Blackwolf @ the Oscars 2009: The Nominations

And so, as threatened, here we go again! Armed once more with the resources of HollywoodReporter.com, Variety.com and the Internet Movie Database, your humble Dragonmaster brings you the most graphically detailed nominations listing for these, the 81st Annual Academy Awards! Strap yourselves in, my dears, because this will, as ever, be a long'un!

BEST PICTURE

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Kennedy-Marshall Co., Time Warner/Viacom. Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Cean Chaffin, producers.

Frost/Nixon, Imagine Entertainment/Relativity Media-Le Studio Canal+ and Working Title Pictures/NBC Universal. Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, producers; Todd Hallowell and Peter Morgan, executive producers.

Milk, Axon Films/Groundswell Prods.-The Jinks-Cohen Co.,/NBC Universal. Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen, Michael London, producers; Dustin Lance Black, Barbara A. Hall, Bill Horberg and Bruna Papandrea, executive producers.

The Reader, Mirage Enterprises/Nuente Babelsberg Films; The Weinstein Co. Donna Gigliotti, Anthony Minghella, Redmond Morris, Sydney Pollack, producers; Bob & Harvey Weinstein, executive producers.

Slumdog Millionaire, Celador Entertainment and Film4/Newscorp. Christian Colson, producer; Paul Smith and Tessa Ross, executive producers; Francois Ivernel and Cameron McCracken, co-executive producers.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Richard Jenkins as Professor Walter Vale in The Visitor.

Frank Langella as Richard M. Nixon in Frost/Nixon.

Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in Milk.

Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Mickey Rourke as Randy "the Ram" Robinson in The Wrestler.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Anne Hathaway as Kym in Rachel Getting Married.

Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins in Changeling.

Melissa Leo as Ray Eddy in Frozen River.

Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius Beauvier in Doubt.

Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz in The Reader.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Josh Brolin as Dan White in Milk.

Robert Downey, Jr. as Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder.

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Brendan Flynn in Doubt.

Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

Michael Shannon as John Givings in Revolutionary Road.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams as Sister James in Doubt.

Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Viola Davis as Mrs. Miller in Doubt.

Taraji P. Henson as Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Marisa Tomei as Cassidy in The Wrestler.

DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire.

Stephen Daldry, The Reader.

David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon.

Gus van Sant, Milk.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Courtney Hunt, Frozen River.

Mike Leigh, Happy-go-lucky.

Martin McDonagh, In Bruges.

Dustin Lance Black. Milk.

Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter and Jim Reardon, WALL*E.

SCREENPLAY ADAPTATION

Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Based upon the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

John Patrick Shanley, Doubt. Based upon his stage play.

Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon. Based upon his stage play.

David Hare, The Reader. Based upon the book by Bernhard Schlink.

Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire. Based upon the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Tom Stern, Changeling.

Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight.

Roger Deakins and Chris Menges, The Reader.

Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire.

FILM EDITING

Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Lee Smith, The Dark Knight.

Michael Hill and Daniel Hanley, Frost/Nixon.

Elliot Graham, Milk.

Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire.

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION

James J. Murakami (production designer) and Gary Fettis, Changeling.

Donald Graham Burt (production designer) and Victor J. Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Nathan Crowley (production designer) and Peter Lando, The Dark Knight.

Michael Carlin (production designer) and Rebecca Alleway, The Duchess.

Kristi Zea (production designer) and Debra Schutt, Revolutionary Road.

COSTUME DESIGN

Catherine Martin, Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Michael O'Connor, The Duchess.

Danny Glicker, Milk.

Albert Wolsky, Revolutionary Road.

MAKE-UP

Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan, The Dark Knight.

Mike Elizalde and Thomas Flouts, Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

VISUAL EFFECTS

Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber and Paul J. Franklin, The Dark Knight.

John Nelson, Ben Snow, Daniel Sudick and Shane Mahan, Iron Man.

PRODUCTION SOUND/RE-RECORDING

David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg and Gary Rizzo, The Dark Knight.

Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty, Slumdog Millionaire.

Tommy Myers, Ben Burtt and Michael Semanick, WALL*E.

Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montano and Petr Forejt, Wanted.

SOUND EFFECTS EDITING

Richard King, The Dark Knight.

Frank E. Eulner and Christopher Boyes, Iron Man.

Tom Sayers, Slumdog Millionaire.

Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood, WALL*E.

