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NUTSHELL: Despite Universal’s best attempts at spreading the word that “Frost/Nixon” had some scattered positive assessments out of the BFI London Festival, there is little argument that a lukewarm feeling has emerged (albeit from the bitter expectancy of the Brits). What was once considered, for better or worse, a sure bet has undoubtedly become something of a question mark in the season. It’s not over till it’s over, of course. Meanwhile, some negative whispers on the long-lead winds have painted “Milk” as something of a “greatest hits” biopic. It isn’t necessarily “bad” buzz, but it’s enough to look elsewhere for “frontrunner” status, which is where “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (increasingly considered the one to beat) step in. Everyone is still looking to “The Dark Knight” as a possibility as the season continues to unfold.
Column: “Holding back”
Sort charts by: Main Categories/Technical Categories
| BEST PICTURE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Paramount Pictures |
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| 2 | “Slumdog Millionaire” Fox Searchlight Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures |
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| 3 | “Milk” Focus Features |
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| 4 | “Revolutionary Road” Paramount Vantage |
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| 5 | “Frost/Nixon” Universal Pictures |
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| 6 | “Gran Torino” Warner Bros. Pictures |
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| 7 | “Australia” 20th Century Fox |
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| 8 | “Defiance” Paramount Vantage |
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| 9 | “The Dark Knight” Warner Bros. Pictures |
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| 10 | “The Reader” The Weinstein Company |
NEW |
| DIRECTING | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Fincher “The Curious case of Benjamin Button” |
|
| 2 | Danny Boyle “Slumdog Millionaire” |
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| 3 | Gus Van Sant “Milk” |
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| 4 | Christopher Nolan “The Dark Knight” |
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| 5 | Ron Howard “Frost/Nixon” |
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| 6 | Sam Mendes “Revolutionary Road” |
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| 7 | Clint Eastwood “Gran Torino” (or “Changeling”) |
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| 8 | Baz Luhrmann “Australia” |
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| 9 | Edward Zwick “Defiance” |
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| 10 | Jonathan Demme “Rachel Getting Married” |
NEW |
| ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mickey Rourke “The Wrestler” |
— |
| 2 | Sean Penn “Milk” |
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| 3 | Clint Eastwood “Gran Torino” |
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| 4 | Frank Langella “Frost/Nixon” |
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| 5 | Brad Pitt “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” |
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| 6 | Leonardo DiCaprio “Revolutionary Road” (or “Body of Lies”) |
— |
| 7 | Josh Brolin “W.” |
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| 8 | Benicio Del Toro “Che” |
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| 9 | Richard Jenkins “The Visitor” |
NEW |
| 10 | Dustin Hoffman “Last Chance Harvey” |
NEW |
| ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kate Winslet “Revolutionary Road” |
|
| 2 | Meryl Streep “Doubt” (or “Mamma Mia!”) |
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| 3 | Kristin Scott Thomas “I’ve Loved You So Long” |
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| 4 | Angelina Jolie “Changling” |
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| 5 | Anne Hathaway “Rachel Getting Married” |
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| 6 | Sally Hawkins “Happy-Go-Lucky” |
— |
| 7 | Nicole Kidman “Australia” |
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| 8 | Cate Blanchett “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” |
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| 9 | Melissa Leo “Frozen River” |
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| 10 | Michelle Williams “Wendy and Lucy” |
— |
| ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heath Ledger “The Dark Knight” |
— |
| 2 | Michael Shannon “Revolutionary Road” |
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| 3 | Philip Seymour Hoffman “Doubt” |
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| 4 | James Franco “Milk” |
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| 5 | Robert Downey Jr. “Tropic Thunder” |
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| 6 | Liev Schrieber “Defiance” |
NEW |
| 7 | Eddie Marsan “Happy-Go-Lucky” |
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| 8 | Bill Irwin “Rachel Getting Married” |
NEW |
| 9 | Ralph Fiennes “The Duchess” |
NEW |
| 10 | Christian McKay “Me and Orson Welles” |
|
| ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penélope Cruz “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” |
— |
| 2 | Taraji P. Henson “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” |
— |
| 3 | Marisa Tomei “The Wrestler” |
— |
| 4 | Rosemarie DeWitt “Rachel Getting Married” |
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| 5 | Viola Davis “Doubt” |
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| 6 | Kate Winslet “The Reader” |
NEW |
| 7 | Hiam Abbas “The Visitor” |
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| 8 | Amy Adams “Doubt” |
NEW |
| 9 | Freida Pinto “Slumdog Millionaire” |
NEW |
| 10 | Elsa Zylberstein “I’ve Loved You So Long” |
|
| WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Slumdog Millionaire” Written by Simon Beaufoy Based on the book “Q&A” by Vikas Swarup |
— |
| 2 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Written by Eric Roth; Screen Story by Eric Roth, Robin Swicord Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald |
|
| 3 | “Revolutionary Road” Written by Justin Haythe Based on the short story by Richard Yates |
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| 4 | “Doubt” Written by John Patrick Shanley Based on his play |
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| 5 | “Frost/Nixon” Written by Peter Morgan Based on his play |
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| 6 | “The Dark Knight” Written by Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan Story by David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan Based on characters created by Bob Kane |
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| 7 | “The Reader” Written by David Hare Based on the novel by Bernhard Schlink |
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| 8 | “Defiance” Written by Clay Frohman, Edward Zwick Based on the book by Nechama Tec |
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| 9 | “Elegy” Written by Nicholas Meyer Based on the novel “The Dying Animal” by Philip Roth |
NEW |
| 10 | “Body of Lies” Written by William Monahan, Steven Zaillian Based on the book by David Ignatius |
— |
| WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” Written by Woody Allen |
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| 2 | “Rachel Getting Married” Written by Jenny Lumet |
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| 3 | “The Visitor” Written by Thomas McCarthy |
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| 4 | “Happy-Go-Lucky” Written by Mike Leigh |
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| 5 | “Milk” Written by Dustin Lance Black |
|
| 6 | “Gran Torino” Written by Nick Schenk |
— |
| 7 | “Australia” Written by Stuart Beattie, Baz Luhrmann |
|
| 8 | “Last Chance Harvey” Written by Joel Hopkins |
— |
| 9 | “W.” Written by Stanley Weiser |
NEW |
| 10 | “The Wrestler” Written by Robert Siegel |
NEW |
| ANIMATED FEATURE FILM | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “WALL-E” Walt Disney Pictures |
— |
| 2 | “Waltz with Bashir” Sony Pictures Classics |
— |
| 3 | “Kung Fu Panda” DreamWorks SKG |
— |
| 4 | “Horton Hears a Who!” 20th Century Fox |
— |
| 5 | “The Tale of Despereaux” Universal Pictures |
— |
| 6 | “Igor” The Weinstein Company |
— |
| 7 | “Bolt” Walt Disney Pictures |
— |
| 8 | “Space Chimps” 20th Century Fox |
— |
| 9 | “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” DreamWorks SKG |
— |
| 10 | “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” Warner Bros. Pictures |
— |
