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2009

Experience over nine decades of the Oscars from 1927 to 2024

The 81st Academy Awards | 2009
Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Honoring movies released in 2008
Highlights
Host Hugh Jackman

Opening number featuring Anne Hathaway

Animated Feature
WALL-E

Andrew Stanton

Supporting Actress
Vicky Christina Barcelona

Penélope Cruz

Memorable Moments
Sean Penn
Image

Best Actor winner for Milk, with past winners Michael Douglas, Adrien Brody, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins and Robert De Niro

Dustin Lance Black
Image

Original Screenplay winner for Milk

Heath Ledger
Image

The Supporting Actor winner's father Kim Ledger, mother Sally Bell and sister Kate Ledger accept his Oscar for The Dark Knight

WINNERS & NOMINEES
Actor in a Leading Role
Winner
Sean Penn
Milk
Nominees
Richard Jenkins
The Visitor
Nominees
Frank Langella
Frost/Nixon
Nominees
Brad Pitt
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Nominees
Mickey Rourke
The Wrestler
Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner
Heath Ledger
The Dark Knight
Nominees
Josh Brolin
Milk
Nominees
Robert Downey Jr.
Tropic Thunder
Nominees
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Doubt
Nominees
Michael Shannon
Revolutionary Road
Actress in a Leading Role
Winner
Kate Winslet
The Reader
Nominees
Anne Hathaway
Rachel Getting Married
Nominees
Angelina Jolie
Changeling
Nominees
Melissa Leo
Frozen River
Nominees
Meryl Streep
Doubt
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner
Penélope Cruz
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Nominees
Amy Adams
Doubt
Nominees
Viola Davis
Doubt
Nominees
Taraji P. Henson
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Nominees
Marisa Tomei
The Wrestler
Animated Feature Film
Winner
WALL-E
Andrew Stanton
Nominees
Bolt
Chris Williams and Byron Howard
Nominees
Kung Fu Panda
John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
Art Direction
Winner
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
Nominees
Changeling
Art Direction: James J. Murakami; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
Nominees
The Dark Knight
Art Direction: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Peter Lando
Nominees
The Duchess
Art Direction: Michael Carlin; Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
Nominees
Revolutionary Road
Art Direction: Kristi Zea; Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
Cinematography
Winner
Slumdog Millionaire
Anthony Dod Mantle
Nominees
Changeling
Tom Stern
Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Claudio Miranda
Nominees
The Dark Knight
Wally Pfister
Nominees
The Reader
Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
Costume Design
Winner
The Duchess
Michael O'Connor
Nominees
Australia
Catherine Martin
Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Jacqueline West
Nominees
Milk
Danny Glicker
Nominees
Revolutionary Road
Albert Wolsky
Directing
Winner
Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle
Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
David Fincher
Nominees
Frost/Nixon
Ron Howard
Nominees
Milk
Gus Van Sant
Nominees
The Reader
Stephen Daldry
Documentary (Feature)
Winner
Man on Wire
James Marsh and Simon Chinn
Nominees
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
Nominees
Encounters at the End of the World
Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
Nominees
The Garden
Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Nominees
Trouble the Water
Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Documentary (Short Subject)
Winner
Smile Pinki
Megan Mylan
Nominees
The Conscience of Nhem En
Steven Okazaki
Nominees
The Final Inch
Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
Nominees
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306
Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde
Film Editing
Winner
Slumdog Millionaire
Chris Dickens
Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Nominees
The Dark Knight
Lee Smith
Nominees
Frost/Nixon
Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
Nominees
Milk
Elliot Graham
Foreign Language Film
Winner
Departures
Japan
Nominees
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Germany
Nominees
The Class
France
Nominees
Revanche
Austria
Nominees
Waltz with Bashir
Israel
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Winner
Jerry Lewis
Makeup
Winner
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Greg Cannom
Nominees
The Dark Knight
John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
Nominees
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
Music (Original Score)
Winner
Slumdog Millionaire
A.R. Rahman
Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Alexandre Desplat
Nominees
Defiance
James Newton Howard
Nominees
Milk
Danny Elfman
Nominees
WALL-E
Thomas Newman
Music (Original Song)
Winner
Slumdog Millionaire
Jai Ho in "Slumdog Millionaire" Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyric by Gulzar
Nominees
WALL-E
Down To Earth in "WALL-E" Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; Lyric by Peter Gabriel
Nominees
Slumdog Millionaire
O Saya in "Slumdog Millionaire" Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
Best Picture
Winner
Slumdog Millionaire
Christian Colson, Producer
Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Nominees
Frost/Nixon
Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
Nominees
Milk
Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
Nominees
The Reader
Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris, Producers
Short Film (Animated)
Winner
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Kunio Kato
Nominees
Lavatory - Lovestory
Konstantin Bronzit
Nominees
Oktapodi
Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
Nominees
Presto
Doug Sweetland
Nominees
This Way Up
Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes
Short Film (Live Action)
Winner
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Jochen Alexander Freydank
Nominees
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Reto Caffi
Nominees
Manon on the Asphalt
Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
Nominees
New Boy
Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
Nominees
The Pig
The Pig
Sound Editing
Winner
The Dark Knight
Richard King
Nominees
Iron Man
Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
Nominees
Slumdog Millionaire
Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
Nominees
WALL-E
Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
Nominees
Wanted
Wylie Stateman
Sound Mixing
Winner
Slumdog Millionaire
Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
Nominees
The Dark Knight
Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
Nominees
WALL-E
Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
Nominees
Wanted
Wanted
Visual Effects
Winner
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
Nominees
The Dark Knight
Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
Nominees
Iron Man
John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Winner
Slumdog Millionaire
Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
Nominees
Doubt
Written by John Patrick Shanley
Nominees
Frost/Nixon
Screenplay by Peter Morgan
Nominees
The Reader
Screenplay by David Hare
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Winner
Milk
Written by Dustin Lance Black
Nominees
Frozen River
Written by Courtney Hunt
Nominees
Happy-Go-Lucky
Written by Mike Leigh
Nominees
In Bruges
Written by Martin McDonagh
Nominees
WALL-E
Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

