AND THE WINNER IS…

No contender has withstood its early screenings better than Toronto winner Slumdog Millionaire

BEST PICTURE
Projected Nominees
(1) Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight, 11/12, trailer)
(2) Milk (Focus Features, 12/5, trailer)
(3) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount, 12/19, trailer)
(4) Frost/Nixon (Universal, 12/5, trailer)
(5) The Dark Knight (Warner Brothers, 7/18, trailer)
Major Threats
(6) Australia (Fox, 11/26, trailer)
(7) Gran Torino (Warner Brothers, 12/12, trailer)
(8) The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight, 12/31, trailer)
(9) Doubt (Miramax, 12/12, trailer)
(10) Defiance (Paramount Vantage, 12/31, trailer)
(11) The Reader (The Weinstein Company, 12/12, trailer)
(12) Revolutionary Road (Paramount Vantage, 12/26, trailer)
(13) WALL-E (Disney, 6/27, trailer)
In the Mix
(14) Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/3, trailer)
(15) The Visitor (Overture, 4/18, trailer)
(16) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company, 8/15, trailer)
(17) Seven Pounds (Sony, 12/19)

Milk director Gus Van Sant on the set of an earlier film, Paranoid Park

BEST DIRECTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
(2) Gus Van Sant (Milk)
(3) David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(4) Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
(5) Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
Major Threats
(6) Baz Luhrmann (Australia)
(7) Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
(8) Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler)
(9) John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
(10) Edward Zwick (Defiance)
(11) Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
(12) Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road)
(13) Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)
In the Mix
(14) Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married)
(15) Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
(16) Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(17) Gabriele Muccino (Seven Pounds)

Dustin Hoffman is back and all eyes are on him in Last Chance Harvey

BEST ACTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) Sean Penn (Milk)
(2) Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
(3) Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
(4) Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
(5) Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Major Threats
(6) Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(7) Josh Brolin (W.)
(8) Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
(9) Hugh Jackman (Australia)
(10) Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey)
In the Mix
(11) Will Smith (Seven Pounds)
(12) Mark Ruffalo (What Doesn’t Kill You)
(13) Daniel Craig (Defiance)
(14) Benicio Del Toro (Che)
(15) Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)

Michelle Williams gives a career-best performance in Wendy and Lucy

BEST ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
(1) Meryl Streep (Doubt)
(2) Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
(3) Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(4) Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
(5) Nicole Kidman (Australia)
Major Threats
(6) Kristin Scott Thomas (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(7) Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
(8) Kate Beckinsale (Nothing But the Truth)
In the Mix
(9) Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy)
(10) Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
(11) Keira Knightley (The Duchess)
(12) Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(13) Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey)
(14) Penelope Cruz (Elegy)

It’s not easy to steal scenes from Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky, but Eddie Marsan does it

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
(2) Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
(3) Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
(4) Ralph Fiennes (The Reader)
(5) Josh Brolin (Milk)
Major Threats
(6) Alan Alda (Nothing But the Truth)
(7) Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
(8) Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
(9) Liev Schreiber (Defiance)
In the Mix
(10) David Kross (The Reader)
(11) Brandon Walters (Australia)
(12) James Franco (Milk)
(13) Eddie Marsan (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(14) Woody Harrelson (Seven Pounds)

Taraji P. Henson and CGI are the major revelations of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
(1) Kate Winslet (The Reader)
(2) Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(3) Viola Davis (Doubt)
(4) Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(5) Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Major Threats
(6) Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
(7) Kathy Bates (Revolutionary Road)
(8) Elsa Zylberstein (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(9) Amy Adams (Doubt)
In the Mix
(10) Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)
(11) Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds)
(12) Queen Latifah (The Secret Life of Bees)
(13) Vera Farmiga (Nothing But the Truth)

Clayton Frohman and Edward Zwick adapted the based-on-fact Holocuast drama Defiance

