2008 Oscar Nominations Announced - What Do You Think?

Note: This post will be sticky'd to the top of /Film for the remainder of the day.

The Academy Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences announced the 81st Annual Oscar Nominations this morning. Some VERY quick observations:

While Heath Ledger received a Best Supporting Actor nomination, The Dark Knight did not secure a Best Picture nomination, nor a Best Director nomination for Christopher Nolan. However, it did receive a boatload of other technical nominations, including Best Makeup, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, etc.

The list of Best Picture noms is virtually the same from the Golden Globes, save Revolutionary Road has been replaced by Milk. In any case, I find both Best Picture nomination lists somewhat unsatisfying.

Kate Winslet did NOT get two acting nominations, as some had predicted (instead, only Best Actress, and for her performance in The Reader, not Revolutionary Road like at the Golden Globes). Taraji P. Henson, however, did get a nomination for Best Supporting actress, and I'm 100% rooting for her in this one.

Pleasant surprises: Richard Jenkins got a Best Actor nomination for The Visitor, Melissa Leo got a Best Actress nomination for Frozen River.

Biggest WTF: Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler" did not receive a Best Original Song nomination, while Slumdog Millionaire received TWO nominations (out of three). I liked the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, but that strikes me as a bit ridiculous.

This list puts The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at a whopping 13 Oscar nominations. However, Slumdog Millionaire is close behind, with 10 noms (if you count the two songs separately). Milk and Dark Knight both have 8, while Wall-E has 6, and The Reader, Doubt and Frost/Nixon each secured 5.

/Film commenter Joelnstuff points out (accurately) that Wanted received the same number of Oscar nominations as The Wrestler. Please excuse me while I weep.

What kind of twisted world do we live in where Pitt scores a Best Actor nomination for Benjamin Button but Cate Blanchett doesn't get nominated for anything (including her far better performance in that same film)?

Hit the jump for the full list.

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