Last night Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire cleaned up (as predicted) with 8 Oscars. I gathered as many acceptance videos I could find. Check them out below, kicking off with one of the best Oscar introductions to date and ending withe Judd Apatow’s hilarious comedy montage.

Hugh Jackman Opening Performance

Best Picture

Slumdog Millionaire, Christian Colson (producer)

Best Actor

Check out the rest of the winners and acceptance speeches >>

The Academy Awards start tonight at 8pm EST. Here are our predictions. Check out the full list of nominees here.

Best Picture

Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor

Will Win: Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Should Win: Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Best Actress

Will Win: Kate Winslet in The Reader

Should Win: Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married

Check out the rest of the predictions >>

By Dan Mecca

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching these clips Warner Bros. have been putting out, and the whole thing’s just not registering with me. Having read the graphic novel (very recently), I am still reeling from the effects caused by what Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons offer the reader throughout the entire narrative, up to and most definitely including the brilliant finale. By book’s end, there is so much to consider and think about; so much to discuss with your friends.

And why? Because the picture the novel paints, literally (and psychologically), is so vivid and real that it forces the reader to take Watchmen seriously.

Read the rest of this entry >>

BY DAN MECCA

Film critic David Denby, who’s always been hit-or-miss in my book but never short of defending his opinions with excellent conviction, wrote this nice little ditty exposing 4 out of the 5 Best Pic noms (he liked Milk) as studio-backed and fairy-tale frauds. I especially enjoy the bit about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Check out the piece here. I caught this thing on In Contention and am happy to see people giving Denby some much needed respect. Whether I wholly agree with this column or not (I really enjoyed Slumdog, Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon but didn’t like The Reader) the guy’s a great writer and should have as big an audience as possible  now-a-days, as film critics drop faster and farther daily than the stock market.

So give it a read and write your thoughts at the bottom.

Do you agree with Denby? Did you like Rachel Getting Married or Happy-Go-Lucky that much?

(cast at Golden Globes, after they won Best Pic, Director, Screenplay)

Thanks to Awards Daily here are the winners of tonight’s Screen Actor’s Guild awards:

Film
Ensemble Cast: Slumdog Millionaire
Lead Actress: Meryl Streep, Doubt
Lead Actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Lifetime Achievement Award: James Earl Jones

Television
Lead Actress, Comedy Series: Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Lead Actor, Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Ensemble Cast, Comedy Series: 30 Rock
Lead Acress, Drama Series: Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Lead Actor, Drama Series: Hugh Laurie, House
Ensemble Cast, Drama Series: Mad Men
Lead Actress, Miniseries: Laura Linney, John Adams
Lead Actor, Miniseries: Paul Giamatti, John Adams

Here are the results of the Producer Guild Award yesterday:

Film – Slumdog Millionaire
Animated – Wall-E
Documentary – Man on Wire
TV miniseries – John Adams
TV comedy – 30 Rock
TV Drama – Mad Men

Go Slumdog! I wonder if Penn will upset Rourke at the Oscars as well. What do you think of the winner?

In my young life, I have seen far greater snubs. As I sit here now, at my computer, only one question comes to my mind: how many people did Harvey Weinstein have to pay off so his one, and only, Oscar-contending film, The Reader, would rake in 5, count em 5, MAJOR Oscar nominations, despite only receiving a mediocre 60 percent on Rotten Tomatoes?

Meanwhile, The Dark Knight sits with only one major Oscar nom, that being the late great Mr. Ledger for Best Supporting Actor of course. Director Chris Nolan got no love, the Nolan bros got no love for their screenplay (although I already spoke my mind about the undeserving sloppy screenplay). By the way, The Dark Knight, which was both the best superhero film of all time and the best crime film of this year, got 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. I guess ALL of those critics were wrong.

The Weinstein Company is half of what once was the all-powerful Miramax (which also still exists, under new ownership, and is still rather powerful, if not far less savvy), after the split that occurred a couple of years ago. And while rumors of fledgling business and continuous lay-offs have been circulating around The Weinstein Company, it appears that Harv still has a whole lotta power in Cali. After all, how does one convince enough Academy voters to choose a film that was described by more than a few critics as the definition of “Oscar bait?”

The answer, apparently, is money and intimidation. The guy is a bully with a big pocketbook and a whole lotta friends. When I say friends, of course, I mean people he pays who are REQUIRED to like him.

I’ve always been a defender of the Oscars, admitting the politics involved but admiring the importance associated with it and the star power of the whole thing. And the fact that, every once in a while, there’s a nice little surprise nomination (In Bruges got a Best original Screenplay nod this time around). All of that being said, I’m beginning to give up on the whole Oscar thing. Because of The Reader. And the lack of The Dark Knight. My guarantee is that ten years from now no one will know what The Reader was about, only remembering that Kate Winslet won the Oscar for it, finally being recognized for an increible body of work, not actually The Reader. People will remember The Dark Knight, for Ledger’s performance and so much more.

