It was a film that nearly went straight to DVD, based on the Indian version of a Chris Tarrant TV show, but last night Slumdog Millionaire was a wholesale triumph at the 81st Academy Awards. Danny Boyle’s Mumbai tale took a grand total of eight Oscars including Best Film, Best Director, Best Song, Best Score and Best Adapted Screenplay. A good evening for Boyle and for the entire cast of the film (almost all of whom seemed to find their way on stage for the final win), leaving David Fincher’s Benjamin Button with just three technical awards, including a well-deserved win for Visual effects.
**Milk **managed to scoop not only the award for Best Original Screenplay but also bestow upon Sean Penn his second Oscar for Best Actor. Best Actress went to Kate Winslet for her outstanding role as former Auschwitz guard Hanna Schmitz in Stephen Daldry’s The Reader. Best Supporting Actress was taken by Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona while Best Supporting Actor – in a move that surprised a grand total of zero people – went to Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight and was accepted on his behalf by his father, mother and sister.
The full list of winners are...
Best Film
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Director
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Fincher
Frost/Nixon - Ron Howard
Milk - Gus Van Sant
The Reader - Stephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle
**
Actor In A Leading Role**
The Visitor - Richard Jenkins
Frost/Nixon - Frank Langella
Milk - Sean Penn
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Brad Pitt
The Wrestler - Mickey Rourke
Actor In A Supporting Role
Milk - Josh Brolin
Tropic Thunder - Robert Downey Jr.
Doubt - Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Dark Knight - Heath Ledger
Revolutionary Road - Michael Shannon
Actress In A Leading Role
Rachel Getting Married - Anne Hathaway
Changeling - Angelina Jolie
Frozen River - Melissa Leo
Doubt - Meryl Streep
The Reader - Kate Winslet
Actress In A Supporting Role
Doubt - Amy Adams
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Penélope Cruz
Doubt - Viola Davis
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Taraji P. Henson
The Wrestler - Marisa Tomei
Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Doubt - John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan
The Reader - David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy
Original Screenplay
Frozen River - Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky - Mike Leigh
In Bruges - Martin McDonagh
Milk - Dustin Lance Black
WALL-E - Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter
Animated Feature
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
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
Costume Design
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road
Documentary Feature
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
Documentary Short
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306
Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir
Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
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
Original Song
WALL-E - "Down to Earth"
Slumdog Millionaire - "Jai Ho"
Slumdog Millionaire - "O Saya"
Sound Editing
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Animated Short
La Maison de Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
Live Action Short
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)