The 81st Academy Awards ceremony was held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honor its selection of the best films of 2008 on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was televised in the United States on ABC and on Sky Movies in high definition in the United Kingdom. Australian performer Hugh Jackman hosted the ceremony for the first time.Academy Award-nominated producer Laurence Mark produced with Academy Award-winning writer/director Bill Condon as executive producer.
Slumdog Millionaire won eight awards, the most of the evening, including Best Picture and Best Director (Danny Boyle). The Curious Case of Benjamin Button led the nominations with a total of thirteen while Slumdog Millionaire received ten. The Dark Knight and Milk received eight nominations, and Doubt, The Reader, and Frost/Nixon each received five. The animated film WALL-E, the winner for Best Animated Feature, received six nominations, tying it with Beauty and The Beast for the most nominated animated film in Oscar history.
Part 1:
BEST PICTURE: Slumdog Millionaire
BEST DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST ACTOR: Sean Penn, Milk
BEST ACTRESS: Kate Winslet, The Reader
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Milk
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Slumdog Millionaire
EST ART DIRECTION: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Slumdog Millionaire
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Departures
