It's a wonderful night for Oscar. Oscar, Oscar... Hugh Jackman?

Ah, 2008. You've come to a close, but your Oscar drama is far from over. This year I'm leaning towards a Benjamin Button sweep. Not because I particularly liked the movie, but lately the Oscars are getting back to what they do best: a coronation for a particular director that the Hollywood community reluctantly, begrudgingly agrees, deserves it. And it looks like it's Fincher's turn. Not necessarily for Alien 3 or The Game or his Madonna videos, of course, but for the good stuff. Fight Club. Seven. And his latest Brad Pitt collaboration, Benjamin Button which someone, either bitterly or not, observed is a film ENGINEERED for the Oscars. Sorry, but I have to shout. What an odd trilogy this will be, when they sell it at Costco. Of course, even the enlightened Costco shoppers will pick it up and go "Brad Pitt and Finch from American Pie? I didn't know he was a director!", but I digress. Slumdog Millionaire seems to be the closest thing to a Close Second, but please. It's Fincher's turn now. Sure, SM's got some buzz, but Finch has got that Brad Pitt mojo working with him. Plus, Button's budget is greater than all the other best pic noms combined! Probably!
As for the rest, well, I'm going strictly by buzz, and gut instinct. I'm pretty sure Heath and Mickey got their prospective locks on the prize. (Personally, I hope Frank Langella gets it.) As for screenplay, I have no clue. My inside sources haven't dished the dirt for me yet. As for the Short Subjects, I'm going by catchiest title, which is how the rest of the voting block does it. Oh, and this year I'm using the Swedish vote counting system; as you can see, I have numbered each nominee in terms of who I think will most likely win (1) down to who I think will LEAST likely win (5, or 3 if there are 3 in a category), so it will be like golf scores. Sorry, Zea, it's not your year. Fingers crossed for a perfect 24!

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Kathleen Kennedy (I); Frank Marshall (I); Ceán Chaffin
2. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Christian Colson
3. Frost/Nixon (2008) - Brian Grazer; Ron Howard (I); Eric Fellner
4. Milk (2008) - Dan Jinks; Bruce Cohen
5. Reader, The (2008) - "tbd"


Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:
1. Wrestler, The (2008) - Mickey Rourke
2. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Brad Pitt
3. Frost/Nixon (2008) - Frank Langella
4. Visitor, The (2007/I) - Richard Jenkins (I)
5. Milk (2008) - Sean Penn (I)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:
1. Doubt (2008/I) - Meryl Streep
2. Reader, The (2008) - Kate Winslet
3. Frozen River (2008) - Melissa Leo
4. Changeling (2008) - Angelina Jolie
5. Rachel Getting Married (2008) - Anne Hathaway (I)


Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
1. Dark Knight, The (2008) - Heath Ledger
2. Tropic Thunder (2008) - Robert Downey Jr.
3. Doubt (2008/I) - Philip Seymour Hoffman
4. Milk (2008) - Josh Brolin
5. Revolutionary Road (2008) - Michael Shannon (V)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
1. Doubt (2008/I) - Viola Davis (I)
2. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Taraji P. Henson
3. Doubt (2008/I) - Amy Adams (III)
4. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) - Penélope Cruz
5. Wrestler, The (2008) - Marisa Tomei


Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - David Fincher
2. Milk (2008) - Gus Van Sant
3. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Danny Boyle
4. Frost/Nixon (2008) - Ron Howard (I)
5. Reader, The (2008) - Stephen Daldry


Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:
1. In Bruges (2008) - Martin McDonagh
2. WALL·E (2008) - Andrew Stanton (I) (screenplay/story); Jim Reardon (I) (screenplay); Pete Docter (story)
3. Frozen River (2008) - Courtney Hunt
4. Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) - Mike Leigh
5. Milk (2008) - Dustin Lance Black


Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:
1. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Simon Beaufoy
2. Doubt (2008/I) - John Patrick Shanley
3. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Eric Roth (I) (screenplay/story); Robin Swicord (story)
4. Reader, The (2008) - David Hare (I)
5. Frost/Nixon (2008) - Peter Morgan (I)


Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Claudio Miranda (II)
2. Dark Knight, The (2008) - Wally Pfister
3. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Anthony Dod Mantle
4. Changeling (2008) - Tom Stern (II)
5. Reader, The (2008) - Chris Menges; Roger Deakins


Best Achievement in Art Direction
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Donald Graham Burt (art director); Victor J. Zolfo (set decorator)
2. Duchess, The (2008) - Michael Carlin (I) (art director); Rebecca Alleway (set decorator)
3. Changeling (2008) - James J. Murakami (art director); Gary Fettis (set decorator)
4. Dark Knight, The (2008) - Nathan Crowley (art director); Peter Lando (set decorator)
5. Revolutionary Road (2008) - Kristi Zea (art director); Debra Schutt (set decorator)


Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Jacqueline West
2. Duchess, The (2008) - Michael O'Connor (I)
3. Milk (2008) - Danny Glicker
4. Revolutionary Road (2008) - Albert Wolsky
5. Australia (2008) - Catherine Martin (I)


Best Achievement in Sound
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - David Parker (III); Michael Semanick; Ren Klyce; Mark Weingarten (I)
2. WALL·E (2008) - Tom Myers (II); Michael Semanick; Ben Burtt
3. Dark Knight, The (2008) - Lora Hirschberg (I); Gary Rizzo (I); Ed Novick
4. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Ian Tapp; Richard Pryke; Resul Pookutty
5. Wanted (2008) - Chris Jenkins (I); Frank A. Montaño; Petr Forejt


Best Achievement in Editing
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Kirk Baxter; Angus Wall
2. Frost/Nixon (2008) - Mike Hill (I); Daniel P. Hanley
3. Dark Knight, The (2008) - Lee Smith (II)
4. Milk (2008) - Elliot Graham (I)
5. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Chris Dickens


Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:
1. Iron Man (2008) - Frank E. Eulner; Christopher Boyes
2. Dark Knight, The (2008) - Richard King (I)
3. WALL·E (2008) - Ben Burtt; Matthew Wood (I)
4. Wanted (2008) - Wylie Stateman
5. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Tom Sayers


Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Eric Barba; Steve Preeg; Burt Dalton; Craig Barron
2. Dark Knight, The (2008) - Nick Davis (II); Chris Corbould (I); Timothy Webber (II); Paul J. Franklin
3. Iron Man (2008) - John Nelson (I); Ben Snow; Daniel Sudick; Shane Mahan


Best Achievement in Makeup
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Greg Cannom
2. Dark Knight, The (2008) - John Caglione Jr.; Conor O'Sullivan
3. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) - Mike Elizalde; Thomas Floutz


Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:
1. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A.R. Rahman; Maya Arulpragasam
- For the song "O Saya".
2. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A.R. Rahman (music); Gulzar (lyrics)
- For the song "Jai Ho".
3. WALL·E (2008) - Peter Gabriel (music/lyrics); Thomas Newman (I) (music)
- For the song "Down to Earth".


Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) - Alexandre Desplat
2. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A.R. Rahman
3. Milk (2008) - Danny Elfman
4. WALL·E (2008) - Thomas Newman (I)
5. Defiance (2008) - James Newton Howard


Best Short Film, Animated
Nominees:
1. This Way Up (2008) - Alan Smith (XVII); Adam Foulkes (II)
2. Maison en petits cubes, La (2008) - Kunio Kato
3. Oktapodi (2007) - Emud Mokhberi; Thierry Marchand
4. Presto (2008) - Doug Sweetland
5. Ubornaya istoriya - lyubovnaya istoriya (2007) - Konstantin Bronzit


Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:
1. Auf der Strecke (2007) - Reto Caffi
2. Manon sur le bitume (2007) - Elizabeth Marre; Olivier Pont
3. New Boy (2007) - Steph Green; Tamara Anghie
4. Grisen (2008) - Tivi Magnusson; Dorthe Warnø Høgh
5. Spielzeugland (2007) - Jochen Alexander Freydank


Best Documentary, Short Subject
Nominees:
1. Witness from the Balcony of Room 306, The (2008) - Adam Pertofsky; Margaret Hyde
2. Final Inch, The (2008) - Irene Taylor Brodsky; Tom Grant
3. Conscience of Nhem En, The (2008) - Steven Okazaki
4. Smile Pinki (2008) - Megan Mylan


Best Documentary, Features
Nominees:
1. Man on Wire (2008) - James Marsh (I); Simon Chinn
2. Encounters at the End of the World (2007) - Werner Herzog; Henry Kaiser (II)
3. Trouble the Water (2008) - Tia Lessin; Carl Deal
4. Garden, The (2008/I) - Scott Hamilton Kennedy
5. Betrayal - Nerakhoon, The (2008) - Ellen Kuras; Thavisouk Phrasavath


Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:
1. Entre les murs (2008)
- France.
2. Baader Meinhof Komplex, Der (2008)
- Germany.
3. Revanche (2008)
- Austria.
4. Okuribito (2008)
- Japan.
5. Vals Im Bashir (2008)
- Israel.


Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:
1. WALL·E (2008) - Andrew Stanton (I)
2. Kung Fu Panda (2008) - John Stevenson (XI); Mark Osborne (I)
3. Bolt (2008) - Chris Williams (IX); Byron Howard