two days later than usual, on account of a big event Tuesday on the other end of the country. In the Best Picture category, Slumdog Millionaire, which many are touting as the favorite to take Best Picture, is up against the polarizing epic The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and the little-seen The Reader, along with the inevitable Frost/Nixon and Milk. The four highly regarded big-boxoffice films that failed to make the cut are WALL*E, The Dark Knight, Gran Torino and Revolutionary Road.

The Best Director category is a mirror image of Best Picture, comprising Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), David Fincher (Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), Stephen Daldry (The Reader) and Gus Van Sant (Milk).

Benjamin Button leads the field with 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Supporting Actress, Director and Screenplay. Slumdog Millionaire is second with 10, including A.R. Rahman's Original Score and two of the three noms for Original Song, including M.I.A. for "O...Saya." The third nod went to Peter Gabriel’s “Down to Earth” from WALL*E. Why there are only three nominees remains a mystery. The decision (or oversight) effectively eliminated Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler” which won a Golden Globe in the same category, as well as Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino.”

In a related note, Slumdog Millionaire premieres tonight in Mumbai.

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

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

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

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

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Admas, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marissa Tomei, The Wrestler

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

Best Original Screenplay
Frozen River
Milk
In Bruges
Happy-Go-Lucky
Wall*E

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Animated Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall*E

Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz With Bashir

Best 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
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL*E

Original Song
Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, "Down to Earth" from WALL*E
A.R. Rahman, "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire
M.I.A. and Rahman, "O... Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire

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

Documentary Feature
The Betrayal
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

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)