OSCARS 2009: Closing In...

Lot of changes this week. Also, "WALL-E" is creeping into the Best Picture buzz with a flurry of precursors. You won't see it here. I don't think it will be nominated, as much as I think it should.

Best Picture:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director:

Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant, Milk

Best Actor:

Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Actress:

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Best Supporting Actor:

Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Supporting Actress:

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay):

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Writing (Original Screenplay):

Happy-Go-Lucky
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Visitor

Best Animated Feature Film:

Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
Waltz with Bashir

Best Art Direction:

Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Revolutionary Road

Best Cinematography:

Australia
The Dark Knight
Defiance
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Costume Design:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
The Fall
The Other Boleyn Girl
Revolutionary Road

Best Film Editing:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Makeup:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Synecdoche, New York
Tropic Thunder

Best Music (Original Score):

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Revolutionary Road
WALL-E

Best Music (Original Song):

"Down to Earth," WALL-E
"Gran Torino," Gran Torino
"I Thought I Lost You," Bolt
"I Want It All," High School Musical 3: Senior Year
"The Wrestler," The Wrestler

Best Sound Editing:

The Dark Knight
Defiance
Iron Man
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
WALL-E

Best Sound Mixing:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Defiance
Iron Man
WALL-E

Best Visual Effects:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

Best Foreign Language Film:

The Baader-Meinhof Complex
The Class
Everlasting Moments
Gomorrah
Waltz with Bashir

Best Documentary:

At the Death House Door
Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
I.O.U.S.A.
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water