The Dark Knight dominated the movie year at the box office, but how will it fare come Oscar time? WALL-E is one of the best-reviewed films of the year, Sean Penn appears to be possessed as slain gay activist Harvey Milk in Milk, Brad and Angelina both star in high-profile roles...how will Oscar come to look upon them?
2008 has been a wild and wacky year, with no front-runner, no clear consensus as to what could be considered the best of the year. As always, there are a few strong contenders, a couple probables and a little-nomination-that-could waiting to be recognized. Here's how it's looking now for Academy Award nominations, which will be announced January 22, 2009.
Best Film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire
Runners-up: Revolutionary Road, Doubt, The Reader
Best Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), Gus Van Sant (Milk)
Runners-up: Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road), Stephen Daldry (The Reader), Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler)
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)
Runners-up: Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road), Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Benicio Del Toro (Che)
Best Actress: Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky), Melissa Leo (Frozen River), Meryl Streep (Doubt), Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
Runners-up: Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Kristin Scott Thomas (I've Loved You So Long), Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin (Milk), Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
Runners-up: James Franco (Milk), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)
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)
Runners-up: Amy Adams (Doubt), Rosemary DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married), Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)
Original Screenplay: Happy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Wrestler
Runners-up: The Visitor, Gran Torino, Frozen River
Screenplay Adaptation: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, Revolutionary Road
Runners-up: The Reader, The Dark Knight, I've Loved You So Long
Among the technical awards, films looming large could be:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Cinematography, Editing, Art Direction, Costumes, Score, Visual Effects, Make-up
The Dark Knight: Cinematography, Editing, Sound Mixing, Score, Sound Editing, Visual Effects
Australia: Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes, Score
Slumdog Millionaire: Cinematography, Editing, Score, Song ("Jai-Ho")
Iron Man: Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects
If this all holds true, nomination leaders would be:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 12
The Dark Knight 9
Milk 7
Slumdog Millionaire 7
Frost/Nixon 5
Australia 4
Doubt 4
Revolutionary Road 4
The Wrestler 4
Iron Man 3
WALL-E 3
A few of these films have yet to open, so in a week or two, we'll know a lot more. But if there's anything as "Oscar Conventional Wisdom," these are the ones to beat.