A

Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Film (Live Action) - Reto Caffi
Australia
1 NOMINATION
  • Costume Design - Catherine Martin

B

The Baader Meinhof Complex
1 NOMINATION
  • Foreign Language Film - Germany
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Feature) - Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
Bolt
1 NOMINATION
  • Animated Feature Film - Chris Williams and Byron Howard
In Bruges
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Original Screenplay) - Written by Martin McDonagh

C

Changeling
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress in a Leading Role - Angelina Jolie
  • Art Direction - Art Direction: James J. Murakami; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
  • Cinematography - Tom Stern
The Class
1 NOMINATION
  • Foreign Language Film - France
The Conscience of Nhem En
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Steven Okazaki
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
13 NOMINATIONS, 3 WINS
  • * Art Direction - Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
  • * Makeup - Greg Cannom
  • * Visual Effects - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
  • Actor in a Leading Role - Brad Pitt
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Taraji P. Henson
  • Cinematography - Claudio Miranda
  • Costume Design - Jacqueline West
  • Directing - David Fincher
  • Film Editing - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
  • Music (Original Score) - Alexandre Desplat
  • Best Picture - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  • Sound Mixing - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
  • Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord

D

The Dark Knight
8 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Actor in a Supporting Role - Heath Ledger
  • * Sound Editing - Richard King
  • Art Direction - Art Direction: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Peter Lando
  • Cinematography - Wally Pfister
  • Film Editing - Lee Smith
  • Makeup - John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
  • Sound Mixing - Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
  • Visual Effects - Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
Defiance
1 NOMINATION
  • Music (Original Score) - James Newton Howard
Departures
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Foreign Language Film - Japan
Doubt
4 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Philip Seymour Hoffman
  • Actress in a Leading Role - Meryl Streep
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Amy Adams, Viola Davis
  • Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Written by John Patrick Shanley
The Duchess
2 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Costume Design - Michael O'Connor
  • Art Direction - Art Direction: Michael Carlin; Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway

E

Encounters at the End of the World
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Feature) - Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser