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
(1) Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
(2) Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(3) Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)
(4) Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight)
(5) John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
Major Threats
(6) Clayton Frohman, Edward Zwick (Defiance)
(7) David Hare (The Reader)
(8) Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road)
In the Mix
(9) Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Secret Life of Bees)

The mind of Andrew Stanton gave us the enchanting WALL-E… and Eve

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
(1) Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
(2) Baz Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie (Australia)
(3) Nick Schenk (Gran Torino)
(4) Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler)
(5) Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)
Major Threats
(6) Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
(7) Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
(8) Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(9) Grant Nieporte (Seven Pounds)
In the Mix
(10) Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(11) Philippe Claudel (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(12) Rod Lurie (Nothing But the Truth)
(13) Charlie Kaufman (Synechdoche, New York)

Philippe Petit’s walk between the World Trade Centers is at the center of Man on Wire

BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Projected Nominees
(1) Man on Wire
(2) Standard Operating Procedure
(3) Trouble the Water
(4) Pray the Devil Back to Hell
(5) I.O.U.S.A.
Major Threats
(6) The Betrayal
(7) Encounters at the End of the World
(8) Made in America
(9) At the Death House Door
(10) Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
In the Mix
(11) Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
(12) In a Dream
(13) They Killed Sister Dorothy
(14) The Garden
(15) Fuel

Gomorra is a film about Italy’s modern-day crime families

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Projected Nominees
(1) Captain Abu Raed (Jordan)
(2) Gomorra (Italy)
(3) The Class (France)
(4) Mermaid (Russia)
(5) Waltz with Bashir (Israel)
Major Threats
(6) Everlasting Moments (Sweden)
(7) The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
(8) Tony Manero (Chile)
(9) Last Stop 174 (Brazil)
(10) Three Monkeys (Turkey)
In the Mix
(11) O’Horten (Norway)
(12) The Blind Sunflowers (Spain)
(13) Jerusalema (South Africa)
(14) Revanche (Austria)
(15) Lion’s Den (Argentina)

Check out this clip of Anita Bryant — the orange juice pitchwoman turned leading anti-gay spokesperson of the 1970s — taking a pie in the face during a press conference in Des Moines in 1977, after which she quipped, “At least it’s a fruit pie” before breaking down in tears. Bryant’s greatest nemesis, of course, was gay rights activist Harvey Milk, which explains why archive footage of Bryant features prominently in the new bio-pic Milk (Focus Features, 12/5, trailer). Bryant is now 68 and residing in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Brad Pitt stars as an age-defying character in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST PICTURE
Projected Nominees
(1) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount, 12/19, trailer)
(2) Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight, 11/12, trailer)
(3) Milk (Focus Features, 12/5, trailer)
(4) Frost/Nixon (Universal, 12/5, trailer)
(5) Australia (Fox, 11/26, trailer)
Major Threats
(6) The Dark Knight (Warner Brothers, 7/18, trailer)
(7) The Reader (The Weinstein Company, 12/12, trailer)
(8) Doubt (Miramax, 12/12, trailer)
(9) Defiance (Paramount Vantage, 12/31, trailer)
(10) Gran Torino (Warner Brothers, 12/12, trailer)
(11) Revolutionary Road (Paramount Vantage, 12/26, trailer)
(12) The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight, 12/31, trailer)
(13) WALL-E (Disney, 6/27, trailer)
In the Mix
(14) Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/3, trailer)
(15) The Visitor (Overture, 4/18, trailer)
(16) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company, 8/15, trailer)
(17) Seven Pounds (Sony, 12/19)

Christopher Nolan co-wrote and directed The Dark Knight

BEST DIRECTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(2) Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
(3) Gus Van Sant (Milk)
(4) Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
(5) Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
Major Threats
(6) Baz Luhrmann (Australia)
(7) Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
(8) John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
(9) Edward Zwick (Defiance)
(10) Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
(11) Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road)
(12) Darren Aranofsky (The Wrestler)
(13) Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)
In the Mix
(14) Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married)
(15) Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
(16) Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(17) Gabriele Muccino (Seven Pounds)

