Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards!

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards® were announced on Tuesday morning by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and Oscar-winning actor and Academy member Forest Whitaker. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button led the pack with 13 nominations, followed by Slumdog Millionaire with 10, and both The Dark Knight and Milk got eight.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

You can view the complete list of nominees below:

BEST PICTURE:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers

Frost/Nixon (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers

Milk (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers

The Reader (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer

DIRECTING:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher

Frost/Nixon (Universal), Ron Howard

Milk (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant

The Reader (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

Richard Jenkins – The Visitor (Overture Films)

Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon (Universal)

Sean Penn – Milk (Focus Features)

Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.)

Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics)

Angelina Jolie – Changeling (Universal)

Melissa Leo – Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics)

Meryl Streep – Doubt (Miramax)

Kate Winslet – The Reader (The Weinstein Company)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Josh Brolin – Milk (Focus Features)

Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)

Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt (Miramax)

Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.)

Michael Shannon – Revolutionary Road (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Amy Adams – Doubt (Miramax)

Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company)

Viola Davis – Doubt (Miramax)

Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.)

Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord

Doubt (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley

Frost/Nixon (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan

The Reader (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt

Happy-Go-Lucky (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh

In Bruges (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh

Milk (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black

WALL•E (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

The Baader Meinhof Complex A Constantin Film Production, Germany

The Class (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France

Departures (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan

Revanche (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria

Waltz with Bashir (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:

Bolt (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard

Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne

WALL•E (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

ART DIRECTION:

Changeling (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo

The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando

The Duchess (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway

Revolutionary Road (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Changeling (Universal), Tom Stern

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda

The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister

The Reader (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

COSTUME DESIGN:

Australia (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West

The Duchess (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor

Milk (Focus Features), Danny Glicker

Revolutionary Road (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath

Encounters at the End of the World (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser

The Garden A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Man on Wire (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn

Trouble the Water (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

FILM EDITING:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall

The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith

Frost/Nixon (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley

Milk (Focus Features), Elliot Graham

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

MAKEUP:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom

The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

ORIGINAL SCORE:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat

Defiance (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard

Milk (Focus Features), Danny Elfman

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman

WALL•E (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

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

“O Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

SOUND MIXING:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten

The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

WALL•E (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt

Wanted (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

SOUND EDITING:

The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Richard King

Iron Man (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers

WALL•E (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood

Wanted (Universal),Wylie Stateman

VISUAL EFFECTS:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron

The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin

Iron Man (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:

The Conscience of Nhem En A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki

The Final Inch A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant

Smile Pinki A Principe Production, Megan Mylan

The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306 A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

ANIMATED SHORT FILM:

La Maison en Petits Cubes A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato

Lavatory – Lovestory A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit

Oktapodi (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand

Presto (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland

This Way Up A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:

Auf der Strecke (On the Line) (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi

Manon on the Asphalt (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont

New Boy (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie

The Pig An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh

Spielzeugland (Toyland) A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

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