Features
NUTSHELL: With only four major contenders yet to screen to the press at large, the Oscar season is coming into focus. “Doubt” holds strong in most places this week, though a dedicated and focused campaign is what Viola Davis will need to make it across the finish line. Josh Brolin re-emerges as the true stand-out supporting portrayal in “Milk” for our money, while Sean Penn secures the frontrunner position once again. The film itself is on similar terrain with “Frost/Nixon” for coveted Best Picture placement. Elsewhere, Dev Patel pokes into the supporting arena and “The Dark Knight” surges on the Best Picture chart.
Column: no column this week
Sort charts by: Main Categories/Technical Categories
| BEST PICTURE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Paramount Pictures |
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| 2 | “Slumdog Millionaire” Fox Searchlight Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures |
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| 3 | “Frost/Nixon” Universal Pictures |
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| 4 | “Milk” Focus Features |
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| 5 | “Revolutionary Road” Paramount Vantage |
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| 6 | “The Dark Knight” Warner Bros. Pictures |
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| 7 | “Gran Torino” Warner Bros. Pictures |
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| 8 | “The Reader” The Weinstein Company |
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| 9 | “Australia” 20th Century Fox |
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| 10 | “Defiance” Paramount Vantage |
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| DIRECTING | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Fincher “The Curious case of Benjamin Button” |
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| 2 | Danny Boyle “Slumdog Millionaire” |
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| 3 | Gus Van Sant “Milk” |
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| 4 | Christopher Nolan “The Dark Knight” |
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| 5 | Ron Howard “Frost/Nixon” |
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| 6 | Sam Mendes “Revolutionary Road” |
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| 7 | Clint Eastwood “Gran Torino” (or “Changeling”) |
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| 8 | Stephen Daldry “The Reader” |
NEW |
| 9 | Baz Luhrmann “Australia” |
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| 10 | Edward Zwick “Defiance” |
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| ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Penn “Milk” |
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| 2 | Mickey Rourke “The Wrestler” |
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| 3 | Clint Eastwood “Gran Torino” |
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| 4 | Frank Langella “Frost/Nixon” |
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| 5 | Leonardo DiCaprio “Revolutionary Road” (or “Body of Lies”) |
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| 6 | Brad Pitt “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” |
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7 | Josh Brolin “W.” |
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| 8 | Benicio Del Toro “Che” |
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| 9 | Richard Jenkins “The Visitor” |
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| 10 | Dustin Hoffman “Last Chance Harvey” |
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| ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kate Winslet “Revolutionary Road” |
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| 2 | Meryl Streep “Doubt” (or “Mamma Mia!”) |
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| 3 | Kristin Scott Thomas “I’ve Loved You So Long” |
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| 4 | Angelina Jolie “Changling” |
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| 5 | Anne Hathaway “Rachel Getting Married” |
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| 6 | Sally Hawkins “Happy-Go-Lucky” |
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| 7 | Nicole Kidman “Australia” |
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| 8 | Cate Blanchett “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” |
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| 9 | Melissa Leo “Frozen River” |
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| 10 | Michelle Williams “Wendy and Lucy” |
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| ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heath Ledger “The Dark Knight” |
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| 2 | Michael Shannon “Revolutionary Road” |
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| 3 | Philip Seymour Hoffman “Doubt” |
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| 4 | Dev Patel “Slumdog Millionaire” |
NEW |
| 5 | Josh Brolin “Milk” |
NEW |
| 6 | Ralph Fiennes “The Reader” (or “The Duchess”) |
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| 7 | Eddie Marsan “Happy-Go-Lucky” |
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| 8 | Robert Downey Jr. “Tropic Thunder” |
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| 9 | Bill Irwin “Rachel Getting Married” |
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| 10 | Liev Schrieber “Defiance” |
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| ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penélope Cruz “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” |
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| 2 | Taraji P. Henson “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” |
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| 3 | Marisa Tomei “The Wrestler” |
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| 4 | Rosemarie DeWitt “Rachel Getting Married” |
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| 5 | Viola Davis “Doubt” |
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| 6 | Kate Winslet “The Reader” |
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| 7 | Amy Adams “Doubt” |
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| 8 | Hiam Abbas “The Visitor” |
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| 9 | Freida Pinto “Slumdog Millionaire” |
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| 10 | Elsa Zylberstein “I’ve Loved You So Long” |
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| WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Slumdog Millionaire” Written by Simon Beaufoy Based on the book “Q&A” by Vikas Swarup |
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| 2 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Written by Eric Roth; Screen Story by Eric Roth, Robin Swicord Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald |
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| 3 | “Revolutionary Road” Written by Justin Haythe Based on the short story by Richard Yates |
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| 4 | “Doubt” Written by John Patrick Shanley Based on his play |
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| 5 | “Frost/Nixon” Written by Peter Morgan Based on his play |
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| 6 | “The Dark Knight” Written by Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan Story by David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan Based on characters created by Bob Kane |
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| 7 | “The Reader” Written by David Hare Based on the novel by Bernhard Schlink |
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| 8 | “The Class” Written by François Bégaudeau, Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet Based on the book by François Bégaudeau |
NEW |
| 9 | “Gomorrah” Written by Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Gianni Di Gregorio, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudiso, Roberto Saviano Based on the book by Roberto Saviano |
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| 10 | “Defiance” Written by Clay Frohman, Edward Zwick Based on the book by Nechama Tec |
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| WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” Written by Woody Allen |
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| 2 | “Rachel Getting Married” Written by Jenny Lumet |
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| 3 | “The Visitor” Written by Thomas McCarthy |
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| 4 | “Happy-Go-Lucky” Written by Mike Leigh |
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| 5 | “Milk” Written by Dustin Lance Black |
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| 6 | “Gran Torino” Written by Nick Schenk |
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| 7 | “Australia” Written by Stuart Beattie, Baz Luhrmann |
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| 8 | “Last Chance Harvey” Written by Joel Hopkins |
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| 9 | “The Wrestler” Written by Robert Siegel |
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| 10 | “Changeling” Written by J. Michael Straczynski |
NEW |
| ANIMATED FEATURE FILM | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “WALL-E” Walt Disney Pictures |
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| 2 | “Waltz with Bashir” Sony Pictures Classics |
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| 3 | “Kung Fu Panda” DreamWorks SKG |
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| 4 | “Horton Hears a Who!” 20th Century Fox |
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| 5 | “The Tale of Despereaux” Universal Pictures |
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| 6 | “Bolt” Walt Disney Pictures |
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| 7 | “Igor” The Weinstein Company |
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| 8 | “Space Chimps” 20th Century Fox |
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| 9 | “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” DreamWorks SKG |
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| 10 | “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” Warner Bros. Pictures |
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