Slumdog Millionaire enjoyed one of the greatest nights in Academy Awards history, winning a total of eight Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.
Slumdog Millionaire’s pick as Best Picture came as no surprise. The proverbial (and literal) rags to riches story had already captured top honors at virtually every other awards ceremony leading up to the Oscars.
But not only did Slumdog Millionaire capture the Best Picture Oscar, it also took home Oscars for Director Danny Boyle, Adapted Screenplay for Simon Beaufoy, Cinematography, Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best song and Best Score.
Remarkably none of the brilliant actors in the film were even nominated.
“When we started out, we had no stars, we had no power or muscle,” said Producer Christian Colson. “We didn’t have enough money, really, to do what we wanted to do. But what we had was a script that inspired mad love in everyone who read it. We had a genius for a director. We had a cast and a crew who were unwavering in their commitment and whose talents are up on the screen for all of you to see.”
In the acting categories, Sean Penn was the surprise winner for his role as Harvey Milk in the film Milk. Mickey Rourke was the pre-Oscars favorite for his performance in The Wrestler.
“Thank you,” Penn sais. “You commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns. I did not expect this, but I, and I want it to be very clear, that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often.”
In what was probably the closest race of all, Kate Winslet earned an Oscar for her performance in The Reader. She had already won a number of Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards for her roles in not just The Reader, but in Revolutionary Road as well.
In the most somber moment of the night, Heath Ledger’s father, mother and sister accepted the Best Supporting Oscar on behalf of the late actor. Ledger’s dark and lunatic performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight may have been the single most memorable performance by any actor in 2008.
Penelope Cruz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a fact that came as no surprise to anyone.
“Has anyone ever fainted here?” Cruz asked. “Because I may be the first. Thank you Woody (allen) for trusting me with this beautiful character.”
As expected, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won a number of technical awards including Best Art Direction, Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects.
The Best Documentary went to Man on Wire. Ironically, the award was presented by Bill Maher, whose documentary Religulous wasn’t even nominated.
Host Hugh Jackman may have earned a standing ovation for his opening number, but he made the entire show feel more like the Tonys than the Oscars. He provided plenty of son g and dance, but little of the humor and wit that have been the trademarks of Oscars’ best hosts. It will be a shock if he gets the same gig next year.
NOTES: AwardsandHonors.com visitors did a terrific job of picking the Oscars. Poll winners included Slumdog Millionaire (Best Picture) Kate Winslet (Best Actress), Penelope Cruz (Best Supporting Actress) and Heath Ledger (Best Supporting Actor). The poll for Best Actor ended in a tie between Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn…. For sheer humor, Jack Black’s attack on Pixar, James Franco and Josh Rogen cracking up while watching a scene from The Reader and Steve Martin and Tina Fey’s riff on screenwriting were among the night’s highlights…. Speaking of comedy, Jerry Lewis won the Humanitarian Oscar for his work with Jerry’s Kids.