2009 Oscar Winners List (Highlights of Academy Awards Included)

(Click here for full list of 2009 Oscar winners.) It is another year, another Oscars Academy Awards show in Hollywood, Calif. The 81st Oscars, in 2009, promised us surprises as the movies of 2008 are honored for various cinematic achievements, Hollywood stars get to walk the red carpet and show off the hot fashion trends and wild fashion mistakes. Fortunately for me, I am a guy with no eye for fashion, but an eye for film. So I will simply cut through the fashion detail for another article (which I decided not to write) and focus on the actual show and awards. So what films won while others got snubbed? Did Hugh Jackman make a decent host? And will those promised surprises actually be surprising?

Hugh Jackman began the show simply with himself and a few introductions of nominees. He mentioned the downsizing of the show's grandeur due the recession. And then he canceled out the low mood with a Broadway song and dance opening number (the pizza boxes were a nice touch). His Broadway chops and previous work as host of the Tony Awards were on display during his opening number of song and dance while listing the Best Picture nominees. Anne Hathaway's appearance for "Frost/Nixon" was a pleasant surprise. He lost composure during "The Reader" bit and this opening number began wearing out its welcome. Fortunately, he wrapped it up by then.

He would attempt to turn the Oscars into the Tony Awards one more time with a Broadway musical medley. While I have some exposure to Broadway and appreciation for such musicals, this felt out of place and did little but slow down the pace of the show and fill up time. If the musical were truly back, the Academy should nominate a few for some Oscars. Beyonce's appearance during the Broadway musical number was a nice touch. I did not recognize her until Hugh mentioned her.

Hugh Jackman proved to be an adequate host. He could entertain through his musical skills, but his jokes fell flat. His best feature when introducing presenters was getting out of the way while the presenters did the rest of the talking. He was a safe bet this year, though I would not mind going for a riskier host or hostess next year.

Yearbook features would showcase the movies of 2008 in various categories and themes such as animation, romance, and action. It would remind us of films that were great and Oscar worthy and the films that, while great, did not make it to the Oscar nominations for one arbitrary reason or another.

The surprising highlights of the Oscars included bringing back previous Oscar winners to present in the categories where the they won. Among them, Meryl Streep and Whoopi Goldberg started this off by presenting the Best Supporting Actress. The same thing occurred for Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress, and Best Actress. Seeing such star power on one stage at a time is a rarity. My favorite lineup was of Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Adrian Brody, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Sir Ben Kingsley for Best Actor. Tina Fey and Steve Martin, both excellent writers, provided a witty explanation of the development of the screenplay, reminding me that writing is hard work that is often under-appreciated. The yearbook feature on animation showed off a lot of the 2008 animated features and reminded me why only three of those features were nominated for the Academy Award: Only three of them were any good. The crazy guy during the Best Documentary Award was a sight to see. The Japanese got not one, but two Oscars (Foreign Film, Animated Short). As an Asian American, it is great to see fellow Asians get their due at the Oscars. The Indian winning two for "Slumdog Millionaire" was also an excellent achievement for Asians, but that was expected given the hype. The best highlight was when the Academy Awards head did not make a speech this year.

Aside from the excessive musical numbers (a basic complaint for every Oscars), this year's Academy Awards had a few lowlights. Daniel Craig was terrible at his presentation as he flubbed and stumbled through his lines. Seth Rogan's humor still eludes me. I am reminded how I snubbed Oscar worthy films in favor of whiz bang action movies. The Academy in turn decided to snub sevearl whiz bang action movies in favor of films I just recently heard about courtesy of Oscar coverage. The memorial list did not mention Heath Ledger, but they mentioned him at last year's Oscars so it evened out. Probably the oddest lowlight was when Steven Spielberg was off by three zeroes when he announced "Slumdog Billionaire" as Best Picture. He managed to flub up the most important part of the Oscars.

And now for the nominees, my predictions, the winners (in italics), and my analysis:

I made my predictions for this year's Oscars based on an old family system of looking at the titles and recognizing patterns from the previous Oscars. The last thing I wanted to do to taint my predictions was actually watch the films nominated for any awards. All that would do was cause me to fervently foam at the mouth and attempt to will the universe to do my bidding at giving Oscar statuettes to some films I might have liked.

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penélope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

Prediction: "Doubt" with its two nominees in one category ensures neither will win since they will split the votes among the Academy.

Analysis: Penélope Cruz wins and gives an emotional speech to set the pace of the Oscars as the first award presented.

Best Original Screenplay
WALL-E - Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter
Happy-Go-Lucky - Mike Leigh
Frozen River - Courtney Hunt
In Bruges - Martin McDonagh
Milk - Dustin Lance Black

Prediction: While "Slumdog Millionaire" will most likely overshadow "Milk" in this show, giving this Oscar to "Milk" will be throwing a bone for the film and appeasing the gay community.