Wylie Stateman, Wanted.

ORIGINAL SCORE

Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

James Newton Howard, Defiance.

Danny Elfman, Milk.

A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire.

Thomas Newman, WALL*E.

ORIGINAL SONG

From Slumdog Millionaire: Jai Ho!, words and music by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; and O Saya, words and music by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.

From WALL*E: Down to Earth, lyrics by Peter Gabriel; music by Thomas Newman.

ANIMATED FEATURE

Bolt, Disney. Byron Howard and Chris Wiliams, directors; Clark Spencer, producer, John Lasseter, executive producer.

Kung Fu Panda, DreamWorks Animation/ Viacom. Mark Osborne and John Stevenson, directors; Melissa Cobb, producer.

WALL*E, Disney-Pixar. Andrew Stanton, director; Jim Morris, producer, John Lasseter, executive producer.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Nerakhoon: The Betrayal, POV/The American Documentary and Pandinlao Films; Cinema Guild. Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath, writer-directors; Flora Mernandez-Marengo, producer.

Encounters at the End of the World, Discovery Channel Pictures/Image Entertainment/THINKfilm. Wener Herzog, director; Henry Kaiser, producer; Philip Fairclough, David S. Harding, Julian Hobbs, Andrea Meditch and Erik Nelson, executive producers.

The Garden, Black Valley Films. Scott Hamilton Kennedy, writer-director; Vivianne Nacif, producer; Stuart and Julie Bergman Sender, executive producers; Dan Cogan, supervising producer.

Man on Wire, Discovery Channel Pictures and the BBC, in association with Red Box Films/Wall to Wall Films. James Marsh, director; Simon Chinn, producer; Andrea Meditch, Jonathan Hewes and Nick Fraser, executive producers.

Trouble the Water, Elsewhere Productions-L'Ouverture Films; Zeitgeist Films. Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, producer-directors; Danny Glover, David Alcaro, Joslyn Barnes and Todd Olson, executive producers.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

The Conscience of Nhem En, Farallon Films. Steven Okazaki, producer-director.

The Final Inch, Vermilion Films/The Makers. Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant, producers.

Smile, Pinki!, Principe Prods. for POV/The American Documentary. Megan Mylan, director.

The Witness: From the Balcony of Room #306, The National Civil Rights Museum and the Hyde Family Foundation. Adam Pertofsky, director; Vicki Mohammed and R. Stephen Mohammed, producers; Margaret Hyde, executive producer.

LIVE-ACTION SHORT

Auf der Strecke (On the Line), das Kunsthochschule fur Medien Koln-SF Schweizer Fernsehen. Reto Cafi, producer-director.

Manon on the Asphalt (Manon sur le Bitume), La Luna Prods. Olivier Pont and Elizabeth Marre, writer-directors; Sebastian Hussenot, producer.

New Boy, Zanzibar Films for Radio Telefis Eireann. Steph Green, writer-director; Tamara Anghie, producer.

The Pig (Das Grisen), M&M Productions, with the support of New Danish Screen. Dorthe Warno Hogh, director; Johannes Stryhn Felding and Christian Potalivo, producers; Tivi Magnusson, executive producer.

Toyland (Spielzeugland), Mephisto Filmproduktion GmbH. Jochen Alexander Freydank, director-producer; David C. Bunners and Christoph-Cico Nicolaisen, executive producers.

ANIMATED SHORT

La Maison en Petit Cubes, Kunio Kato, director; Masanori Kusakabe and Yuko Shin, producers.

Bathroom Love Story (Ubornaya Istoriya/Lyubovnaya Istoriya), Melnitsa Animation. Konstantin Bronzit, writer-director; Aleksandr Boyarskiy and Sergei Selyanov, producers.

Oktapodi! Les Gobelins l'Ecole de l'Image/Talantis Film. Julien Bocabeille and Francois-Xavier Chanioux, supervising directors.

Presto! Disney/Pixar. Doug Sweetland, director; Richard E. Hollander, producer; John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, executive producers.

This Way Up, Nexus Prods./Smith & Foulkes Films. Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes, directors; Christopher O'Reilly and Charlotte Bavasso, producers; Christine Ponzevera, co-producer.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

From Germany: The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Complex), Constantin Filmproduktion/Nouvelles Editions de Films-Dunefilms; Momentum Pictures. Uli Edel, director; Bernd Eichinger, producer.

