Revisiting the Academy Awards, 2008

 


As some of you know, I have been a frequent guest host on the Music City Drive In Movie podcast this summer. We've been looking at movies since 2000, re-nominating the Academy Awards. That got me thinking about the actual fields of the awards themselves. In a new weekly series, I'll be looking back at the last 40 years of Oscars and reviewing the choices at Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting categories.

2008:

Best Picture:
* Slumdog Millionaire
* Milk
* The Reader
* Frost/Nixon
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

About: This was the year that really changed the Academy Awards. Slumdog Millionaire won Best Picture, but this year was more about who wasn't in the field, and that led to an expansion of the Best Picture category in subsequent years. Among those in the field, I liked Frost/Nixon, but I'm sticking with Slumdog.

Best Director:
* Danny Boyle
* David Fincher
* Ron Howard
* Gus Van Sant
* Stephen Daldry

About: Boyle won here, and this one feels tricky. I don't think the true best director from the year was in the field, but I'm going with Fincher.

Best Actor:
* Sean Penn
* Richard Jenkins
* Frank Langella
* Brad Pitt
* Mickey Rourke

About: Penn won here, but there are a number of good options in the field. But I'm going with Pitt here.

Best Actress:
* Meryl Streep
* Kate Winslet
* Anne Hathaway
* Angelina Jolie
* Melissa Leo

About: Winslet won here for The Reader. She's long been deserving of an award, and got it here for cumulative work, in part. But I'm going with Streep here.

Best Supporting Actor:
* Heath Ledger
* Phillip Seymour Hoffman
* Robert Downey, Jr.
* Josh Brolin
* Michael Shannon

About: Ledger won here, and I'm sticking with that despite some epic performances in the category.

Best Supporting Actress:
* Amy Adams
* Viola Davis
* Penelope Cruz
* Marisa Tomei
* Taraji P. Henson

About: Cruz got the win here, but I'm going with Amy Adams, who was incredible.

That's a wrap on 2008, tune in next week for 2009.


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