Slumdog Millionaire

Video: HD Teaser Trailer For ‘The Last Airbender’ From M. Night Shyamalan

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:01:53 -0600

CHICAGO – Paramount Pictures has just released the HD teaser trailer for the new M. Night Shyamalan film “The Last Airbender,” which stars Jackson Rathbone, Nicola Peltz, Cliff Curtis, Dev Patel (from the Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire”), Noah Ringer, Jessica Andres, Seychelle Gabriel, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi and Keong Sim.

“The Last Airbender” is slated to hit theaters on July 2, 2010. In addition to “The Last Airbender,” M. Night Shyamalan has also directed “The Happening,” “Lady in the Water,” “The Village,” “Signs,” “Unbreakable” and “The Sixth Sense”. Watch the new HD trailer for “The Last Airbender” below!

Here is “The Last Airbender” plot description:

Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Four nations are tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction.

Caught between combat and courage, Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams with Katara (Nicola Peltz), and her brother, Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), to restore balance to their war-torn world.

Based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series, the live-action feature film “The Last Airbender” is the opening chapter in Aang’s struggle to survive.

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By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: Oscar Winner ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Wins Big on Blu-Ray

BrianTT — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:24:37 -0600

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – One of the most beloved films of the last several years, “Slumdog Millionaire,” hits DVD and Blu-Ray this week and Fox pulls out all the stops for this home release, polishing up the video and audio to a nearly flawless sheen and compiling a spectacular collection of special features for a movie that many collectors will want to own.

What more is there to say about “Slumdog Millionaire”? One of the most award-winning films of all time, the Danny Boyle-directed fairy tale took home eight Oscars, including prizes for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Score, Best Director, and Best Picture. It was not just one of the most acclaimed films of 2008, it is one of the most acclaimed films of the ’00s.

Slumdog Millionaire will be released on Blu-Ray on March 31st, 2009.
Photo credit: MPI

Films as massively successful as “Slumdog Millionaire” have a different standard on Blu-Ray. Most home releases are still geared toward the renter who may not care much about video/audio quality or commentaries and deleted scenes, but films that win multiple Oscars are usually the kind that viewers purchase, making the “extras” beyond the movie that much more important.

Slumdog Millionaire will be released on Blu-Ray on March 31st, 2009.
Photo credit: MPI

Fans of “Slumdog Millionaire” will be more than satisfied by what Twentieth Century Fox has put together for their favorite film. I wish the behind-the-scenes material was incorporated into the film with picture-in-picture like some studios do with their product (WB, Universal) and I wanted more information on the deleted scenes, but these are the only minor complaints that hold “Slumdog” back from being a perfect Blu-Ray release.

As for the film itself, if you haven’t seen it, you should. Like a lot of people, I think the movie got a little overrated in the wave of support at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 but it’s still an excellent movie that everyone should see at least once and arguably twice. The second time through “Slumdog” is an even richer experience, as the details of Simon Beaufoy’s incredible screenplay are easier to admire when you know what’s to come.

If you’re somehow completely unfamiliar with “Slumdog,” Boyle’s film is the Dickensian tale of a young man (played in the majority of the film by Dev Patel) who goes on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” not to win the money but to be reunited with the love of his life (Freida Pinto).

“Slumdog” has a beautiful message in that it illustrates that life experience can be just as valuable as typical standards of intelligence. This excellent film is a crowd-pleaser, a romance, a fantasy, a drama, a musical, a comedy, and a portrait of a part of the world rarely seen in English-language cinema. It is an incredibly easy film to love.

As for the video, remastered in 1080p with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, it looks incredible. Some Fox Blu-Ray releases have been a bit of a letdown when compared to other studio’s transfers but you will not be disappointed in “Slumdog Millionaire”. It’s been perfectly mixed and is the kind of film that you could use to show off your new HD TV. It’s a mesmerizing picture. The audio matches the video with a crystal clear English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track.

Slumdog Millionaire will be released on Blu-Ray on March 31st, 2009.
Photo credit: MPI

The special features on “Slumdog Millionaire” include:

Slumdog Millionaire will be released on Blu-Ray on March 31st, 2009.
Photo credit: MPI

Commentary by Director Danny Boyle and Actor Dev Patel (121 minutes)
Commentary by Producer Christian Colson and Writer Simon Beaufoy (121 minutes)

Two fantastic commentary tracks from different sides of the “Slumdog Millionaire” production are the highlight of the special features on this Blu-Ray release. The fantastically entertaining Boyle and the young man he made a star offer more of an on-the-ground perspective to the filmmaking while the Oscar-winning producer and writer give more of the background of the film. They’re great tracks, particularly Boyle’s. He’s a man I’ve been lucky enough to interview more than once and he’s SO well-spoken and interesting that one hopes he will do a commentary on every film he makes.

Deleted Scenes (33:51)

An amazing wealth of deleted scenes but none of it is introduced and it would have been nice for Boyle, Colson, Beaufoy or editor Chris Dickens to discuss why these scenes were cut out of the final film. It does indicate how perfect the editing was because while some directors and editors would have looked at a lot of this footage and wanted to keep the excellent performances and arguable depth these scenes added, Boyle and Dickens realized that the film worked better at a breakneck pace. Watch the deleted scenes and imagine them back in the film and you’ll see why both Dickens and Boyle are Oscar winners.

Slumdog Dreams: Danny Boyle & the Making of Slumdog Millionaire (22:58)

Every element of the production is examined in a slightly-too-brief look at the film. Less than half an hour of behind-the-scenes on a film that is this ambitious seems light, but the two commentary tracks fill in most of the gaps.

Slumdog Cutdown (5:36)

A mash-up, five-minute version of the film set to “Jai Ho”. Entertaining but the kind of thing you’ll never watch more than once.

From Script to Screen: Toilet Scene (5:25)

Self-explanatory examination of a controversial and pivotal scene.

Indian Short Film - “Manjha” (41:03)

Boyle himself chose this short film by Rahi Anil Barve to accompany his movie. I wish Boyle would have introduced the short film and explained its importance to him but it’s nice to see something creative like this as a special feature on a Blu-Ray that will clearly have a wide audience.

As Boyle said, according to Bollywood.com, “I’m delighted to include Manjha on the Blu-ray DVD release of Slumdog Millionaire throughout the world. Manjha is an extraordinary film. With little resources it is visually stunning and emotionally captivating. Surprising and gripping, it’s everything a short film should be, and I look forward with great anticipation to the director Rahi’s next project Tumbad.”

Theatrical Trailer & European Theatrical Trailer

Self-explanatory.

“Bombay Liquid Dance” Music Video (3:00)

This is kind of silly. It’s merely footage of Bombay with some music from the film for 3 minutes. It barely qualifies as a music video.

The Blu-Ray release for “Slumdog Millionaire” is likely to be one of the bestsellers of the early part of 2009. Even with an inferior technical transfer and no special features, fans would have picked this up because of how much they love Jamal, Latika, and Salim. We should be grateful to Fox that they didn’t take the easy way out and gave fans of one of the most Oscar-winning films of the last few decades what they and the film deserve.

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is released by Twentieth Century Fox and stars Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, and Irrfan Khan. It was written by Simon Beaufoy and directed by Danny Boyle. It will be released on March 31st, 2009. It is rated R.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Taking the Oscars Home: How to See the 2009 Academy Award Winners

BrianTT — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:57:43 -0700

CHICAGO – Believe it or not, a lot of people heard about some critically acclaimed 2009 films for the first time on Sunday night, when they won or were nominated for 2009 Academy Awards and are now wondering how they can see winning films like “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” and shorts like “La Maison en Petits Cubes” and “Toyland”. Let us guide the way.

Milk
Photo credit: Universal

Of course, the big winner of the night was “Slumdog Millionaire,” which does not yet have a DVD/Blu-Ray release date, but you can expect one soon. The film will probably get another expansion in theaters to capitalize on its eight Oscars before a DVD release in probably May or June.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” winner of three awards, didn’t get enough major trophies to get a theatrical expansion, but also doesn’t have a release date yet. Expect it in late April or early May, although they could be putting together a more “special edition,” which would delay till closer to Summer.

In the final bit of sad, major winner news, “The Reader” is still playing in theaters, so you’ll have to pay to see Kate Winslet on the big screen or wait a while for the home release.

Now for the good news. Three out of the four acting winners are either on DVD/Blu-Ray now or coming soon.

Sean Penn won best actor and Dustin Lance Black won best original screenplay for “Milk” and Focus/Universal has timed that film’s home release perfectly, bringing Gus Van Sant’s masterful film home on March 10th, 2009. Universal also holds the DVD rights to the fifth best picture nominee “Frost/Nixon”. The Ron Howard film will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on April 21st, 2009.

Frost/Nixon
Photo credit: Universal

Both supporting award winners were already available at DVD stores. You can catch Penelope Cruz’s work in the great “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and Heath Ledger’s in the amazing “The Dark Knight” now. You’re not a movie fan if you haven’t seen them both.

The question I was asked the most on Sunday night was how to see the Oscar-nominated and winning short films. Most are all available on iTunes for $1.99 a piece. Sadly, the deserving and gorgeous animated winner, “La Maison en Petits Cubes,” is not available.

But there’s still a few shorts worth checking out. Start with the winning and touching “Toyland”. If you want to see more deserving nominees, the animated “This Way Up” is totally worth the time and live action “Auf Der Strecke (On the Line)” & “Manon on the Asphalt” are both better than the actual winner, in my opinion. And better than “The Reader”.

Of course, the most Oscar-nominated animated film of all time and the winner in its specialized category, “WALL-E” has been available on DVD and Blu-Ray for a while now. If you’re thinking about upgrading to Blu-Ray and HD, “WALL-E” may be reason enough. It’s beautiful.