From France: The Class (Entre les Murs), Le Studio Canal+/France 2 Cinema-Haut et Court. Laurent Cantet, director; Carole Scotta and Caroline Benjo, producers.

From Austria: Revanche, Prisma Film/Spielmannfilm/Janus Films. Gotz Spielmann, writer-producer-director; Heinz Stussak, Sandra Bohle and Mathias Forberg, producers.

From Japan: Departures (Okuribito), Amuse Soft Entertainment/Asahi Shimbunsha/Dentsu-Shochiku Co.; Regent Releasing. Yojiro Takita, director.

From Israel: Waltz w/Bashir (Valz im Bashir), The Bridget Folman Film Gang/Les Films d'Ici/Razor Filmproducktion GmbH-Israel Television Service. Ari Foldman, writer-producer-director; Serge Lalou, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahlieli and Roman Paul, producers.

So there you have it, folks --- other than these three previously announced awards:

GORDON E. SAWYER AWARD
To Ed Catmull, President and CEO of Pixar Animation Studios, and Chairman and CEO, Walt Disney Feature Animation

JOHN A. BONNER MEDAL
To Mark Kimball

JEAN HERSHHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD
To Jerry Lewis, actor-comedian; writer-producer-director; National Chairman, Muscular Dystrophy Association

All of which, I think, makes for a wonderful four hours-plus of television coming to ye, as ever, from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood! And there's a new host in Hugh Jackman; the team from Dreamgirls, The Movie are your telecast producers; the dude who wrote the Ratatouille music is leading the Oscar orchestra; and ABC News veteran Roger Goodman makes his debut directing the telecast, flying in straight from D.C., after having captained ABC News' Presidential Inauguration coverage! Cool, huh? So, kids, if you're ready, check back in a few weeks from hence, for what promises to be yet another knock-'em-down, drag-'em-out, take-no-prisoners recap! Methinks ye'll be surprised, annoyed, etc.!

Missive #400! (It's about bloody time, too!)

And it came to pass, that on Tuesday, January the Thirteenth, Two Thousand and Nine, Mortal-reckoning, Blackwolf the Dragonmaster's Diary of Magecraft did reach the milestone of its Four Hundredth Missive. And it was said that there was much rejoicing amongst the great Mage's loyal fanbase across the cosmos and beyond!

Ah, who the hell am I kidding? It's a wonder I even made it to Missive #400 at all, what with Master Richard trying to do his own little bit for that Celebrate Santa Claus thing going on in Tennessee --- and then the following on mine own agenda: The Presidential Inaugural; the St. Paul, Minnesota Winter Carnival; Super Bowl XLIII; the Oscar Nomination Announcements --- and I'll barely have enough breathing space to aid me sister website, Uncle Fergus' Bagpipers' Paradise, as it prepares for St. Patrick's Day, and then NYC Tartan Week in April! And in between all of that, I gotta do the Easter Parade on 5th Avenue, where, in addition to making my first official public appearance of the new year, I get to say hello to, among others, the reigning Emperor and Empress of the Imperial Court of New York; the team from Richard Concepcion's Rapid T. Rabbit & Friends; and, hopefully, Patrick Barnes, the Oddist, a/k/a the Incredible Bunnyman, --- oh, let's face it, by Merlin's beard, this is really gonna knock the wind out of me Wizardly sails! Aaaargh!!!

This, my dears, is why I kill myself every damn day for you blarsted New Yorkers. And, as ever, for those of you who continue to not get it about Blackwolf the Dragonmaster: We're stuck with each other, New York. Get used to it. Or else!

I mean, c'mon, who else would bother to be romanced by the likes of Debbie d, the Brown-hair'd Mermaid, still be able to match rude remarks with dearest Thor the Barbarian, get meself discovered by no less than Conan O'Brien's foul-moth'd crony, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog --- and, oh yeah, dare to lock horns with me Official Rock Band, Lordi, too! I've done all of the above, and much, much more besides!

And somehow, I've managed to survive everything, even if, as my seven Wizardly superiors, the Grand High Istari, didst warn me of old that this job would be dangerous from the moment I chose to take it! Well, know this: I'm still standin', Mortals --- and I plan on staying in thy face for the foreseeable future! All of which, ultimately, is to say:

GOD, I LOVE BEING A WIZARD!!!

Fearlessly yours, as always,

Master Blackwolf