WEB : 81st Oscar Nominations & Talking Points

BEST PICTURE:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

DIRECTING:
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:
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penélope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
Doubt, Written by John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon, Screenplay by Peter Morgan
The Reader, Screenplay by David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire, Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Frozen River, Written by Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky, Written by Mike Leigh
In Bruges, Written by Martin McDonagh
Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black
WALL•E, Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

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:
"Down to Earth" from WALL•E, Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
"Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire, Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
"O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire, Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

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Some talking points for this years list :

• No The Dark Knight best picture nomination? Man, if The Dark Knight couldn't get itself a nomination, then you can't imagine any comic book movie ever reaching that height. I thought it would happen this year, but then again..
  

• And no Chris Nolan too? Hmm..

• Many people are discussing online about the nod Brad Pitt got for Benjamin Button. Did you know that Brad Pitt does not appear onscreen for the first 52 minutes of his performance? Even after that, it is enhanced with extensive makeup and special effects. The question could be asked - is this the very first digital performance nominated for an Oscar? If he can get nominated, why not Andy Serkis startling work as Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings back in 2002?

• Meryl Streep received her 15th acting nomination. Fifteenth! That's a new record..
  

• I thought the Academy loves Clint Eastwood. Where's Gran Torino? Complete shut-out.
  

• No Kate Winslet in supporting actress category (and rightly so, because she was the lead in The Reader). Penelope Cruz and Marisa Tomei is smiling.. :)

• No Springsteen for Best Original Song? The Boss fans won't be happy.
  

• Although I haven't seen Happy-Go-Lucky, many angry people online are discussing about the snub for Sally Hawkins in Best Actress category. In fact she is the only actress not to be nominated for an Oscar after winning the 4 major non-Oscar awards (National Society of Film Critics, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, The New York Film Critics Circle and the Golden Globes). Read more about it here.

• Stephen Daldry has made only three films and he's been nominated for Best Director every time with Billy Elliott, The Hours and The Reader. How the Academy voters loved him..

• Downey Jr nomination is a pleasant suprise. It's cool but I prefer Tom Cruise performance in Tropic Thunder.
  

So what do u guys think? Full list of nominees here.