81st Academy Awards nominees and winners

The nominees for the 81st Academy Awards were announced live on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PST (13:30 UTC) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis and Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in the Academy's Beverly Hills headquarters. The winners are expected to be announced during the awards ceremony on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Major awards

Best Picture

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

Best Director

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

Best Actor

• Richard Jenkins
• Sean Penn - Milk
• Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
• Mickey Rourke
• Brad Pitt

Best Actress

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

Best Supporting Actor

• Josh Brolin
• Robert Downey Jr.
• Philip Seymour Hoffman
• Michael Shannon
• Heath Ledger

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams
• Penelope Cruz
• Viola Davis
• Taraji P Henson
• Marisa Tomei

Best Original Screenplay

• Wall-E
• Happy Go Lucky
• Frozen River
• In Bruges
• Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay

• The Curiose Case of Benjamin Button
• Frost/Nixon
• The Reader
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Doubt

Best Animated Feature

• Bolt
• Kung Fu Panda
• Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film

• Revanche - Austria
• The Class - France
• The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany
• Departures - Japan
• Waltz With Bashir - Israel

Other awards

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

• Jerry Lewis

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Richard Jenkins--The Visitor Frank Langella--Frost/Nixon Sean Penn--Milk Brad Pitt--The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Mickey Rourke--The Wrestler

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Josh Brolin--Milk Robert Downey Jr.--Tropic Thunder Philip Seymour Hoffman--Doubt Heath Ledger--The Dark Knight Michael Shannon--Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Anne Hathaway--Rachel Getting Married Angelina Jolie--Changeling Melissa Leo--Frozen River Meryl Streep--Doubt Kate Winslet--The Reader

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Amy Adams--Doubt Penelope Cruz--Vicky Cristina Barcelona Viola Davis--Doubt Taraji P. Henson--The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Marisa Tomei--The Wrestler

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

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Frozen Happy-Go-Lucky In Bruges Milk Wall-E

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

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

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM Bolt Kung Fu Panda Wall-E

Notable nominations and awards

If Heath Ledger wins the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in The Dark Knight, it will make him the second actor in the awards history to win posthumously, the first being Peter Finch for Network.

See also

• 81st Academy Awards
• 2008 in film
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences