Monday, February 23, 2009

2009 Academy Awards

'Slumdog Millionaire' Cleans Up at the Oscars

81st Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals
Actors Dev Patel, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan and Anil Kapoor arrive at the 81st Annual Academy Awards held at Kodak Theatre on February 22, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dev Patel;Madhur Mittal;Freida Pinto;Irrfan Khan;Anil Kapoor (Getty Images)more pics »Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire took home 8 awards tonight, crushing its closest competitor, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which won 3. Winning both Best Director and Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire took home 8 out of the 10 awards it was nominated for.

The other upset of the night? Sean Penn taking home a golden statue for his role in Milk, taking it away from Mickey Rourke, who seemed close to a lock for his turn in The Wrestler. The other major categories went down without many surprises. Kate Winslet won her first for The Reader, Heath Ledger was honored with a posthumous Oscar for his turn as The Joker in The Dark Knight, and Penelope Cruz nabbed a Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Christina Barcelona.

Meanwhile, the Academy's attempt to liven up the broadcast was met with mixed success. Hugh Jackman was an amiable but forgettable host, gamely making his way though some lame one-liners and one pretty terrible dance sequence.

The one innovation that seemed to work was the presentations for acting awards. Having five former winners of Best Supporting and Best Actor and Actresses managed to honor the history of the Oscars without feeling hackneyed or forced.

A full list of winners is below:


Best Picture - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Best Director - Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire")
Best Actor - Sean Penn ("Milk")
Best Actress - Kate Winslet ("The Reader")
Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger ("The Dark Knight")
Best Supporting Actress - Penelope Cruz ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona")
Best Original Screenplay - Dustin Lance Black ("Milk")
Best Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire")
Best Animated Feature - WALL-E
Best Animated Short - La Maison en Petit Cubes
Best Foreign Film - "Departures"
Best Documentary - "Man on Wire"
Best Short Documentary - "Smile Pinki"
Best Art Direction - Donald Graham Burt ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button")
Best Makeup - Greg Cannom ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button")
Best Costume Design - Michael O'Conner ("The Duchess")
Best Cinematographer - Anthony Dod Mantle ("Slumdog Millionaire")
Best Live Action Short - "Speilzeugland (Toyland)"
Best Visual Effects - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Best Sound Editing - Richard King ("The Dark Knight")
Best Sound Mixing - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Best Film Editing - Chris Dickens ("Slumdog Millionaire")
Best Score - A.R. Rahman ("Slumdog Millionaire")
Best Original Song - A.R. Rahman ("Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire")

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