Earlier today, folks got together here in SoCal at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, CA to announce the nominees for the 81st annual Academy Awards, which will be handed out on February 22:

Leading the pack this year is the David Fincher-directed film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which scored 13 nominations in various categories. Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader and Frost/Nixon join Button in the running for the top prize, Best Picture. Here are a few pictures of actor Forest Whitaker and AMPAS president Sid Ganis making the nominee announcements in the major categories and a run-down of which films will compete for Oscars next month … and which films/people will not:

Batman and Clint Eastwood? Forget about it. The Dark Knight, the superhero thriller that was expected to make history as the first comic-book adaptation to take a best-picture nomination, and Gran Torino, which the Hollywood veteran starred in and directed, were left out of the contest for Oscar’s top prize. Instead, the far more serious Holocaust-themed The Reader took the fifth berth and its director, Stephen Daldry, also managed to slip into his category. The other nominees announced for top prize in the 81st Academy Awards Thursday morning in Los Angeles followed the script of the prognosticators: the era-spanning fable The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which led the crowd with 13 nominations; gay-themed political biopic Milk; TV-landmark drama Frost/Nixon; and romantic crowd-pleaser Slumdog Millionaire. As expected, Heath Ledger’s vividly twisted take on the villainous Joker in The Dark Knight scored a supporting nomination for the Australian actor, who died a year ago today at age 28 after suffering an accidental prescription-drug overdose. He’s the seventh actor to compete posthumously in the race, though only Peter Finch won a best-actor trophy for 1976′s Network. Going up against Ledger are Philip Seymour Hoffman as a problematic priest in Doubt, Josh Brolin as a city supervisor turned assassin in Milk, Robert Downey Jr. as the ultimate Method actor in Tropic Thunder and Michael Shannon as a perceptive mental patient in Revolutionary Road. After her two Golden Globe wins, Kate Winslet was expected to earn a supporting nomination for her tormented concentration-camp guard in The Reader as well as a lead spot as a distraught suburban housewife in Revolutionary Road. Instead, only her work in Reader was recognized. The British actress, 33, has been up for an Oscar five times before without a win. Others in the lead-actress lineup are Meryl Streep as a formidable nun in Doubt, Anne Hathaway as the black-sheep sister in Rachel Getting Married, Angelinia Jolie as the troubled mother of a missing boy in The Changeling and Melissa Leo as a struggling single mom in Frozen River. Making up the supporting-actress category: Penelope Cruz’s tempestuous ex-wife in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Viola Davis as the mother of a possible abuse victim in Doubt, Taraji P. Henson as a loving adoptive mother in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Marisa Tomei as a worn-out stripper in The Wrestler and Amy Adams as a naïve nun in Doubt. Making it into the lead actor lineup: Sean Penn as an openly gay politician in Milk, Mickey Rourke as a washed-up grappler in The Wrestler, Frank Langella as the ever-enigmatic Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon, Brad Pitt as the foundling who ages backward in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Richard Jenkins as the burnt-out professor who gains a new lease on life in The Visitor. Joining Daldry in the director’s race: David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Gus Van Sant for Milk, Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon and Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire.

No real surprises here … the surprises would’ve come if a film like The Dark Knight had received a nomination for Best Picture. And while I really loved Gran Torino, I am not that shocked/appalled that it was not nominated for Best Picture either. I am a bit surprised that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button received so many Academy Award nominations, especially since it’s been doing so poorly at the other awards shows. Surely, with 13 noms, it’s bound to win something. Angelina Jolie, too, must have her fingers crossed now that she’s been nominated again for her work in Changeling. My money/support is on Meryl Streep‘s portrayal of the stern nun in Doubt to win Best Actress, tho (Meryl remains the singular actor with the most Academy Award nominations). MUCH PROPS and LURVE goes out to Marisa Tomei for FINALLY getting some recognition and scoring a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her amazing work in The Wrestler. She’s been the unsung actress in all of the previous awards shows, at least now she has a chance to get some Oscar love from the Academy. I am relieved that Heath Ledger scored a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight. I have a really good feeling that he’s going to win the Academy‘s next posthumous Oscar … I can feel it in me waters. And so … the nominations have been announced, the stage will soon be set and in a month’s time we’ll know which films and actors/actresses will be judged as the best of 2008. Take note, the Academy Awards will air live on ABC on Feb. 22 … with Hugh Jackman as host. Woot!

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