It’s also because of Weinstein. This is the same guy that got The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love the Best Picture Oscar over far superior films, most notably Saving Private Ryan, arguably the greatest war film ever made.

This guy is destroying something that looked to be on the right track, with a No Country for Old Men win last year AND love for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly director Julian Schanabel. It appears that all of this was a lie and the Academy is as corrupt and fickle as ever.

They are also stupid. Why wouldn’t you vote The Dark Knight in? In today’s viral age, how many viewers did you just lose because there’s no chance that Nolan’s masterpiece can win come Oscar night. After the wise hiring of Hugh Jackman to host, they go and do something like this. Congratulations Academy, you just dug your own ratings grave…again. Christopher Nolan gave you a chance at rejuvenation on a silver platter, and you shit all over it. For The Reader. And Harvey Weinstein.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button leads with 13 Nominations.

Here are the 81st Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

Frost/Nixon

Benjamin Button

Milk

Best Actor

Richard Jenkins in The Visitor

Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon

Sean Penn in Milk

Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Best Actress

Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married

Angelina Jollie in Changeling

Melissa Leo in Frozen River

Meryl Streep in Doubt

Kate Winslet in The Reader

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder

Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt

Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Josh Brolin in Milk

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams in Doubt

Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Viola Davis in Doubt

Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Marrisa Tomei in The Wrestler

Best Director

Gus Van Sant for Milk

Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Howard for Frost/Nixon

Stephen Daldry for The Reader

Best Original Screenplay

Courtney Hunt for Frozen River

Mike Leigh for Happy-Go-Lucky

Martin McDonagh for In Bruges

Andrew Stanton for Wall-E

Dustin Lance Black for Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay

Eric Roth and Robin Swicord for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

John Patrick Shanley for Doubt

Peter Morgan for Frost/Nixon

David Hare for The Reader

Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Animated Feature Film

Bolt

Wall-E

Kung Fu Panda

Best Art Direction

Changeling

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

The Duchess

Revolutionary Road

Best Cinematography

Changeling

Slumdog Millionaire

The Reader

Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

Best Costumes

Australia

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Milk

The Duchess

Revolutionary Road

Best Documentary Feature

Encounters at the End of the World

Man on Wire

The Betrayal

The Garden

Trouble the Water

Best Documentary Short Subject

The Conscience of Nhem En

The Final Inch

Smile Pinki

The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306

Best Animated Short Film

La Maison en Petits Cubes

Lavatory – Lovestory

Oktapodi

Presto

This Way Up

Best Live Action Short Film

Auf der Strecke (On the Line)

Manon on the Asphalt

New Boy

The Pig

Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Best Film Editing

The Dark Knight

Slumdog Millionaire

Frost/Nixon

Benjamin Button

Milk

Best Foreign Film

The Baader Meinhof Complex

The Class

Departures

Revanche

Waltz with Bashir

Best Makeup

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Dark Knight

Hellboy II

Best Original Score

Wall-E

Slumdog Millionaire

Defiance

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Milk

Best Original Song

Down to Earth from Wall-E

O Saya from Slumdog Millionaire

Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Editing

The Dark Knight

Wanted

Iron Man

Wall-E

Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Mixing

The Dark Knight

Wanted

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Wall-E

Slumdog Millionaire

Best Visual Effects

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Dark Knight

Wall-E

The Oscars are hosted by Hugh Jackman will take place on February 22nd.

Do you agree with the nominations?

On Thursday morning, the Oscar nominations will be announced. However, we’ve got all the nominations and potential winners here for you now. And yes, we ARE predicting a Winslet sweep, based on her recent luck with her peers, many of whom are part of the Academy. Speaking of sweeps, it looks like it will be a Slumdog sweep as well.

Sixty percent of the time, we’re right – every time.

Starting from Screenplay and tracking up to Best Picture, these are films (and people) who we see getting nominated. We have bolded our predicted winners in each category. The nominations are announced at 8:38 am EST at Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Thursday, Jan 22nd.

