re: Official 2009 Oscar Discussion
The Dark Knight is only the 4th film in Oscar history to earn 8 nominations without one for Picture, Director, or Screenplay. The other 3: Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Poseidon Adventure, and Dreamgirls.
Doubt is only the 3rd film in Oscar history to earn 4 acting nominations without a Picture or Director nomination. The other 2: I Remember Mama and Othello.
WALL-E is the first animated film to compete in 6 different categories.
Slumdog Millionaire is only the second Best Picture nominee to receive two song nominations, the other one being Beauty and the Beast.
First time since 1991 more men than women are nominated for Costume Design.
Meryl Streep tied Katharine Hepburn for her 12 nominations in the leading category.
Kate Winslet, 33, is the youngest performer to receive six Oscar nominations over the course of her career. The record was previously held by actress Bette Davis, who was 34 when she received her sixth nomination for "Now, Voyager" in 1942.
Marisa Tomei is now one of only ten supporting actress winners that have been nominated more than once after their wins; the others were:
Fay Bainter.
Celeste Holm.
Shelley Winters.
Maggie Smith.
Meryl Streep.
Jessica Lange.
Anjelica Huston.
Dianne Wiest.
Judi Dench.
Cate Blanchett.
9 of the twenty acting nominees are first-timers:
- Richard Jenkins, The Visitor.
- Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon.
- Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler.
- Josh Brolin, Milk.
- Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road.
- Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married.
- Melissa Leo, Frozen River.
- Viola Davis, Doubt.
- Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
After 1997, 1998 and 2007 this is only the 4th time that SAG matched 5/5 with Oscars in Best Actor.
Stephen Daldry has now directed five actors to nominations and films by him have received 17 nominations in total including three for him.
Wall-E is the most nominated Pixar movie.
First time since 2000 that both Actors in Comedy categories failed to get nominated.
First time since 1994 that no Comedy winner at the Globes (Actor, Actress, Film) got nominated.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the first film ever shot on digital to be nominated for Cinematography.
Brad Pitt's first nomination in 13 years, and the first time in a Best Leading Actor category.
Tom Stern's cinematography nomination for Changeling is his first.
Wally Pfister is 3/3 for his last three Nolan pictures (Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight) for his cinematography!
For the 5th year in a row, Golden Globe best song winner was snubbed at the Oscars.
VCB is the 17th Woody Allen film to get an Oscar nomination, but only the 3rd to not get a writing nod.
First nomination for Werner Herzog.
First time ever that both winners of Lead Actress Globe have been snubbed at the Oscars.
Meryl Streep extends her record of most nominations for acting to 15.
Each of the five best-pic contenders saw its director nominated -- which, incredibly, is only the fifth time that’s ever happened.
“Button’s” Kathleen Kennedy earned her sixth producing bid, tieing her with Stanley Kramer and Steven Spielberg for the record for individual producers.
Stephen Daldry makes Oscar history by going three for three: With this year’s “The Reader,” he has scored a directing bid for the trio of films he’s helmed.
Lora Hirschberg (“Dark Knight”) becomes the third woman nominated in the sound mixing category.
Viola Davis and Michael Shannon are supporting contenders (for “Doubt” and “Revolutionary Road,” respectively) though each has only about 10 minutes of screen time.
“Waltz With Bashir” is the first animated feature nominated for a foreign-language Oscar (though it’s the 13th toon to be submitted in that race; last year’s “Persepolis” didn't even make the short list).
A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog”) is a triple nominee, for his music score and two songs: “Jai Ho” and “O Saya,” which rep the third and fourth bids for songs not in the English language.
France maintains its lead in the foreign-language race, with its 35th bid for “The Class.”
Andrew Stanton (“Wall-E”) is only the fourth person to score a second bid in the animated feature category(The other three: John Lasseter, Hiyao Mizaki and Brad Bird). He also earned a citation in original screenplay as one of the scribes on the film.
Two best-pic contenders center around real-life TV shows: “Frost/Nixon” (the 1977 interviews) and “Slumdog Millionaire” (India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”).
Seven of the 10 lead actors are aged 45 or older.
Robert Downey Jr.’s nom (“Tropic Thunder”) marks the first time since Laurence Olivier’s 1965 “Othello” that an actor has been nommed for playing a role in blackface.
Kate Winslet was nommed as leading actress in “Reader,” though she won a Golden Globe as supporting actress for the same film.
Heath Ledger scored a supporting actor nom for “The Dark Knight” on the first anniversary of his death. This marks the seventh posthumous acting nomination, including the sole winner so far, Peter Finch (“Network”).
