NUTSHELL: I find that week after week, for probably a month now, I’m left for a loss on many of the year’s tech categories. I think we have reached the point where it’s all masturbation until the guilds start to throw their awards around, because in many cases below, you’re looking at a toss-up. Certain films will appeal throughout the branches for obvious reasons: “Australia,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” etc. But I’m wondering what could happen for these under-the-radar efforts that bring some talented below-the-line folks to the table. I’m thinking “Valkyrie,” for instance, or “Body of Lies.” Anyway, lots of questions until the industry begins to speak up, but until then, we have our best guesses.
Column: “Insert witty Oscar column headline here”
Sort charts by: Main Categories/Technical Categories
| ART DIRECTION | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Donald Graham Burt; Victor J. Zolfo |
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| 2 | “Australia” Catherine Martin |
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| 3 | “Revolutionary Road” Kristi Zea; Debra Schutt |
— |
| 4 | “The Duchess” Michael Carlin |
— |
| 5 | “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” Guy Dyas; Larry Dias, Alyssa Winter |
— |
| 6 | “Defiance” Dan Weil; Véronique Melery |
— |
| 7 | “Valkyrie” Lily Kilvert, Patrick Lumb, Tom Meyer; Bernhard Henrich |
NEW |
| 8 | “Changeling” James J. Murakami; Gary Fettis |
— |
| 9 | “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” Stephen Scott; Elli Griff |
— |
| 10 | “The Fall” Ged Clarke; Riccardo Pugliese, Cynthia Sleiter |
— |
| CINEMATOGRAPHY | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Dark Knight” Wally Pfister |
— |
| 2 | “Australia” Mandy Walker |
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| 3 | “Revolutionary Road” Roger Deakins |
— |
| 4 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Claudio Miranda |
— |
| 5 | “Defiance” Eduardo Serra |
— |
| 6 | “Milk” Harris Savides |
— |
| 7 | “Valkyrie” Newton Thomas Siegel |
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| 8 | “Blindness” César Charlone |
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| 9 | “Changeling” Tom Stern |
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| 9 | “The Reader” Chris Menges, Roger Deakins |
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| COSTUME DESIGN | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Revolutionary Road” Albert Wolsky |
— |
| 2 | “The Duchess” Michael O’Connor |
— |
| 3 | “The Other Boleyn Girl” Sandy Powell |
— |
| 4 | “The Fall” Eiko Ishioka |
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| 5 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Jacqueline West |
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| 6 | “Changeling” Deborah Hopper |
— |
| 7 | “Australia” Catherine Martin |
— |
| 8 | “Defiance” Jenny Beaven |
— |
| 9 | “Leatherheads” Louise Frogley |
NEW |
| 10 | “Brideshead Revisited” Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh |
— |
| FILM EDITING | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall |
— |
| 2 | “Slumdog Millionaire” Chris Dickens |
— |
| 3 | “Defiance” Steven Rosenblum |
— |
| 4 | “Milk” Elliot Graham, Gus Van Sant |
— |
| 5 | “Frost/Nixon” Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill |
— |
| 6 | “The Dark Knight” Lee Smith |
— |
| 7 | “Australia” Dody Dorn, Michael McCusker |
— |
| 8 | “Revolutionary Road” Tariq Anwar |
— |
| 9 | “Quantum of Solace” Matt Chesse, Richard Pearson |
— |
| 10 | “Iron Man” Dan Lebental |
— |
| MAKEUP | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” | — |
| 2 | “Synecdoche, New York” | — |
| 3 | “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” | — |
| 4 | “Tropic Thunder” | |
| 5 | “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” | |
| 6 | “W.” | |
| 7 | “The Dark Knight” | |
| 8 | “Frost/Nixon” | |
| 9 | “The Reader” | |
| 10 | “Australia” | — |
| MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Alexandre Desplat |
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| 2 | “WALL-E” Thomas Newman |
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| 3 | “Revolutionary Road” Thomas Newman |
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| 4 | “Defiance” James Newton Howard |
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| 5 | “Australia” David Hirschfelder |
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| 6 | “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” John Williams |
— |
| 7 | “Milk” Danny Eflman |
— |
| 8 | “The Reader” Nico Muhly |
— |
| 9 | “Doubt” Howard Shore |
— |
| 10 | “The Happening” James Newton Howard |
— |
| MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” Peter Gabriel |
— |
| 2 | “The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler” Bruce Springsteen |
— |
| 3 | “All Dressed Up in Love” from “Sex and the City” Jennifer Hudson |
— |
| 4 | “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” from “Hamlet 2” Phoebe Strole |
— |
| 5 | “I Want It All” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” Cast of “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” |
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| 6 | “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” AR Rahmen |
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| 7 | “Another Way to Die” from “Quantum of Solace” Alicia Keys, Jack White |
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| 8 | “Little Person” from “Synecdoche, New York” Jon Brion |
— |
| 9 | “I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt” Miley Cyrus |
— |
| 10 | “Can I Have This Dance?” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” Cast of “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” |
NEW |
| SOUND EDITING | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Wall-E” | — |
| 2 | “The Dark Knight” | — |
| 3 | “Iron Man” | — |
| 4 | “Defiance” | — |
| 5 | “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” | — |
| 6 | “Valkyrie” | |
| 7 | “Body of Lies” | |
| 8 | “Quantum of Solace” | |
| 9 | “Hancock” | |
| 10 | “The Day the Earth Stood Still” | |
| SOUND MIXING | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Wall-E” | — |
| 2 | “Defiance” | — |
| 3 | “Australia” | — |
| 4 | “The Dark Knight” | — |
| 5 | “Iron Man” | — |
| 6 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” | NEW |
| 7 | “Valkyrie” | NEW |
| 8 | “Body of Lies” | |
9 | “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” | |
| 10 | “Cloverfield” | |
| VISUAL EFFECTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” | — |
| 2 | “Iron Man” | — |
| 3 | “The Day the Earth Stood Still” | — |
| 4 | “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” | — |
| 5 | “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” | — |
| 6 | “Hancock” | — |
| 7 | “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” | — |
| 8 | “The Incredible Hulk” | — |
| 9 | “Speed Racer” | — |
| 10 | “The Spiderwick Chronicles” | — |