81st Academy Award Winners (and Thoughts)

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Slumdog Millionaire

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sean Penn (Milk)
*Predicted: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
*Predicted: Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Japan (Departures)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Man on Wire

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire)

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Michael O'Conner (The Duchess)

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Chris Dickens (Slumdog Millionaire)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
"Jai Ho" (Slumdog Millionaire)

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Slumdog Millionaire

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Smile Pinki
*Predicted: The Final Inch

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
La Maison en Petits Cubes
*Predicted: Presto

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Toyland
*Predicted: The Pig

Overall score: 19/24. Not bad. Probably my best so far. The three categories on shorts are where I went wrong mostly, with gusty predictions of wins for Rourke and WALL-E for screenplay also not working out. It turned out to be a mostly predictable year, but all the winners are deserving and I loved the ceremonies. It was the most entertaining, heartfelt, and aptly paced show that I've seen in a long time. Hugh Jackman was a great host, very classy.

My favorite thing about this year's Oscars:
-The new format of presenting the winners of the acting awards. Bringing out former winners to honor a new one is an emotional tribute that must become the new tradition. With over 70 past winners in these categories, it would be easy to get a new batch of presenters every year, and it would cause excitement to guess who'll be coming out to give the Oscar. I especially loved the lineup of presenters for the lead categories. What star power!

The new format did, however, result in the loss of a good tradition of the acting awards: the clips. I'm sure there's a way to make this work where clips are still shown. I would have particularly loved to see a clip of Ledger's Joker performance.

Still, overall, it was a great Oscar show. The right people and films won (how long has it been since that was the case?), and the show itself is heading in the right direction.

On to the new Oscar year!