This morning the 81st Annual Academy Award Nominations were announced. There weren’t really any big surprises though obviously there were some disappointments.

I’m shocked that Kate Winslet was nominated for THE READER and not for REVOLUTIONARY ROAD in which she tops any performance nominated this year. I’m psyched to see Michael Shannon on the list for Best Supporting Actor in REV ROAD, same for Josh Brolin for MILK. I’m annoyed beyond belief that Anne Hathaway was nominated for RACHEL GETTING MARRIED because that film is a piece of bullshit. I’m also glad to see Richard Jenkins getting some love for THE VISITOR! For everyone upset that THE DARK KNIGHT didn’t get more love, get over it… it’s not THAT good folks – it’s good but like I said, not that good. I’m also psyched to see MAN ON WIRE get it’s well deserved nod.

*My picks are in BOLD

BEST PICTURE
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”

BEST ACTOR
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”

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 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 ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”
Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”
Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Marttin McDonagh, “In Bruges”
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, “WALL-E”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”
David Hare, “The Reader”
Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”
John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”
Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Baader-Meinhof Complex” (Germany)
“The Class” (France)
“Departures” (Japan)
“Revanche” (Austria)
“Three Monkeys” (Turkey)
“Waltz with Bashir” (Israel)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
“Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”

Read the rest of the nominations and my picks after the jump…

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306
Smile Pinki
The Final Inch

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
The Pig
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
The New Boy
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
La Maison de Petits Cubes
This Way Up
Presto
Oktapodi
Lavatory – Lovestory

BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“Wall-E”

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”
“Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Revolutionary Road”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Changeling” Tom Stern
“Slumdog Millionaire,” Anthony Dod Mantle
“The Reader,” Chris Menges
“The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button,” Claudio Miranda
“The Dark Knight,” Wally Pfister,

BEST FILM EDITING
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
“The Dark Knight,” Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon,” Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
“Milk,” Elliot Graham
“Slumdog Millionaire,” Chris Dickens

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Australia,” Catherine Martin
“The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button,” Jacqueline West
“The Duchess,” Michael O’Conner
“Milk”, Danny Glicker
“Revolutionary Road,” Albert Wolsky

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Slumdog Millionaire,” “Jai Ho,” A.R. Rahman
“Slumdog Millionaire,” “O Saya,” A.R. Rahman & M.I.A.
“Wall-E,” “Down To Earth,” Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance,” James Newton Howard
“Milk,” Danny Elfman
“Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E,” Thomas Newman

BEST MAKEUP
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Colleen Callaghan, Fionagh Cush
“The Dark Knight,” Peter Robb-King, John Caglione Jr.
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” Mike Elizalde, Thom Floutz

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Eric Barba
“The Dark Knight,” Chris Corbould, Nick Davis, Paul Franklin, Tim Webber
“Iron Man,” John Nelson

BEST SOUND EDITING
“The Dark Knight,” Richard King
“Iron Man,” Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire,” Tom Sayers
“Wall-E,” Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood
“Wanted,” Wylie Stateman

BEST SOUND MIXING
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Mark Weingarten, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce
“The Dark Knight,” Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo
“Slumdog Millionaire,” Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“Wall-E,” Ben Burtt, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick
“Wanted,” Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 7:14 am and is filed under Awards, Ducky Does TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.