Oscars: Slumdog Millionaire scores 10 nominations

The romantic fantasy The Curious Case of Benjamin Button led Academy Awards contenders on Thursday with 13 nominations, among them best picture and acting honors for Brad Pitt and Taraji P. Henson, and a directing slot for David Fincher.

Other best-picture nominees are Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader and Slumdog Millionaire, with 10 nominations.

As expected, Heath Ledger had a supporting-actor nomination for The Dark Knight on the one-year anniversary of his death from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. But the Batman blockbuster was shut out for other top categories such as best picture and director.

Slumdog Millionaire lived up to its rags-to-riches theme, coming in second with 10 nominations, including a directing spot for Danny Boyle and two of the three song slots.

Real-life couple Pitt and Angelina Jolie both will be going to the Oscars as nominees. Jolie had a best-actress nomination for the missing-child drama Changeling.

The acting categories were loaded with surprises. Kate Winslet won two Golden Globes, best dramatic actress for Revolutionary Road and supporting actress for The Reader. But she was nominated for lead actress at the Oscars for The Reader and shut out for Revolutionary Road.

Actors considered longshots also sneaked in, among lead-actor nominee Richard Jenkins for The Visitor, best-actress contender Melissa Leo for Frozen River and supporting-actor pick Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road.

Winslet reunited with her Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road, but he also was shut out for a nomination on that film.

Other best-actress nominees were Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married and Meryl Streep for Doubt.

Joining Pitt and Jenkins in the best-actor category were Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon; Sean Penn, Milk; and Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler.

Other acting snubs included Clint Eastwood for Gran Torino, Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky and Kristin Scott Thomas for I've Loved You So Long.

But perhaps the biggest surprise overall was the so-so results for The Dark Knight, which had been picking up momentum as one Hollywood trade guild after another picked it as one of the year's best films.

The largest blockbuster in years, The Dark Knight had eight nominations, but other than Ledger's honour, its scored only in technical categories such as cinematography, visual effects and editing.

Oscar nominations 2009: full list of nominees

1)BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
2) BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
3) BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader
4) BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger -The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road
5) BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P Henson - The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
6) BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher - The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant - Milk
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
7) BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
The Class (France)
Departures (Japan)
Revanche (Austria)
Waltz With Bashir (Israel)
8) BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord - The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button;
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
David Hare - The Reader
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
9) BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Courtney Hunt - Frozen River
Mike Leigh - Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh - In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter - WALL-E
10) BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
11) BEST ART DIRECTION
Changeling
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road.
12) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Changeling
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
13) BEST SOUND MIXING
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
14) BEST SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
15) BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button - Alexandre Desplat
Defiance - James Newton Howard
Milk - Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire - AR Rahman
WALL-E - Thomas Newman
16) BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Down To Earth from WALL-E - Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire - AR Rahman and Gulzar
O Saya from Slumdog Millionaire - AR Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
17) BEST COSTUME
Australia
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road.
18) BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters At The End Of The World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
19) BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT):
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From The Balcony Of Room 306
20) BEST FILM EDITING
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
21) BEST MAKE-UP
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
22) BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
23) BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Auf Der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon On The Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
24) BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man