Analysis: "Milk" wins as I predicted.

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan
The Reader - David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy
Doubt - John Patrick Shanley

Prediction: I am glad this is one of the few times "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Milk" do not compete. Both seem to be great films in their own right. With a director directing the expected Best Picture, that film will need an award winning screenplay.

Analysis: An easy win for "Slumdog Millionaire."

Best Animated Feature
Bolt - Chris Williams and Byron Howard
Kung Fu Panda - Mark Osborne and John Stevenson
WALL-E - Andrew Stanton

Prediction: It was slim pickings for animation this year. The Pixar juggernaut continues its practice of combining poignant storytelling with high quality computer animation and has now found a way for a series of computer programming to convey emotion better than some Hollywood actors. If WALL-E does not win, it will be a huge upset.

Analysis: Jack Black was right. Do one Dreamworks film and bet all of the money on Pixar.

Best Animated Short
La Maison En Petits Cubes - Kunio Kato
Lavatory - Lovestory - Konstantin Bronzit
Oktapodi - Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
Presto - Doug Sweetland
This Way Up - Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Prediction: Categories like these are total crap shoots since I have no idea where to see these shorts. I have only seen "Presto," but will choose "Oktapodi" since the dart I threw landed on that short.

Analysis: What little I've seen of "La Maison En Petits Cubes" looks interesting enough to watch. The big shock towards anime fans is that this short is a Japanese project and makes it anime. But since the style looks nothing like the stereotypical anime style, fans will argue about this for some time.

Best Art Direction
Changeling - James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
The Dark Knight - Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando
The Duchess - Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway
Revolutionary Road - Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt

Prediction: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" or "The Duchess" are my primary choices, but I choose "Ben Button" for no reason aside from gut instinct.

Analysis: Sometimes it is best to go with my gut instinct.

Best Costume Design
Australia - Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Jacqueline West
The Duchess - Michael O'Connor
Milk - Danny Glicker Revolutionary Road - Albert Wolsky

Prediction: Films with period costumes like "The Duchess" usually win because they look cool and familiar. My costuming friends would have a coronary over the film's costume accuracy, but that is probably why the Academy does not consult my friends when voting in this category.

Analysis: Hoop skirts continue to win these Oscars for no other reason than being a pain to work with but a sight to see.

Best Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Greg Cannom
The Dark Knight - John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Mike Elizalde, Thom Floutz

Prediction: While The Joker's makeup job was great, I think "Ben Button's" display of the effects of time will win an Academy Award. I predict that monster makeup will once again get snubbed.

Analysis: The Academy does not care about monsters. CG is slowly making them obsolete in the makeup category. It has more artistic merit to use makeup to show one man's journey threw time backwards.

Best Cinematography
Changeling - Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight - Wally Pfister
The Reader - Chris Menges, Roger Deakins
Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle

Prediction: I feel the trailers of "The Changeling" have enough of the time period feel to win this category.

Analysis: Okay, I admit to being wrong on this one. I neglected the merit in finding new ways to use the camera to tell a story like "Slumdog."

Best Live Action Short
On the Line (Auf der Strecke)
Manon On the Asphalt
New Boy (Ireland)
The Pig (Grisen)
Toyland (Spielzeugland)

Prediction: "Toyland" seems the most most reasonable.

Analysis: Once I saw that "Toyland" involved Nazis, I knew this would win.

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

Prediction: Probably the only thing I liked about the musical "Rent" is how they showed that death is one of the best marketing tools for a production. Once the news states that someone, preferably a key actor or writer, died after his last project, the fans and public will charge into that last project to see his or her last work. Combine it with the speed of Internet communication, now the mass of fans of the deceased can raise a lot of noise demanding recognition of the deceased. Should the Academy decide not to give the Oscar to Heath Ledger, expect a lot of web pages and Internet forum posts devoted to hating the Academy. If Heath Ledger were alive, I would like to see him lose to Robert Downey, Jr., whose dedicated role as "the dude playing the dude disguised as the other dude" took a lot more supporting acting chops than a clown working hard at NOT trying to impersonate Jack Nicholson. Then again, I actually watched "Tropic Thunder" and realize I am trying to will the universe to do my bidding.

Analysis: Heath Ledger's win was as surprising as the sun rising.

Best Documentary Feature
Nerakhoon (The Betrayal)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

Prediction: I need to go watch these documentaries as soon as I find out WHERE to watch them. On a blind guess, I choose "Encounters at the End of the World."

Analysis: "Man on Wire" wins, though I do not know why since I never saw any of these films. The guy who was the the subject of the film is certainly a character.

Best Documentary Short
The Conscience of Nhem En - Steven Okazaki
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

Prediction: Seriously, where can I find these documentaries? "The Witness" is another shot in the dark.

Analysis: I shall have to locate a copy of "Smile Pinki."

Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron
The Dark Knight - Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber, Paul Franklin
Iron Man - John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick, Shane Mahan

Prediction: I feel our current special effects technology is best suited for superhero films. Twenty years ago it would look cheesy and twenty years from now, hopefully most of the technology comes to life and will not need special effects. Judging from the number of superhero films just released and scheduled for release, I see that Marvel and DC agree."Iron Man" with his suit of flying iron and enough weapons to start and end World War III is the pinnacle of superhero visual effects.

Analysis: While my argument for "Iron Man" was valid, I guess the Academy is more interested in character-driven visual effects.

Best Sound Editing
The Dark Knight - Richard King
Iron Man - Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes
Slumdog Millionaire - Tom Sayers
WALL-E - Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
Wanted - Wylie Stateman

Prediction: If "Wanted" wins, it will reinforce my opinions that the movie SOUNDED good, but still could not get me to like it despite loving mindless shooting gun play movies. Since "WALL-E" was pretty much sound effects in dire need of an editor to make it coherent, it deserves the Oscar.

Analysis: Superheroes get their due with "The Dark Knight" winning best sound editing.

Best Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten
The Dark Knight - Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick
Slumdog Millionaire - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty
WALL-E - Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt
Wanted - Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt

Prediction: Honestly, I cannot really distinguish this and sound editing. I personally interchange both terms when dubbing my movies. So just to be redundant in case I miss one, I give my prediction to "WALL-E" here as well.

Analysis: A surprising win for "Slumdog." At least, a surprise for me.

Best Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
The Dark Knight - Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon - Mike Hill, Daniel P. Hanley
Milk - Elliot Graham
Slumdog Millionaire - Chris Dickens

Prediction: "The Dark Knight" loses in my book for trying to hammer two movies in one and still being at least 20 minutes too long. "Benjamin Button's" story makes it my choice.

Analysis: "Slumdog" now begins to chip at the major awards and post-production awards.

Best 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

Prediction: "Slumdog Millionaire" and its ethnic flair makes it stand out, most likely guaranteeing it an Oscar.

Analysis: From the scores played during the show, "Slumdog" did not bore me, so it was a well-deserved win.

Best Original Song
"Down to Earth" from WALL-E - Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman (music), Peter Gabriel (lyrics)
"Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire - A. R. Rahman (music), Gulzar (lyrics)
"O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire - A. R. Rahman and M.I.A.

Prediction: I usually follow a rule that a film that puts two songs in one category will split the votes so badly that neither will win. So "WALL-E" is set to win. This category's list is awfully short this year.

Analysis: "Slumdog" breaks the pattern of splitting Oscar votes. If the Broadway musical really is back, why are there no songs from musicals nominated for this category?

Best Foreign Language Film
Revanche (Austria) in German - Götz Spielmann
The Class (France) in French - Laurent Cantet
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany) in German - Uli Edel
Departures (Japan) in Japanese - Yojiro Takita
Waltz with Bashir (Israel) in Hebrew - Ari Folman

Prediction: "When in doubt, go for the Jewish sounding one." I'm not sure who told me this, but it has not failed me yet.

Analysis: That rule failed me and I was pleased. In a bizarre shock, the Japanese get this Oscar with "Departures."

Best Director
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant - Milk

Prediction: "Slumdog" offers a more unique experience out of the lot.

Analysis: Best Director and Best Picture usually go hand in hand. So continuing the tradition, I have to select Danny Boyle to accompany "Slumdog Millionaire."

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

I admit this is a blind toss for me since I have not seen any of these movies. I choose Kate Winslet.

Analysis: Anne Hathaway will plenty of nominations in the future.

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

The Academy tends to favor actors who, at best, are impersonating actual people. There's enough reference material to compare the actor to the actual person. I guess the Academy is indirectly trying to give the Oscar to the actual person by giving it to the actor playing the person. It worked for Jamie Foxx's Ray Charles and may work for Sean Penn's Harvey Milk. Frank Langella's Nixon would make for a safe second bet.

Analysis: The Academy continues with the same pattern.

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

With all the news and entertainment media clamoring for "Slumdog Millionaire," the Academy is more likely to choose that film. Call it the "Annoying into Submission" strategy.

Analysis: A predicted and predictable win.

So the big winners were "Slumdog Millionaire,"

I suppose the next step for me is to actually watch "Slumdog Millionaire."The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and "Milk." I suppose the next step for the average film fan is to watch them if he or she has not already.

Sources:
Oscar.com: The 81st Annual Academy Awards Official Website
The televised broadcast of the 81st Academy Awards on ABC.