Oscar 2009 Winner List

Here are the winner recipients for the 81st Academy awards held last night at the Kodak Theater, hosted by Aussie actor Hugh Jackman.

There was little surprise as expected Slumdog Millionaire was the toast of the event, winning eight awards out of the ten nominated categories.

The late Heath Ledger received a posthumous award for this role in ‘The Dark Knight’.

The evening’s only upset for me was the best actor award. Many predicted Mickey Rourke for the Oscar but it was Sean Penn who won it for his performance of Harvey Milk, the gay San Francisco supervisor who was slained in 1978 by a fellow city official.

As for Brit actress Kate Winslet, after being nominated five times previously, yesterday she walked away with the only award that has eluded her glittering acting career. She finally won the best actress award for “The Reader,” as a Nazi prison guard who seduces an underage German boy.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn, Milk

Actress in a Leading Role: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Actor in a Supporting Role: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Actress in a Supporting Role: Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, Milk

Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Animated Feature Film: WALL-E

Foreign Language Film: Departures (Japan)

Original Score: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Original Song: “Jai Ho,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; Slumdog Millionaire

Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire

Costume Design: The Duchess

Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Film Editing: Slumdog Millionaire

Documentary Feature: Man on Wire

Documentary Short Subject: Smile Pinki

Animated Short Film: La Maison en Petits Cubes

Live Action Short Film: Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Sound Editing: The Dark Knight

Sound Mixing: Slumdog Millionaire

Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Jerry Lewis