Richard Jenkins, with Hiam Abbass, gives a career-best performance in The Visitor

BEST ACTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) Sean Penn (Milk)
(2) Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
(3) Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
(4) Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
(5) Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Major Threats
(6) Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(7) Josh Brolin (W.)
(8) Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
(9) Hugh Jackman (Australia)
(10) Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey)
In the Mix
(11) Will Smith (Seven Pounds)
(12) Tom Cruise (Valkyrie)
(13) Mark Ruffalo (What Doesn’t Kill You)
(14) Daniel Craig (Defiance)
(15) Benicio Del Toro (Che)
(16) Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)

Kate Beckinsale shows she is more than just another pretty face in Nothing But the Truth

BEST ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
(1) Meryl Streep (Doubt)
(2) Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(3) Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
(4) Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
(5) Nicole Kidman (Australia)
Major Threats
(6) Kristin Scott Thomas (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(7) Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
(8) Kate Beckinsale (Nothing But the Truth)
In the Mix
(9) Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
(10) Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(11) Keira Knightley (The Duchess)
(12) Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy)
(13) Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey)
(14) Penelope Cruz (Elegy)
(15) Dakota Fanning (The Secret Life of Bees)

Robert Downey, Jr., center, gives one of several fine perfs this year in Tropic Thunder

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
(2) Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
(3) Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
(4) Ralph Fiennes (The Reader)
(5) Alan Alda (Nothing But the Truth)
Major Threats
(6) Josh Brolin (Milk)
(7) Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
(8) Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
(9) David Kross (The Reader)
(10) Brandon Walters (Australia)
In the Mix
(11) Liev Schreiber (Defiance)
(12) James Franco (Milk)
(13) Jamie Bell (Defiance)
(14) Emile Hirsch (Milk)
(15) Eddie Marsan (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(16) Woody Harrelson (Seven Pounds)

Debra Winger, center, could be back at the Oscars for Rachel Getting Married

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
(1) Kate Winslet (The Reader)
(2) Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(3) Viola Davis (Doubt)
(4) Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(5) Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Major Threats
(6) Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
(7) Kathy Bates (Revolutionary Road)
(8) Elsa Zylberstein (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(9) Amy Adams (Doubt)
In the Mix
(10) Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)
(11) Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds)
(12) Queen Latifah (The Secret Life of Bees)
(13) Vera Farmiga (Nothing But the Truth)

Justin Haythe adapted Richard Yates’ acclaimed novel into a script for Revolutionary Road

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
(1) Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(2) Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
(3) Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)
(4) Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight)
(5) John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
Major Threats
(6) David Hare (The Reader)
(7) Clayton Frohman, Edward Zwick (Defiance)
(8) Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road)
In the Mix
(9) Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Secret Life of Bees)

Charlie Kaufman‘s brilliant-crazy script is Synecdoche, New York

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
(1) Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
(2) Baz Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie (Australia)
(3) Nick Schenk (Gran Torino)
(4) Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler)
(5) Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)
Major Threats
(6) Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
(7) Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
(8) Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(9) Grant Nieporte (Seven Pounds)
In the Mix
(10) Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(11) Philippe Claudel (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(12) Rod Lurie (Nothing But the Truth)
(13) Charlie Kaufman (Synechdoche, New York)

’04 winner Errol Morris is back with the Abu Ghraib docu Standard Operating Procedure

BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Projected Nominees
(1) Man on Wire
(2) Standard Operating Procedure
(3) Trouble the Water
(4) Pray the Devil Back to Hell
(5) I.O.U.S.A.
Major Threats
(6) The Betrayal
(7) Encounters at the End of the World
(8) Made in America
(9) At the Death House Door
(10) Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
In the Mix
(11) Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
(12) In a Dream
(13) They Killed Sister Dorothy
(14) The Garden
(15) Fuel

Captain Abu Raed is the first film that Jordan has ever submitted for Oscar consideration

