Oscars 2009: all the winners

Monday, February 23. Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches story of a Mumbai orphan who wins the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? romped home in the 81st Oscars last night, winning eight Academy Awards, including best picture and best director for Danny Boyle.

There were few surprise winners in Los Angeles last night but there was disappointment for Mickey Rourke who had been tipped to win a tight race for best actor for his role in The Wrestler but was beaten to the award by Sean Penn in Milk.

The big disappointment was for Brad Pitt and the team behind The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: it had won 13 nominations - three more than Slumdog - but took only three minor awards.

The First Post's guide to all the winning films includes film descriptions, reviews and trailers. There are two ways to access the guide: EITHER via the A-Z of Winning Films below, OR via the list of Winners in Major Categories which appears beneath.

The First Post's Hollywood correspondent, Christopher Goodwin has a full report on the event.

A TO Z OF WINNING FILMS:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Wall-E

WINNERS IN MAJOR CATEGORIES:

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

Best Director
WINNER: Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry – The Reader
David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant – Milk

Best Actor
Richard Jenkins – The Visitor
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
WINNER: Sean Penn – Milk
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie – Changeling
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Meryl Streep – Doubt
WINNER: Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin – Milk
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
WINNER: Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon – Revolutionary Road

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams – Doubt
WINNER: Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis – Doubt
Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler

Best Original Screenplay
Wall-E - Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter
Happy-Go-Lucky - Mike Leigh
Frozen River - Courtney Hunt
In Bruges - Martin McDonagh
WINNER: Milk - Dustin Lance Black

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan
The Reader - David Hare
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy
Doubt - John Patrick Shanley

Best Cinematography
Changeling – Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight – Wally Pfister
The Reader – Chris Menges, Roger Deakins
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire – Anthony Dod Mantle

Best Costume Design
Australia – Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Jacqueline West
WINNER: The Duchess – Michael O'Connor
Milk – Danny Glicker
Revolutionary Road – Albert Wolsky

Best Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
The Dark Knight – Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon – Mike Hill, Daniel P. Hanley
Milk – Elliot Graham
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire – Chris Dickens

Best Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Alexandre Desplat
Defiance – James Newton Howard
Milk – Danny Elfman
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire – A.R. Rahman
Wall-E – Thomas Newman

FIRST POSTED FEBRUARY 20, 2009