“Slumdog Millionaire” takes the Best Picture, Eastwood takes Best Actor and Fincher scored Best Director. Will this inform the Oscars at all? In a weak year like this, very possibly. Not because Oscar will be looking at what the NBR is saying/voting, but with no strong frontrunner this year aside from “Milk,” we’re inclined to think that scattered awards will go to multiple films without any one film really sweeping up. Danny Boyle’s film topped the awards with three prizes, including a Breakthrough nod for Dev Patel and Best Adapted Screenplay (which also tied with ‘Benjamin Button’). List below.
We didn’t think Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” was that amazing of a performance, nor did we think “Frost/Nixon” was that incredible (both are fine, good), but again, a weak Oscar year and you get films nominated that don’t really knock your socks off.
Best Film: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Actor: Clint Eastwood, “Gran Torino”
Best Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Best Foreign Film: “Mongol”
Best Documentary: “Man on Wire”
Best Animated Feature: “WALL-E”
Best Ensemble Cast: “Doubt”
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Best Directorial Debut: Courtney Hunt, “Frozer River”
Best Original Screenplay: Nick Schenk, “Gran Torino”
Best Adapted Screenplay (tie): Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire” and Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” The top ten (in alphabetical order):
“Burn After Reading”
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Defiance”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Gran Torino”
“Milk”
“WALL-E”
“The Wrestler” Top five foreign films (in alphabetical order):
“Edge of Heaven”
“Let the Right One In”
“Roman de Gare”
“A Secret”
“Waltz with Bashir” Top five documentary films (in alphabetical order):
“American Teen”
“The Betrayal”
“Dear Zachary”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” Top Ten Independent Films
“Frozen River”
“In Bruges”
“In Search of a Midnight Kiss”
“Mr. Foe”
“Rachel Getting Married”
“Snow Angels”
“Son of Rambow”
“Wendy and Lucy”
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
“The Visitor”
You know we’re actually starting to think that if “The Dark Knight” got nominated for an Oscar, the race actually could get really interesting.