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Projected Nominees
(1) Captain Abu Raed (Jordan)
(2) Gomorra (Italy)
(3) The Class (France)
(4) Mermaid (Russia)
(5) Waltz with Bashir (Israel)
Major Threats
(6) Everlasting Moments (Sweden)
(7) The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
(8) Tony Manero (Chile)
(9) Last Stop 174 (Brazil)
(10) Three Monkeys (Turkey)
In the Mix
(11) O’Horten (Norway)
(12) The Blind Sunflowers (Spain)
(13) Jerusalema (South Africa)
(14) Revanche (Austria)
(15) Lion’s Den (Argentina)

Is there really more to the awards prospects of The Dark Knight than Heath Ledger?

BEST PICTURE
Projected Nominees
(1) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount, 12/19, trailer)
(2) Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight, 11/12, trailer)
(3) Australia (Fox, 11/26, trailer)
(4) Frost/Nixon (Universal, 12/5, trailer)
(5) Revolutionary Road (Paramount Vantage, 12/26, trailer)
Major Threats
(6) Gran Torino (Warner Brothers, 12/25, trailer)
(7) The Dark Knight (Warner Brothers, 7/18, trailer)
(8) WALL-E (Disney, 6/27, trailer)
(9) Milk (Focus Features, 12/5, trailer)
(10) Doubt (Miramax, 12/12, trailer)
(11) The Reader (The Weinstein Company, 12/12, trailer)
(12) The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight, 12/TBA)
In the Mix
(13) Defiance (Paramount Vantage, 12/31, trailer)
(14) Seven Pounds (Sony, 12/19)
(15) Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/3, trailer)
On the Outside
(16) The Visitor (Overture, 4/18, trailer)
(17) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company, 8/15, trailer)
(18) Last Chance Harvey (Overture, 12/26, trailer)

BEST DIRECTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(2) Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
(3) Baz Luhrmann (Australia)
(4) Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
(5) Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
Major Threats
(6) Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road)
(7) Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
(8) Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)
(9) Gus Van Sant (Milk)
(10) John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
(11) Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
(12) Darren Aranofsky (The Wrestler)
In the Mix
(13) Edward Zwick (Defiance)
(14) Gabriele Muccino (Seven Pounds)
(15) Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married)
On the Outside
(16) Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
(17) Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(18) Joel Hopkins (Last Chance Harvey)

BEST ACTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) Sean Penn (Milk)
(2) Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
(3) Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(4) Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
(5) Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
Major Threats
(6) Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
(7) Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
(8) Hugh Jackman (Australia)
(9) Will Smith (Seven Pounds)
(10) Josh Brolin (W.)
In the Mix
(11) Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)
(12) Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey)
On the Outside
(13) Tom Cruise (Valkyrie)
(14) Benicio Del Toro (Che)
(15) Mark Ruffalo (What Doesn’t Kill You)
(16) Daniel Craig (Defiance)

