Oscar nominees – Benjamin Button leads Slumdog Millionare and The Dark Knight

January 22, 2009 by Simon Miraudo 0 Comments

The nominees have been announced for the 81st Academy Awards, and there are surprises, snubs and shocks all round.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button scored a massive 13 nominations, one shy of equalling the record of most ever nominations. It is in the running for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay amongst a string of technical nominations.

Benjamin Button will compete in the Best Picture category with Slumdog Millionaire (10 nominations), Frost/Nixon (5 nominations), Milk (8 nominations) and The Reader (5 nominations).

Although The Dark Knight missed out on Best Picture and Best Director nods, it scored 8 nominations, including one for Heath Ledger in the Best Supporting Actor category.

WALL-E earned 6 nominations, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Animated Feature. It will compete with Bolt and Kung Fu Panda in the animated feature category.

CHECK OUT OUR DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE NOMINEES HERE!

Take a look through the nominations, and tell us what you think in the comments:

Best Motion Picture

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

Best Director

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

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
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Michael Shannon – Revolutionary Road

Best Supporting Actress