F

The Final Inch
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
Frost/Nixon
5 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Leading Role - Frank Langella
  • Directing - Ron Howard
  • Film Editing - Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
  • Best Picture - Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
  • Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Screenplay by Peter Morgan
Frozen River
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actress in a Leading Role - Melissa Leo
  • Writing (Original Screenplay) - Written by Courtney Hunt

G

The Garden
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Feature) - Scott Hamilton Kennedy

H

Happy-Go-Lucky
1 NOMINATION
  • Writing (Original Screenplay) - Written by Mike Leigh
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
1 NOMINATION
  • Makeup - Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

I

Iron Man
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Sound Editing - Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
  • Visual Effects - John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

K

Kung Fu Panda
1 NOMINATION
  • Animated Feature Film - John Stevenson and Mark Osborne

L

La Maison en Petits Cubes
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Film (Animated) - Kunio Kato
Lavatory - Lovestory
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Film (Animated) - Konstantin Bronzit

M

Man on Wire
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Documentary (Feature) - James Marsh and Simon Chinn
Manon on the Asphalt
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Film (Live Action) - Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
Milk
8 NOMINATIONS, 2 WINS
  • * Actor in a Leading Role - Sean Penn
  • * Writing (Original Screenplay) - Written by Dustin Lance Black
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Josh Brolin
  • Costume Design - Danny Glicker
  • Directing - Gus Van Sant
  • Film Editing - Elliot Graham
  • Music (Original Score) - Danny Elfman
  • Best Picture - Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers

N

New Boy
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Film (Live Action) - Steph Green and Tamara Anghie

O

Oktapodi
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Film (Animated) - Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand

P

The Pig
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Film (Live Action) - The Pig
Presto
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Film (Animated) - Doug Sweetland

R

Rachel Getting Married
1 NOMINATION
  • Actress in a Leading Role - Anne Hathaway
The Reader
5 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Actress in a Leading Role - Kate Winslet
  • Cinematography - Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
  • Directing - Stephen Daldry
  • Best Picture - Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris, Producers
  • Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Screenplay by David Hare
Revanche
1 NOMINATION
  • Foreign Language Film - Austria
Revolutionary Road
3 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Michael Shannon
  • Art Direction - Art Direction: Kristi Zea; Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
  • Costume Design - Albert Wolsky

S

Slumdog Millionaire
10 NOMINATIONS, 8 WINS
  • * Cinematography - Anthony Dod Mantle
  • * Directing - Danny Boyle
  • * Film Editing - Chris Dickens
  • * Music (Original Score) - A.R. Rahman
  • * Music (Original Song) - Jai Ho in "Slumdog Millionaire" Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyric by Gulzar
  • * Best Picture - Christian Colson, Producer
  • * Sound Mixing - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
  • * Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
  • Music (Original Song) - O Saya in "Slumdog Millionaire" Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
  • Sound Editing - Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
Smile Pinki
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Documentary (Short Subject) - Megan Mylan
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Short Film (Live Action) - Jochen Alexander Freydank

T

This Way Up
1 NOMINATION
  • Short Film (Animated) - Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes
Tropic Thunder
1 NOMINATION
  • Actor in a Supporting Role - Robert Downey Jr.
Trouble the Water
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Feature) - Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

V

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
1 WIN, 1 NOMINATION
  • * Actress in a Supporting Role - Penélope Cruz
The Visitor
1 NOMINATION
  • Actor in a Leading Role - Richard Jenkins

W

WALL-E
6 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN
  • * Animated Feature Film - Andrew Stanton
  • Music (Original Score) - Thomas Newman
  • Music (Original Song) - Down To Earth in "WALL-E" Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; Lyric by Peter Gabriel
  • Sound Editing - Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
  • Sound Mixing - Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
  • Writing (Original Screenplay) - Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
Waltz with Bashir
1 NOMINATION
  • Foreign Language Film - Israel
Wanted
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Sound Editing - Wylie Stateman
  • Sound Mixing - Wanted
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306
1 NOMINATION
  • Documentary (Short Subject) - Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde
The Wrestler
2 NOMINATIONS
  • Actor in a Leading Role - Mickey Rourke
  • Actress in a Supporting Role - Marisa Tomei
No Films Found