As predicated, Danny Boyle’s little-indie-that-could, Slumdog Millionaire, took home the most awards at last night’s Oscar ceremony, claiming eight Golden Guys in all, including those for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography for Anthony Dod Mantle, Best Editing for Chris Dickens and two nods for its music, one for Best Original Score and the other for Best Original Song.
Kate Winslet did her best to keep her emotions in check as she accepted the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Reader; it was Winslet’s first win after five other nominations. Sean Penn surprised as he took home the Best Actor award for Milk, as Mickey Rourke had been largely favored to win for his comeback turn as The Wrestler.
Penélope Cruz added some Spanish flair to the event when she delivered the latter half of her acceptance for Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona in her native tongue (let’s just hope there weren’t as many expletives used as in the role that landed her the win) while Heath Ledger’s family accepted his Best Supporting Actor award on behalf of the late actor for his haunting turn as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
Other winners included:
Best Adapted Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy
Best Original Screenplay: Milk, Dustin Lance Black
Best Animated Feature: WALL-E, Andrew Stanton
Achievement in Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
Achievement in Costume Design: The Duchess, Michael O’Connor
Achievement in Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
Achievement in Sound Editing: The Dark Knight, Richard King
Achievement in Sound Mixing: Slumdog Millionaire, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
Best Documentary Feature: Man on Wire, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
Best Documentary Short Subject: Smile Pinki, Megan Mylan
Best Foreign Language Film: Departures
Achievement in Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Greg Cannom
Best Animated Short Film: La Maison en Petits Cubes, Kunio Kato
Best Live Action Short: Spielzeugland (Toyland), Jochen Alexander Freydank