Best Original Screenplay:

-Woody Allen – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

- Dustin Lance Black – Milk

- Mike Leigh – Happy-Go-Lucky

- Robert D. Siegel – The Wrestler

- Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon – Wall-E

Best Adapted Screenplay:

- Simon Beaufoy – Slumdog Millionaire

- Peter Morgan – Frost/Nixon

- Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight

- Eric Roth – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

- John Patrick Shanley – Doubt

Best Supporting Actress:

-Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

- Viola Davis – Doubt

- Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

- Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler

- Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Supporting Actor:

- Josh Brolin – Milk

- Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder

- Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt

- Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

- Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actress:

- Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married

- Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky

- Angelina Jolie – Changeling

- Meryl Streep – Doubt

- Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road

Best Actor:

- Clint Eastwood – Gran Torino

- Richard Jenkins – The Visitor

- Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon

- Sean Penn – Milk

- Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Best Director:

- Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

- David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

- Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon

- Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight

- Gus Van Sant – Milk

Best Picture:

- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

- The Dark Knight

- Frost/Nixon

- Milk

- Slumdog Millionaire

The 81st Academy Awards will air on Sunday, February 22nd, hosted by Hugh Jackman.

Do you agree with our predictions? What are yours?

Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button have each received 11 nominations for the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2009.

The Dark Knight has 9 nominations and Changeling has 8 nominations.

Frost/Nixon has 6 nominations, The Reader has 5 and In Bruges, Milk and Revolutionary Road all have 4 nominations each.

Here are the nominations:

Best Film
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best British Film
“Hunger”
“In Bruges”
“Mamma Mia!”
“Man on Wire”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Director
Clint Eastwood, “Changeling”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Actor
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Best Actress
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Kristin Scott Thomas, “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”

Best Supporting Actor
Robert Downey Jr, “Tropic Thunder”
Brendan Gleeson, “In Bruges”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Brad Pitt, “Burn After Reading”

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Freida Pinto, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Tilda Swinton, “Burn After Reading”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”

Best Original Screenplay
Joel and Ethan Coen, “Burn After Reading”
J. Michael Straczynski, “Changeling”
Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”
Philippe Claudel, “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”
David Hare, “The Reader”
Justin Haythe, “Revolutionary Road”
Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Foreign Language Film (announced earlier)
“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“Gomorrah”
“I’ve Loved You So Long”
“Persepolis”
“Waltz With Bashir”

Best Animated Feature
“Persepolis”
“WALL-E”
“Waltz With Bashir”

Best Production Design
“Changeling” (James Murakami; Gary Fettis)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Donald Graham Burt; Victor Zolfo)
“The Dark Knight” (Nathan Crowley; Peter Lando)
“Revolutionary Road” (Kristi Zea; Debra Schutt)
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Mark Digby; Michelle Day)

Best Cinematography
“Changeling” (Tom Stern)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Claudio Miranda)
“The Dark Knight” (Wally Pfister)
“The Reader” (Chris Menges; Roger Deakins)
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Anthony Dod Mantle)

Best Costume Design
“Changeling” (Deborah Hopper)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Jacqueline West)
“The Dark Knight” (Lindy Hemming)
“The Duchess” (Michael O’Connor)
“Revolutionary Road” (Albert Wolsky)

Best Film Editing
“Changeling” (Joel Cox; Gary D. Roach)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Kirk Baxter; Angus Wall)
“The Dark Knight” (Lee Smith)
“Frost/Nixon” (Mike Hill; Dan Hanley)
“In Bruges” (Jon Gregory)
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Chris Dickens)

Best Makeup & Hair
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”

Best Music
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Alexandre Desplat)
“The Dark Knight” (Hans Zimmer; James Newton Howard)
“Mamma Mia!” (Benny Andersson; Bjorn Ulvaeus)
“Slumdog Millionaire” (A.R. Rahman)
“WALL-E” (Thomas Newman)

Best Sound
“Changeling”
“The Dark Knight”
“Quantum of Solace”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”

Best Visual Effects
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crustal Skull”
“Iron Man”
“Quantum of Solace”

Carl Foreman Award (for debut British writers, directors and producers)
Simon Chinn (producer), “Man on Wire”
Judy Craymer (producer), “Mamma Mia!”
Garth Jennings (writer), “Son of Rambow”
Steve McQueen, (writer/director), “Hunger”
Solon Papadopoulos and Roy Boulter (producers), “Of Time and the City”

Orange Rising Star Award (announced earlier; voted by the public)
Michael Cera
Noel Clarke
Michael Fassbender
Rebecca Hall
Toby Kebbell

Go Slumdog Millionaire! It’s nice to see The Dark Knight get so many nominations and Gomorrah not get snubbed like it did in the Academy Awards. The awards ceremony will take place Royal Opera House on February 8.

What do you think of the nominations?

Slumdog Millionaire won big at the Golden Globes tonight picking up best drama picture, directing, score, and screenplay. Other notable winners are Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler and Kate Winslet picking up both supporting actress and actress. 30 Rock and Mad Men also won best comedy and drama, respectively. We were able to predict 20 out of the 25 winners. Here are the winners below: