81st Academy Awards Dominated by Slumdog Millionaire

Last night at the Kodak theater was spectacular. The star-studded list of Oscar nominees and industry personalities were immaculately dressed for the Super Bowl of all entertainment media events. The theme was old Hollywood all the way. There was no particular color the stars stuck to, which was great because the red carpet was studded with varied jewel-like hues.

The theatricals of first time Oscar host Hugh Jackman were wonderful, fresh and very entertaining. Not only did he do his signature acting, he also bust a move and burst into song. It'll be surprising if Jackman doesn't have Broadway big-wigs queuing up at his door step.

As expected and highly deserved, the Diabolical Joker won the late Heath Ledger an Oscar. Ledger became only the second actor to win a posthumous Oscar. The award was picked up by his parents and sister, who in tear jerking speeches thanked the academy, Ledgers peers and dedicated the award to his little daughter Matilda.

The fresh and low budgeted, Slumdog Millionaire took home 8 of the 10 awards it was nominated for including Best motion picture and best Director. Without a doubt the movie had great support and had the world buzzing. The stage was abuzz with an army of personnel involved with the movie, when Slumdog Millionaire was announced as the best movie.

The year 2009, just seems to be getting better for Kate Winslet. Winslet picked up the Oscar for the best actress award for the Reader. She was the favorite for best actress followed by Meryl Streep. Winslet broke her Oscar curse by finally picking up the gold on her sixth Oscar nomination.

The best actor award was picked up by the veteran actor Sean Penn for his fascinating role as Harvey Milk in the movie Milk. In his acceptance speech he continued his advocacy for equal rights for the gay community. When signing off Penn, acknowledged the contribution of Mickey Rourke in his movie the Wrestler.

The Jean Hersholt life time achievement award was bestowed upon the 82 year old legendary comedian Jerry Lewis. Jerry Lewis was heralded for his great non-profit work for the aid of Muscular Dystrophy.

Japan's Yojiro Takita took home the Oscar for Foreign language film for his movie Departures.

The list of the Oscar winners follows:

Best motion picture of the year

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• Frost/Nixon

• Milk

• The Reader

• Slumdog Millionaire [WINNER]

Achievement in directing

• David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

• Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)

• Gus Van Sant (Milk)

• Stephen Daldry (The Reader)

• Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) [WINNER]

Best Performance by an actor in a leading role

• Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)

• Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)

• Sean Penn (Milk) [WINNER]

• Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

• Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Best Performance by an actress in a leading role

• Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)

• Angelina Jolie (Changeling)

• Melissa Leo (Frozen River)

• Meryl Streep (Doubt)

• Kate Winslet (The Reader) [WINNER]

Best Performance by an actor in a supporting role

• Josh Brolin (Milk)

• Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)

• Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)

• Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight) [WINNER]

• Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

Best Performance by an actress in a supporting role

• Amy Adams (Doubt)

• Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) [WINNER]

• Viola Davis (Doubt)

• Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

• Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

Best animated feature film of the year

• Bolt

• Kung Fu Panda

• WALL• E [WINNER]

Achievement in art direction

• Changeling

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [WINNER]

• The Dark Knight

• The Duchess

• Revolutionary Road

Achievement in cinematography

• Changeling

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• The Dark Knight

• The Reader

• Slumdog Millionaire[WINNER]

Adapted screenplay

• Eric Roth & Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

• John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)

• Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)

• David Hare (The Reader)

• Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) [WINNER]

Original screenplay

• Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)

• Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)

• Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)

• Dustin Lance Black (Milk) [WINNER]

• Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon (WALL• E)

Achievement in costume design

• Australia

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• The Duchess [WINNER]

• Milk

• Revolutionary Road

Achievement in makeup

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [WINNER]

• The Dark Knight

• Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Best documentary feature

• The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

• Encounters at the End of the World

• The Garden

• Man on Wire [WINNER]

• Trouble the Water

Best foreign language film of the year

• The Baader Meinhof Complex

• The Class

• Departures [WINNER]

• Revanche

• Waltz With Bashir

Achievement in film editing

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• The Dark Knight

• Frost/Nixon

• Milk

• Slumdog Millionaire [WINNER]

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat

• Defiance, James Newton Howard

• Milk, Danny Elfman

• Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman [WINNER]

• WALL• E, Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

• "Down to Earth" from WALL-E (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel

• "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar [WINNER]

• "O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Achievement in sound editing

• The Dark Knight[WINNER]

• Iron Man

• Slumdog Millionaire

• WALL• E

• Wanted

Achievement in sound mixing

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• The Dark Knight

• Slumdog Millionaire [WINNER]

• WALL• E

• Wanted

Achievement in visual effects

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button[WINNER]

• The Dark Knight

• Iron Man

Source: http://www.oscar.com