BEST ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
(1) Meryl Streep (Doubt)
(2) Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
(3) Nicole Kidman (Australia)
(4) Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) ▲
(5) Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Major Threats
(6) Kristin Scott Thomas (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(7) Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
(8) Kate Beckinsale (Nothing But the Truth)
(9) Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
In the Mix
(10) Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(11) Keira Knightley (The Duchess)
(12) Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy)
On the Outside
(13) Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey)
(14) Penelope Cruz (Elegy)
(15) Dakota Fanning (The Secret Life of Bees)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
(2) Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
(3) Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
(4) Ralph Fiennes (The Reader)
(5) Alan Alda (Nothing But the Truth)
Major Threats
(6) Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
(7) Liev Schreiber (Defiance)
(8) Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
(9) Brandon Walters (Australia)
In the Mix
(10) David Kross (The Reader)
(11) James Franco (Milk)
(12) Jamie Bell (Defiance)
(13) Josh Brolin (Milk)
On the Outside
(14) Emile Hirsch (Milk)
(15) Eddie Marsan (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(16) Woody Harrelson (Seven Pounds)
(17) Ethan Hawke (What Doesn’t Kill You)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
(1) Kate Winslet (The Reader)
(2) Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(3) Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(4) Kathy Bates (Revolutionary Road)
(5) Viola Davis (Doubt)
Major Threats
(6) Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
(7) Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
(8) Elsa Zylberstein (I’ve Loved You So Long)
In the Mix
(9) Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds)
(10) Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)
(11) Vera Farmiga (Nothing But the Truth)
(12) Amy Adams (Doubt)
On the Outside
(13) Queen Latifah (The Secret Life of Bees)
(14) Frieda Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire)
(15) Hiam Abbass (The Visitor)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
(1) Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(2) Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
(3) Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)
(4) Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road)
(5) Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight) ▲
Major Threats
(6) John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
(7) David Hare (The Reader)
(8) Clayton Frohman, Edward Zwick (Defiance)
In the Mix
(9) Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Secret Life of Bees)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
(1) Baz Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie (Australia)
(2) Nick Schenk (Gran Torino)
(3) Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)
(4) Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
(5) Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
Major Threats
(6) Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(7) Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
(8) Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler)
(9) Grant Nieporte (Seven Pounds)
In the Mix
(10) Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(11) Philippe Claudel (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(12) Rod Lurie (Nothing But the Truth)
(13) Charlie Kaufman (Synechdoche, New York)

BEST PICTURE
Projected Nominees
(1) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount, 12/19, trailer)
(2) Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight, 11/12, trailer)
(3) Australia (Fox, 11/26, trailer)
(4) Frost/Nixon (Universal, 12/5, trailer)
(5) Revolutionary Road (Paramount Vantage, 12/26, trailer)
Major Threats
(6) The Dark Knight (Warner Brothers, 7/18, trailer) ▲
(7) WALL-E (Disney, 6/27, trailer) ▲
(8) Gran Torino (Warner Brothers, 12/25, trailer)
(9) Milk (Focus Features, 12/5, trailer)
(10) Doubt (Miramax, 12/12, trailer)
(11) The Reader (The Weinstein Company, 12/12, trailer)
(12) The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight, 12/TBA) ▲
In the Mix
(13) Defiance (Paramount Vantage, 12/31, trailer)
(14) Seven Pounds (Sony, 12/19)
(15) Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/3, trailer)
On the Outside
(16) The Visitor (Overture, 4/18, trailer)
(17) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company, 8/15, trailer)
(18) Last Chance Harvey (Overture, 12/26, trailer)

BEST DIRECTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(2) Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
(3) Baz Luhrmann (Australia)
(4) Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
(5) Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road)
Major Threats
(6) Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) ▲
(7) Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
(8) Andrew Stanton (WALL-E) ▲
(9) Gus Van Sant (Milk)
(10) John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
(11) Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
(12) Darren Aranofsky (The Wrestler) ▲
In the Mix
(13) Edward Zwick (Defiance)
(14) Gabriele Muccino (Seven Pounds)
(15) Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married)
On the Outside
(16) Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
(17) Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(18) Joel Hopkins (Last Chance Harvey)

BEST ACTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) Sean Penn (Milk)
(2) Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) ▲
(3) Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(4) Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
(5) Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
Major Threats
(6) Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
(7) Will Smith (Seven Pounds)
(8) Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
(9) Hugh Jackman (Australia)
(10) Josh Brolin (W.)
In the Mix
(11) Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)
(12) Benicio Del Toro (Che)
(13) Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey)
On the Outside
(14) Daniel Craig (Defiance)
(15) Tom Cruise (Valkyrie)
(16) Mark Ruffalo (What Doesn’t Kill You)

