The famous composer of Greek decent, Alexander Desplat, isĀ up for an OscarĀ in the categoryĀ “achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)”. Desplat composed the music for the movie āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchet. Two years ago he was awarded a Golden Globe for the music in the movie āThe Painted Veilā. The nominations for the 81st Academy Awards were announced today (Thursday, January 22) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and OscarĀ® winner Forest Whitaker. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland CenterĀ®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.
Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards
Performance by an actor in a leading role
- Richard Jenkins in āThe Visitorā (Overture Films)
- Frank Langella in āFrost/Nixonā (Universal)
- Sean Penn in āMilkā (Focus Features)
- Brad Pitt in āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
- Mickey Rourke in āThe Wrestlerā (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Josh Brolin in āMilkā (Focus Features)
- Robert Downey Jr. in āTropic Thunderā (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
- Philip Seymour Hoffman in āDoubtā (Miramax)
- Heath Ledger in āThe Dark Knightā (Warner Bros.)
- Michael Shannon in āRevolutionary Roadā (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
- Anne Hathaway in āRachel Getting Marriedā (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Angelina Jolie in āChangelingā (Universal)
- Melissa Leo in āFrozen Riverā (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Meryl Streep in āDoubtā (Miramax)
- Kate Winslet in āThe Readerā (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
- Amy Adams in āDoubtā (Miramax)
- PenĆ©lope Cruz in āVicky Cristina Barcelonaā (The Weinstein Company)
- Viola Davis in āDoubtā (Miramax)
- Taraji P. Henson in āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
- Marisa Tomei in āThe Wrestlerā (Fox Searchlight)
Best animated feature film of the year
- āBoltā (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
- āKung Fu Pandaā (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
- āWALL-Eā (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton
Achievement in art direction
- āChangelingā (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
- āThe Dark Knightā (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
- āThe Duchessā (Paramount Vantage, PathĆ© and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
- āRevolutionary Roadā (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
Achievement in cinematography
- āChangelingā (Universal), Tom Stern
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
- āThe Dark Knightā (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
- āThe Readerā (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
- āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle
Achievement in costume design
- āAustraliaā (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
- āThe Duchessā (Paramount Vantage, PathĆ© and BBC Films), Michael OāConnor
- āMilkā (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
- āRevolutionary Roadā (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky
Achievement in directing
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
- āFrost/Nixonā (Universal), Ron Howard
- āMilkā (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
- āThe Readerā (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
- āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle
Best documentary feature
- āThe Betrayal (Nerakhoon)ā (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
- āEncounters at the End of the Worldā (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
- āThe Gardenā A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
- āMan on Wireā (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
- āTrouble the Waterā (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Best documentary short subject
- āThe Conscience of Nhem Enā A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
- āThe Final Inchā A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
- āSmile Pinkiā A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
- āThe Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306ā A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde
Achievement in film editing
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
- āThe Dark Knightā (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
- āFrost/Nixonā (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
- āMilkā (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
- āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens
Best foreign language film of the year
- āThe Baader Meinhof Complexā A Constantin Film Production, Germany
- āThe Classā (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
- āDeparturesā (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
- āRevancheā (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
- āWaltz with Bashirā (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel
Achievement in makeup
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
- āThe Dark Knightā (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor OāSullivan
- āHellboy II: The Golden Armyā (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
- āDefianceā (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
- āMilkā (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
- āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
- āWALL-Eā (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
- āDown to Earthā from āWALL-Eā (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
- āJai Hoā from āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
- āO Sayaā from āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam
Best motion picture of the year
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and CeĆ”n Chaffin, Producers
- āFrost/Nixonā (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
- āMilkā (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
- āThe Readerā (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
- āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer
Best animated short film
- āLa Maison en Petits Cubesā A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
- āLavatory – Lovestoryā A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
- āOktapodiā (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, LāĆ©cole de lāimage Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
- āPrestoā (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
- āThis Way Upā, A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes
Best live action short film
- āAuf der Strecke (On the Line)ā (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
- āManon on the Asphaltā (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
- āNew Boyā (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
- āThe Pigā An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte HĆøgh
- āSpielzeugland (Toyland)ā A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank
Achievement in sound editing
- āThe Dark Knightā (Warner Bros.), Richard King
- āIron Manā (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
- āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
- āWALL-Eā (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
- āWantedā (Universal),Wylie Stateman
Achievement in sound mixing
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
- āThe Dark Knightā (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
- āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
- āWALL-Eā (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
- āWantedā (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. MontaƱo and Petr Forejt
Achievement in visual effects
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
- āThe Dark Knightā (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
- āIron Manā (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
Adapted screenplay
- āThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonā (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
- āDoubtā (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
- āFrost/Nixonā (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
- āThe Readerā (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
- āSlumdog Millionaireā (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
- āFrozen Riverā (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
- āHappy-Go-Luckyā (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
- āIn Brugesā (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
- āMilkā (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
- āWALL-Eā (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
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