The nominees for the 81st annual Academy Awards were announced this morning. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was the top dog in the nominations, receiving 13 (Slumdog Millionaire, with 10 nominations, was number 2). There are nearly twice as many nominations for genre films this year as last, but only one more genre film has received nominations. The 13 for Button skews the comparison.
Nominees of genre interest include:
Bolt: Animated Feature Film
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Actor (Brad Pitt); Supporting Actress (Taraji P. Henson); Art Direction; Cinematography; Costume Design; Directing; Film Editing; Makeup; Original Score; Best Picture; Sound Mixing; Visual Effects; Adapted Screenplay
The Dark Knight: Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger); Art Direction; Cinematography; Film Editing; Makeup; Sound Editing; Sound Mixing; Visual Effects
Hellboy II: The Golden Army: Makeup
Iron Man: Sound Editing; Visual Effects
Kung Fu Panda: Animated Feature Film
WALL-E: Animated Feature Film; Original Score; Original Song (“Down to Earth”); Sound Editing; Sound Mixing; Original Screenplay
The full list of nominees is on this page. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—the organization which gives out the Oscars—has announced that Hugh Jackman will host the award show on Sunday 22 February at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, and that it will be televised live by ABC beginning at 5PM PT.