Oscars 2009: Benjamin Button leads nominations
Story by Jack Foley
BRAD Pitt movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has emerged as the early favourite in this year’s Oscar race, after securing 13 nominations.
But Danny Boyle’s British hit, Slumdog Millionaire, which triumphed at the recent Golden Globes, isn’t far behind with 10 nods, including best film.
The nominations for the 81st Academy Awards were issued on Thursday, January 22, 2009, and also included eight nods for summer blockbuster The Dark Knight, including one for late Australian actor Heath Ledger for best supporting actor, for his role as The Joker.
Another film to land eight nominations was Gus Van Sant’s biopic Milk, starring Sean Penn, about the first openly gay man to be elected to US politics in San Francisco in the ’70s.
Meryl Streep, meanwhile, received her 15th nomination as best actress in Doubt, while Golden Globe winner Kate Winslet will go up against her for her performance as a Nazi in Stephen Daldry’s The Reader. There was no double nod for Winslet, however, who missed out for her performance in Revolutionary Road.
The Brits, however, fared very well in many categories… with all eyes now on both front-runners Winslet and Boyle to see if they can emulate their previous awards success at the Globes with Oscars triumphs.
Slumdog Millionaire is up for best film, but faces tough competition from Benjamin Button, Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Reader, while Boyle will vy for best director alongside Stephen Daldry, David Fincher (Benjamin Button), Gus Van Sant (Milk) and Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon).
Winslet and Streep, meanwhile, will be pitted against Angelina Jolie, for Clint Eastwood’s Changeling, and Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married, as well as surprise nominee Melissa Leo for indie drama Frozen River, which was a hit at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Another pleasant surprise came in the best actor category, where veteran star Richard Jenkins deservedly picked up a nomination for his brilliant performance in The Visitor, another indie hit from 2008.
Jenkins – best known as a strong character actor in material such as Six Feet Under and Burn After Reading – will compete against Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Sean Penn (Milk), Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler).
Other nominees
In other categories, comeback king Robert Downey Jr will battle Heath Ledger for the best supporting actor statuette (for Tropic Thunder), along with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Josh Brolin and Michael Shannon – the only actor to get a nod for Revolutionary Road.
And Penelope Cruz is nominated in the best supporting actress category alongside Amy Adams, Taraji P Henson, Viola Davis and Marisa Tomei.
Israel’s Waltz With Bashir is sure to be viewed as an early favourite for the best foreign language film – although it faces competition from the likes of French Palme d’Or winner The Class and Germany’s The Baader Meinhof Complex.
And Pixar look a pretty safe bet for the best animated film once again, with Wall-E up against Disney’s Bolt and DreamWorks Animations’ Kung Fu Panda.
There are further British nods for Happy-Go-Lucky and hitman comedy In Bruges – both of which are nominated in the best original screenplay category.
While former Full Montry writer Simon Beaufoy is in the running for the best adapted screenplay for Slumdog Millionaire, along with the screenplays for Benjamin Button and The Reader.
Hugh Jackman is to host this year’s ceremony, which takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on February 22, 2009.