NUTSHELL: Overture Films has sparked interest in “Last Chance Harvey,” but Dustin Hoffman will have a tough time breaking into that stacked Best Actor category. Maybe a surprise nomination for Joel Hopkins’ screenplay is an unconsidered possibility. “The Dark Knight” makes its first move into the Best Picture chart after terrible pre-release press (and difficulty mobilizing at The Weinstein Company) could have put a damper on the prospects of “The Reader.” Fox Searchlight is 99% guaranteed to have the most beloved film yet again — but can they turn that into most loved?
Column: no column this week
Sort charts by: Main Categories/Technical Categories
| BEST PICTURE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Milk” Focus Features |
— |
| 2 | “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Paramount Pictures |
— |
| 3 | “Frost/Nixon” Universal Pictures |
— |
| 4 | “Slumdog Millionaire” Fox Searchlight Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures |
 |
| 5 | “Australia” 20th Century Fox |
 |
| 6 | “Revolutionary Road” Paramount Vantage |
— |
| 7 | “Gran Torino” Warner Bros. Pictures |
|
| 8 | “The Soloist” DreamWorks SKG |
|
| 9 | “Defiance” Paramount Vantage |
— |
| 10 | “The Dark Knight” Warner Bros. Pictures |
NEW |
| DIRECTING | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gus Van Sant “Milk” |
— |
| 2 | David Fincher “The Curious case of Benjamin Button” |
— |
| 3 | Danny Boyle “Slumdog Millionaire” |
— |
| 4 | Ron Howard “Frost/Nixon” |
— |
| 5 | Christopher Nolan “The Dark Knight” |
— |
| 6 | Baz Luhrmann “Australia” |
— |
| 7 | Darren Aronofsky “The Wrestler” |
— |
| 8 | Clint Eastwood “Gran Torino” (or “Changeling”) |
— |
| 9 | Sam Mendes “Revolutionary Road” |
— |
| 10 | Edward Zwick “Defiance” |
— |
| ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mickey Rourke “The Wrestler” |
— |
| 2 | Frank Langella “Frost/Nixon” |
— |
| 3 | Sean Penn “Milk” |
— |
| 4 | Clint Eastwood “Gran Torino” |
— |
| 5 | Robert Downey Jr. “The Soloist” |
— |
| 6 | Leonardo DiCaprio “Revolutionary Road” (or “Body of Lies”) |
— |
| 7 | Brad Pitt “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” |
— |
| 8 | Michael Sheen “Frost/Nixon” |
— |
| 9 | Josh Brolin “W.” |
— |
| 10 | Benicio Del Toro “Che” |
— |
| ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristin Scott Thomas “I’ve Loved You So Long” |
— |
| 2 | Angelina Jolie “Changling” |
— |
| 3 | Kate Winslet “Revolutionary Road” (or “The Reader”) |
— |
| 4 | Meryl Streep “Doubt” (or “Mamma Mia!”) |
— |
| 5 | Nicole Kidman “Australia” |
— |
| 6 | Sally Hawkins “Happy-Go-Lucky” |
|
| 7 | Anne Hathaway “Rachel Getting Married” |
|
| 8 | Melissa Leo “Frozen River” |
|
| 9 | Cate Blanchett “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” |
|
| 10 | Michelle Williams “Wendy and Lucy” |
— |
| ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heath Ledger “The Dark Knight” |
— |
| 2 | Jamie Foxx “The Soloist” |
— |
| 3 | Michael Shannon “Revolutionary Road” |
— |
| 4 | Philip Seymour Hoffman “Doubt” |
— |
| 5 | James Franco “Milk” |
— |
| 6 | Kodi Smit-McPhee “The Road” |
— |
| 7 | Robert Downey Jr. “Tropic Thunder” |
— |
| 8 | Christian McKay “Me and Orson Welles” |
— |
| 9 | Eddie Marsan “Happy-Go-Lucky” |
|
| 10 | Peter O’Toole “Dean Spanley” |
|
| ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penélope Cruz “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” |
— |
| 2 | Taraji P. Henson “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” |
— |
| 3 | Marisa Tomei “The Wrestler” |
— |
| 4 | Viola Davis “Doubt” |
— |
| 5 | Rosemarie Dewitt “Rachel Getting Married” |
|
| 6 | Elsa Zylberstein “I’ve Loved You So Long” |
|
| 7 | Elizabeth Banks “W.” |
— |
| 8 | Vera Farmiga “Nothing But the Truth” (or “The Boy in Striped Pyjamas”) |
— |
| 9 | Hiam Abbas “The Visitor” |
— |
| 10 | Catherine Keener “The Soloist” (or “Synecdoche, New York”) |
— |
| WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Slumdog Millionaire” Written by Simon Beaufoy Based on the book “Q&A” by Vikas Swarup |
— |
| 2 | “Frost/Nixon” Written by Peter Morgan Based on his play |
— |
| 3 | “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 |
— |
| 4 | “Revolutionary Road” Written by Justin Haythe Based on the short story by Richard Yates |
— |
| 5 | “Doubt” Written by John Patrick Shanley Based on his play |
— |
| 6 | “The Reader” Written by David Hare Based on the novel by Bernhard Schlink |
— |
| 7 | “Defiance” Written by Clay Frohman, Edward Zwick Based on the book by Nechama Tec |
— |
| 8 | “The Dark Knight” Written by Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan Story by David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan Based on characters created by Bob Kane |
— |
| 9 | “The Road” Written by Joe Penhall Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy |
— |
| 10 | “Body of Lies” Written by William Monahan, Steven Zaillian Based on the book by David Ignatius |
— |
| WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Milk” Written by Dustin Lance Black |
— |
| 2 | “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” Written by Woody Allen |
— |
| 3 | “The Soloist” Written by Susannah Grant |
|
| 4 | “Rachel Getting Married” Written by Jenny Lumet |
|
| 5 | “The Visitor” Written by Thomas McCarthy |
|
| 6 | “Gran Torino” Written by Nick Schenk |
|
| 7 | “Happy-Go-Lucky” Written by Mike Leigh |
|
| 7 | “Last Chance Harvey” Written by Joel Hopkins |
NEW |
| 9 | “Australia” Written by Stuart Beattie, Baz Luhrmann |
— |
| 10 | “Changeling” Written by J. Michael Straczynski |
— |
| ANIMATED FEATURE FILM | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “WALL-E” Walt Disney Pictures |
— |
| 2 | “Waltz with Bashir” Sony Pictures Classics |
— |
| 3 | “Kung Fu Panda” DreamWorks SKG |
— |
| 4 | “Horton Hears a Who!” 20th Century Fox |
— |
| 5 | “The Tale of Despereaux” Universal Pictures |
— |
| 6 | “Igor” The Weinstein Company |
— |
| 7 | “Bolt” Walt Disney Pictures |
— |
| 8 | “Space Chimps” 20th Century Fox |
— |
| 9 | “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” DreamWorks SKG |
— |
| 10 | “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” Warner Bros. Pictures |
— |