KUNG-FU PANDA SWEEPS THE ANNIE AWARDS!!!!

Ho...ly...crap...!!!!!! I literally can't believe that I'm actually typing this, but at this year's Annie Awards (dished out by the Animated Film Society)...



KUNG FU PANDA WON EVERY SINGLE AWARD IT WAS NOMINATED FOR, INCLUDING BEST ANIMATED FEATURE. A complete sweep! Wow.




I don't know if this is a case of Pixar backlash. After all, they win practically every time they release a movie, with the exception of A Bug's Life (lost to The Iron Giant), and Monsters Inc. (lost to Shrek). But seriously, you have got to be kidding me! I'm not discounting the quality of Kung Fu Panda at all. I love the film, actually made it on my list of honorable mentions for the best films of the year, but over Wall-E, which was my personal #2 and the #1 Critic Movie of they year? Well, you can see where I'm going with this. I am in shock.

USC SCRIPTER AWARD

The USC Scripter award was handed out this week. For those who aren't aware, this may be the only award that is given not only to the adapted screenplay, but also to the original work (i.e. book, graphic novel) that the screenplay was adapted from. Kinda cool. This year, the nominees were...

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Iron Man
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

And the winner is...no surprise here...Slumdog Millionaire. Simon Beaufoy picked up yet another award for his adaptation of the "Q & A" book that Slumdog is based from, bringing his award total to somewhere around the 8 area I believe. He is also nominated for the upcoming BAFTA's, and of course the Oscars.

AND OFF THEY GO...

The voting ballots have now been mailed out to the 5810 Academy members that will decide who takes home this years Oscars. The deadline for returning them is Tuesday, Feb. 17. The Oscars are five days later, on the 22nd. Yay!

Website updates...

Did a small smattering of updates over at the website, mostly just in the form of changing all my "prediction" pages to the final "nominees" pages.

But also make sure to check out my TOP 10 for the year, as well as the nominees for the BEACHHOUSE AWARDS!


THE OSCAR BEACHHOUSE

SAG AWARD WINNERS!

Last night, the Screen Actors Guild held their annual awards. This is now the night went down on the film side of the awards...

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins "The Visitor"
Frank Langella "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn "Milk" (Winner)
Brad Pitt "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke "The Wrestler"

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie "Changeling"
Melissa Leo "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep "Doubt" (Winner)
Kate Winslet "Revolutionary Road"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin "Milk"
Robert Downey, Jr. "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman "Doubt"
Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight" (Winner)
Dev Patel "Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Kate Winslet "The Reader" (Winner)

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire (Winner)

PRODUCERS GUILD WINNERS

Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (WINNER)

Producing of an Animated Feature
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E (WINNER)

Producing of a Documentary Feature
MAN ON WIRE (WINNER)
Standard Operating Procedure
Trouble the Water

2008 Academy Award Nominations...Full List

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't updated at all this week. I took a weekend trip down to FL and the place where I was staying didn't happen to have any working internet, so...that explains that. Anywho, here is the full list of 2008 Oscar Nominees, and I will be analyzing category by category over the next few days. For now, the nominations with a * next to them are the ones that I missed in my predictions.

2008 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader*
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST 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"

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins "The Visitor"
Frank Langella "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn "Milk"
Brad Pitt "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"*
Mickey Rourke "The Wrestler"

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie "Changeling"
Melissa Leo "Frozen River"*
Meryl Streep "Doubt"
Kate Winslet "The Reader"*

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin "Milk"
Robert Downey, Jr. "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman "Doubt"
Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon "Revolutionary Road"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams "Doubt"*
Penelope Cruz "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei "The Wrestler"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Frozen River*
Happy-Go-Lucky*
In Bruges*
Milk
Wall-E

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt*
Frost/Nixon
The Reader*
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Bolt*
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Changeling*
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FILM EDITING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ART DIRECTION
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess*
Revolutionary Road*

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk*
Revolutionary Road

BEST SOUND
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Wanted*

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire*
Wall-E
Wanted*

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

BEST MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight*
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance*
Milk*
Slumdog Millioanire
Wall-E

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Down to Earth" -- Wall-E
"Jai Ho" -- Slumdog Millionaire
"O Saya" -- Slumdog Millionaire*

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex -- (Germany)
The Class -- (France)
Departures -- (Japan)
Revanche -- (Austria)*
Waltz With Bashir -- (Israel)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness -- From the Balcony of Room 306

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

WELCOME TO THE BLOG & FINAL 2008 PREDICTIONS!

WELCOME VISITORS AND LOYAL PATRONS OF AWARDSDAILY.COM AND THE OSCAR BEACHHOUSE! Hope you enjoy!

And so, after months of watching and toiling away, we are now less than 12 hours away from the announcement of the 2008 Academy Award Nominations. Here are my final predictions...no alternates, just the real choices...

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

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 ACTOR
Clint Eastwood "Gran Torino"
Richard Jenkins "The Visitor"
Frank Langella "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn "Milk"
Mickey Rourke "The Wrestler"

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway "Rachel Getting Married"
Sally Hawkins "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Angelina Jolie "Changeling"
Meryl Streep "Doubt"
Kate Winslet "Revolutionary Road"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin "Milk"
Robert Downey, Jr. "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman "Doubtt"
Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon "Revolutionary Road"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz "Vicky Christina Barcelona"
Viola Davis "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei "The Wrestler"
Kate Winslet "The Reader"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Wall-E
The Wrestler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FILM EDITING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ART DIRECTION
Australia
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Australia
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

BEST SOUND
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace
Wall-E

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

BEST MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Synecdoche, New York

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Another Way to Die" -- Quantum of Solace
"Down to Earth" -- Wall-E
"I Thought I Lost You" -- Bolt
"Jaiho" -- Slumdog Millionaire
"The Wrestler" -- The Wrestler