81st Academy Awards® Nominees Announced

©A.M.P.A.S.®

“Button” nosed out its rivals Thursday morning by scoring 13 nominations for the 81st Academy Awards. Paramount-Warner Bros.’ “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” got the most noms, including best pic.

Other best pic contenders are Universal’s “Frost/Nixon,” Focus Features’ “Milk,” the Weinstein Co.’s “The Reader,” and Fox Searchlight’s “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Nominees for the 81st Academy Awards (by category)

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

Nominees for the 81st Academy Awards (by Picture)

(This list does not include Short Films or Documentary Short Subjects)

Australia

20th Century Fox/Bazmark Film 2 Pty Ltd Production (20th Century Fox)

• Costume design

The Baader Meinhof Complex

Constantin Film Production

• Best foreign language film (Germany)

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

Pandinlao Films Production (Cinema Guild)

• Documentary feature

Bolt

Walt Disney Pictures Production (Walt Disney)

• Best animated feature film

Changeling

Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment Production (Universal)

• Angelina Jolie - Performance by an actress in a leading role
• Art direction
• Cinematography

The Class

Haut et Court Production (Sony Pictures Classics)

• Best foreign language film (France)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Kennedy/Marshall Production (Paramount and Warner Bros.)

• Brad Pitt - Performance by an actor in a leading role
• Taraji P. Henson - Performance by an actress in a supporting role
• Art direction
• Cinematography
• Costume design
• Directing
• Film editing
• Makeup
• Original score
• Best picture
• Sound mixing
• Visual effects
• Adapted screenplay

The Dark Knight

Cape Road Limited Production (Warner Bros.)

• Heath Ledger - Performance by an actor in a supporting role
• Art direction
• Cinematography
• Film editing
• Makeup
• Sound editing
• Sound mixing
• Visual effects

Defiance

Grosvenor Park/Bedford Falls Production (Paramount Vantage)

• Original score

Departures

Departures Film Partners Production (Regent Releasing)

• Best foreign language film (Japan)

Doubt

Scott Rudin Production (Miramax)

• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Performance by an actor in a supporting role
• Meryl Streep - Performance by an actress in a leading role
• Amy Adams - Performance by an actress in a supporting role
• Viola Davis - Performance by an actress in a supporting role
• Adapted screenplay

The Duchess

Qwerty Films/Magnolia Mae Films in association with Pathé Renn and BIM Distribuzione Production (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films)

• Art direction
• Costume design

Encounters at the End of the World

Creative Differences Production (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment)

• Art direction

Frost/Nixon

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production (Universal)

• Frank Langella - Performance by an actor in a leading role
• Directing
• Film editing
• Best picture
• Adapted screenplay

Frozen River

Harwood Hunt Production (Sony Pictures Classics)

• Melissa Leo - Performance by an actress in a leading role
• Original screenplay

The Garden

Black Valley Films Production

• Documentary feature

Happy-Go-Lucky

Thin Man Films/Simon Channing Williams Production (Miramax)

• Original screenplay

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Universal Pictures Production (Universal)

• Makeup

In Bruges

Blueprint Pictures Production (Focus Features)

• Original screenplay

Iron Man

Marvel Studios Production (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment)

• Sound editing
• Visual effects

Kung Fu Panda

DreamWorks Animation LLC Production (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount)

• Best animated feature film

Man on Wire

Wall to Wall Production (Magnolia Pictures)

• Documentary feature

Milk

Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production (Focus Features)

• Sean Penn - Performance by an actor in a leading role
• Josh Brolin - Performance by an actor in a supporting role
• Costume design
• Directing
• Film editing
• Original score
• Best picture
• Original screenplay

Rachel Getting Married

Clinica Estetico Production (Sony Pictures Classics)

• Anne Hathaway - Performance by an actress in a leading role

The Reader

Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production (The Weinstein Company)

• Kate Winslet - Performance by an actress in a leading role
• Cinematography
• Directing
• Best picture
• Adapted screenplay

Revanche

Prisma Film/Fernseh Production (Janus Films)

• Best foreign language film (Austria)

Revolutionary Road

Evamere Entertainment, BBC Films and Neal Street Production (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

• Michael Shannon - Performance by an actor in a supporting role
• Art direction
• Costume design

Slumdog Millionaire

Celador Films Production (Fox Searchlight)

• Cinematography
• Directing
• Film editing
• Original score
• Original song - “Jai Ho”
• Original song - “O Saya”
• Best picture
• Sound editing
• Sound mixing
• Adapted screenplay

Tropic Thunder

Red Hour Production (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/ Paramount)

• Robert Downey Jr. - Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Trouble the Water

Elsewhere Films Production (Zeitgeist Films)

• Documentary feature

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Weinstein Company Production (The Weinstein Company)

• Penélope Cruz - Performance by an actress in a supporting role

The Visitor

Groundswell, Participant, Next Wednesday Production (Overture Films)

• Richard Jenkins - Performance by an actor in a leading role

WALL-E

Pixar Animation Studios Production (Walt Disney)

• Original score
• Original song - “Down to Earth”
• Sound editing
• Sound mixing
• Original screenplay

Waltz with Bashir

Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production (Sony Pictures Classics)

• Best foreign language film (Israel)

Wanted

Universal Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment Production (Universal)

• Sound editing
• Sound mixing

The Wrestler

Protozoa Pictures/Wild Bunch Production (Fox Searchlight)

• Mickey Rourke - Performance by an actor in a leading role
• Marisa Tomei - Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Source: Oscars.org