BEST ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
(1) Meryl Streep (Doubt)
(2) Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
(3) Nicole Kidman (Australia)
(4) Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(5) Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) ▲
Major Threats
(6) Kristin Scott Thomas (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(7) Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
(8) Kate Beckinsale (Nothing But the Truth)
(9) Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
In the Mix
(10) Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) ▲
(11) Keira Knightley (The Duchess)
(12) Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy) ▲
(13) Penelope Cruz (Elegy)
On the Outside
(14) Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey)
(15) Dakota Fanning (The Secret Life of Bees)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Projected Nominees
(1) Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
(2) Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
(3) Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
(4) Ralph Fiennes (The Reader)
(5) Alan Alda (Nothing But the Truth)
Major Threats
(6) Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
(7) Liev Schreiber (Defiance)
(8) Brandon Walters (Australia)
(9) David Kross (The Reader)
(10) James Franco (Milk)
In the Mix
(11) Jamie Bell (Defiance)
(12) Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
(13) Bill Irwin (Rachel Getting Married)
(14) Kevin Bacon (Frost/Nixon)
On the Outside
(15) Josh Brolin (Milk)
(16) Emile Hirsch (Milk)
(17) Eddie Marsan (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(18) Woody Harrelson (Seven Pounds)
(19) Ethan Hawke (What Doesn’t Kill You)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
(1) Kate Winslet (The Reader)
(2) Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(3) Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(4) Kathy Bates (Revolutionary Road)
(5) Viola Davis (Doubt)
Major Threats
(6) Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler) ▲
(7) Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
(8) Elsa Zylberstein (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(9) Queen Latifah (The Secret Life of Bees)
In the Mix
(10) Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds)
(11) Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)
(12) Vera Farmiga (Nothing But the Truth)
(13) Amy Adams (Doubt)
On the Outside
(14) Frieda Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire)
(15) Hiam Abbass (The Visitor)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
(1) Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
(2) Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
(3) Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)
(4) Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road)
(5) Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight) ▲
Major Threats
(6) John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
(7) David Hare (The Reader)
(8) Clayton Frohman, Edward Zwick (Defiance)
In the Mix
(9) Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Secret Life of Bees)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
(1) Baz Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie (Australia)
(2) Andrew Stanton (WALL-E) ▲
(3) Nick Schenk (Gran Torino)
(4) Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
(5) Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
Major Threats
(6) Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
(7) Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)
(8) Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler)
(9) Grant Nieporte (Seven Pounds)
In the Mix
(10) Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
(11) Philippe Claudel (I’ve Loved You So Long)
(12) Rod Lurie (Nothing But the Truth)
(13) Charlie Kaufman (Synechdoche, New York)

Oscar nominee Kristin Scott Thomas portrays a fractured soul in I’ve Loved You So Long

Yesterday, I spoke by phone with Kristin Scott Thomas, a best actress contender for her performance in Philippe Claudel’s French film I’ve Loved You So Long (10/24, Sony Pictures Classics, trailer). Thomas is also well known for her previous performances in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The Horse Whisperer (1998), Gosford Park (2001), and above all The English Patient (1996), for which she received a best actress nod twelve years ago.

In I’ve Loved You So Long, which has become a French box-office sensation and is only now beginning to open across America, Thomas portrays Juliette Fontaine, a woman who attempts to reintegrate into society and her own family after spending the last 15 years behind bars for a crime few even know about and fewer still can understand. It is a quiet, intense character study that subtly tackles issues like sisterhood (her kid sis is played by Elsa Zylberstein, with whom I spoke on Thursday), parenthood, and selflessness of the most remarkable sort. The earlier performance that it most brings to mind—in terms of both the total commitment of the actress to the part and the part itself—is Meryl Streep’s in Sophie’s Choice (1982), which is no small compliment!

Thomas was born in England but moved to France at a young age and, as is evident in this film, is completely fluent in the language and mannerisms of the French. She is seeking to join a list of just sixteen women who have been nominated for best actress for a performance delivered in a foreign language, and to become only the third—along with Sophia Loren for Two Women (1960) and Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose (2007)—to win. (Incidentally, the same excellent young publicist who guided Cotillard to her unlikely win last year is now helming Thomas’ awards push, so anything’s possible.)

To hear the podcast of my 20-minute conversation with Thomas (about her beginnings, her evolving attitude toward the acting profession, her approach to tackling this latest role, and much more), click below…