81st Academy Award Winners

6:54 PM / Posted by Bradford Oman / comments (1)

Here we are updating live with the winners of the 81st Academy Awards! Reactions and ceremony review will be up shortly after! Stay Tuned!

Best Supporting Actress - Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Original Screenplay - Dustin Lance Black for Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Animated Feature Film - WALL-E

Best Animated Short Film - La Maison en Petits Cubes

Art Direction - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Costume Design - The Duchess

Makeup - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Cinematography - Slumdog Millionaire

Short Film - Spielzeulgland (Toyland)

Best Supporting Actor- Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight

Documentary Feature Film - Man on Wire

Documentary Short Film - Smile Pinki

Visual Effects - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Sound Editing - The Dark Knight

Sound Mixing - Slumdog Millionaire

Film Editing - Slumdog Millionaire

Original Score - A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire

Original Song - "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Language Film - Departures (Japan)

Best Director - Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actress - Kate Winslet for The Reader

Best Actor - Sean Penn for Milk

Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire

And that's it for our live coverage of the winners of the 81st Academy Awards. Tomorrow we'll have a review of the revamped ceremony and some reactions to the surprises (or mostly lack thereof) .

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81st Academy Award Predictions

4:18 PM / Posted by Bradford Oman / comments (0)

And so the 81st Academy Awards are upon us airing live tomorrow night on ABC at 8pm EST. While wardrobes are being finalized, performances rehearsed and nerves racked, those of us not involved with the telecast other than as observers are simply making predictions and waiting for what has been dubbed Hollywood's biggest night.

Below I've included my predictions for the major awards (including Best Foreign Film and Best Animated Film). I've included additional comments as far as who I think should win if it is contrary to my actual predictions. Feel free to sound off in the comments with any disagreements or with a full list of your own predictions.

Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire

  • But I wouldn't be upset to see Milk take home the big prize
Best Actor - Sean Penn for Milk
  • Sean Penn took home the SAG award which is a pretty good indicator, and the more I think about it, the more impressive his role as Harvey Milk was. Rourke gave an excellent performance but really had a lot of personal hard times to inspire his rough around the edges, emotionally collapsing character portrayal in The Wrestler.
Best Actress - Kate Winslet for The Reader
  • If I had my way, I honestly would probably go with Meryl Streep for Doubt. Her performance struck me more, but that might only be because The Reader wasn't wholly remarkable as a film. But Winslet seems like the favorite.
Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
  • This is pretty much as close to a guarantee as you can get. The late Heath Ledger has the most buzz and has received all the right praise and awards to have this one in the bag.
Best Supporting Actress - Penelope Cruz for Vicky Christina Barcelona
  • While she didn't get the SAG or Golden Globes, she certainly seems like the choice to win. My personal choice is Viola Davis for her brief role in Doubt. While her screen time was minimal, hers was a very powerful performance that really struck a chord.
Best Director - Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
  • Same with picture, Gus Van Sant could easily snag this award for his directing Milk and I wouldn't be disappointed.
Best Original Screenplay - Dustin Lance Black for Milk
  • With Slumdog Millionaire being an adapted screenplay I think that Black is almost as close of a shoe-in for this award as Ledger for Supporting Actor
Best Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire
  • This is also almost a lock-in since Milk is an original screenplay and out of competition with Beaufoy
Best Animated Feature - WALL-E
  • This was most assuredly the best animated feature from last year and if it doesn't get it then for shame.
Best Foreign Feature - Waltz with Bashir
  • I am not prepared to actually comment on any of the foreign film nominees this year, but this is getting all sorts of acclaim and thus it's my pick.
Best Documentary Feature - Man on Wire
  • Truly a hidden gem in the world of documentary films, this is a heavy favorite, and I really enjoyed seeing its narrative come to life thanks to the wonders of Netflix Instant Viewing.

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