Barreling down a deserted Hollywood boulevard at the pitch-black hour of 4:12 am this morning, I noticed one lone man standing at the corner of Highland Avenue holding a sign. He trembled in the moderately cool air, bare-chested and wearing a latex Batman mask he’d pilfered from one of the local viral events that transpired over the summer. His hand-painted piece of cardboard read, “Wish me well.” While stopped at the light in front of the Hollywood and Highland complex, this seemingly older man noticed my Academy Award credentials and winked. He knew I was headed to the award nomination announcements and needed my encouragement. I waved, wishing I could have snapped a picture.
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The man’s wish came true, as Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker and Academy President Sid Ganis read the nominations aloud this morning. The Dark Knight was nominated in 8 different categories including best supporting actor for Heath Ledger, art direction, cinematography, film editing, and visual effects. None of which really come as a surprise at all. Probably the two biggest surprises of the morning came with the announcements for Best Actor and Actress. While some people had predicted Richard Jenkins as a longshot for his performance in The Visitor, no one imagined that Melissa Leo would slide into the Best Actress category for her work in the hardly noticed Frozen River. Gasps where audible as Whitaker announced her name to the packed house.
As each new nomination swept the auditorium, the mounting tension almost seemed too much to bear for some. Publicists flittered about in a state of panic, and the photojournalists in attendance got quite snippy with one another as they blocked each other’s shots. The excitement was conspicuous, and nearly all of the ten categories presented live offered a bombshell of some sort. While the crowd was pleased that Robert Downey Jr. had actually managed to snag a nomination for his supporting role in Tropic Thunder, a small group actually squealed out loud when Michael Shannon’s name was read for The Reader. And there were some in the audience that seemed more excited about Taraji P. Henson getting a mention for her supporting role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button than all The Dark Knight fanboys squealing in delight for Heath combined.
There were no shocking revelations held within the confined space of the Best Animated Feature category. All three films were a lock from the word go, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that WALL-E will dominate over the less proficient Bolt and the “nominated because they had little else to choose from” Kung Fu Panda. The category for Live Action Motion Picture is quite a different story, though. Out of the five nominated films, there isn’t a definite favorite. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire are all on equal ground. At least the 81st Annual Academy Awards telecast, which takes place Sunday, February 22, 2009 on ABC, will be a tension filled raced. And it will actually be fun to see who the eventual winners are.
Here are the following nominees from this mornings announcements:
Performance by an actress in a supporting role:
Amy Adams Doubt
Penelope Cruz Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Villa Davis Doubt
Taraji P. Henson The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei The Wrestler
Performance by an actor in a supporting role:
Josh Brolin Milk
Robert Downey Jr. Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman Doubt
Heath Ledger The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon The Reader
Performance by an actress in a leading role:
Anne Hathaway Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie Changeling
Melissa Leo Frozen River
Meryl Streep Doubt
Kate Winslet The Reader
Performance by an actor in a leading role:
Richard Jenkins The Visitor
Frank Langella Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn Milk
Brad Pitt The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke The Wrestler
Achievement in directing:
David Fincher The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant Milk
Stephen Daldry The Reader
Danny Boyle Slumdog Millionaire
Original screenplay:
Courtney Hunt Frozen River
Mike Leigh Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black Milk
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, & Pete Docter WALL-E
Adapted screenplay:
Eric Roth & Robin Swicord The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley Doubt
Peter Morgan Frost/Nixon
David Hare The Reader
Simon Beaufoy Slumdog Millionaire
Best foreign language film of the year:
The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany
The Class - France
Departures - Japan
Revanche - Austria
Waltz with Bashir - Israel
Best animated feature film of the year:
WALL-E
Kung Fu Panda
Bolt
Best motion picture of the year:
Milk
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Reader
Frost/Nixon
Slumdog Millionaire
And the rest of the nominations are as follows:
Achievement in art direction:
Changeling
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road
Achievement in cinematography:
Achievement in costume design:
Australia
Best documentary feature:
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
Best documentary short subject:
Bold|The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306
Achievement in film editing:
Achievement in makeup:
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score):
Alexandre Desplat The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Newton Howard Defiance
Danny Elfman Milk
A.R. Rahman Slumdog Millionaire
Thomas Newman WALL-E
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (original song):
“Down to Earth” from WALL-E
“Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire
“O Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire
Best animated short film:
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
Best live action short film:
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Achievement in sound editing:
Iron Man
Wanted
Achievement in sound mixing:
Achievement in visual effects:
Be sure to watch the 81st Academy Award Ceremony when it airs Sunday, February 22nd, only on ABC.