The winner for best documentary, “Man on Wire” is also available on DVD and Blu-Ray, but the foreign language film winner, “Departures,” hasn’t even played in most domestic markets. Good luck tracking that one down, although its win should get it a wider theatrical release than it otherwise would have received.

Doubt
Photo credit: Miramax

Finally, the winner for best costume design, “The Duchess” has been available on DVD and Blu-Ray for a few months.

To recap the big winners - “WALL-E,” “The Dark Knight,” “Man on Wire,” “The Duchess,” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” are all at your local video store. “Milk” will be released on 3/10/09. We’re waiting on release dates for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Reader,” and “Slumdog Millionaire”.

As for nominees on DVD and Blu-Ray, you can also check out “The Visitor,” “Changeling,” “Frozen River,” “Tropic Thunder,” “In Bruges,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” “Iron Man,” and “Wanted” today if you want.

As for upcoming nominees, “Australia” comes home on March 3rd, 2009, “Rachel Getting Married” and “Happy-Go-Lucky” will be released with “Milk” on March 10th, 2009 (call it “Oscar DVD Day”), “Bolt” will be in stores on March 22nd, 2009, “Doubt” will hit stores on April 7th, 2009, and “Frost/Nixon” comes out on April 21st, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger, Sean Penn Win 2009 Academy Awards

BrianTT — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:17:08 -0700

CHICAGO – Fox Searchlight’s “Slumdog Millionaire” was the huge winner at The 81st Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 taking home an amazing eight Oscars, including the trophies for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Score, Best Song, and Best Sound Mixing.

“Slumdog” was easily the big winner of the night, followed by “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” with three trophies and “Milk” and “The Dark Knight” with two.

Penelope Cruz at the 2009 Oscars.
Photo credit: Michael Yada/AMPAS

Acting winners started with Penelope Cruz taking the Supporting Actress trophy for “Amy Adams & Viola Davis for “Doubt,” Taraji P. Henson for “Benjamin Button,” and Marisa Tomei for “The Wrestler”. Cruz joked about possibly fainting and thanked Woody Allen for giving her a great role.

The Supporting Actor trophy went to Heath Ledger for “The Dark Knight”. The deceased actor’s family accepted for him after a standing ovation from the audience. Ledger beat out Josh Brolin for “Milk,” Robert Downey Jr. for “Tropic Thunder,” Philip Seymour Hoffman for “Doubt,” and Michael Shannon for “Revolutionary Road”. The last posthumous winner was Peter Finch who won Best Actor for 1976’s “Network”. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after Ledger’s win.

The Actress award went, predictably, to the great Kate Winslet for “The Reader,” her first win after five previous nominations. A teary-eyed Winslet beat out Meryl Streep for “Doubt,” Anne Hathaway for “Rachel Getting Married,” Melissa Leo for “Frozen River,” and Angelina Jolie for “Changeling”.

The final acting award of the night was arguably the most nail-biting with Sean Penn taking the prize for “Milk” over Mickey Rourke for “The Wrestler”. The two were in a dead heat from most Oscar watchers, leaving Frank Langella for “Frost/Nixon,” Richard Jenkins for “The Visitor” and Brad Pitt for “Benjamin Button” to wait till next time.

Philippe Petit of “Man on Wire” at the 2009 Oscars.
Photo credit: Michael Yada/AMPAS

Danny Boyle jumped up and down after winning for “Slumdog Millionaire,” clearly the emotional favorite of the evening. The last film to win at least eight awards was “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” five years ago.

Best Animated Film went to “WALL-E,” Best Documentary to “Man on Wire,” and, in one of the few surprises of the evening, Best Foreign Language Film went to “Departures,” over the more popular “The Class” and “Waltz With Bashir”.

The style of the Academy Awards this year was very different. Previous winners gave speeches about each of the acting nominees including presenters like Shirley MacLaine, Sophia Loren, Anthony Hopkins, Sir Ben Kingsley, Tilda Swinton, Halle Berry, and Kevin Kline. Awards were also commonly given away in groups with both screenplays, sound and visual effects, and the music awards being given away at the same time.

Dustin Lance Black won Best Original Screenplay for his debut work on “Milk” and gave one of the most heartfelt and moving speeches of the night. Simon Beaufoy won Best Adapted Screenplay for “Slumdog Millionaire”.

On the technical ledger for awards that “Slumdog Millionaire” didn’t take home, “The Dark Knight” won Sound Editing, “Benjamin Button” won Visual Effects, Makeup, and Art Direction, and “The Duchess” won Costume Design.

The winning short films were “Smile Pinki,” “La Maison en Petits Cubes,” and “Toyland”. Hugh Jackman hosted the affair and while many will critique and praise him in the coming hours, he came off as likable and certainly gave it his all. Jerry Lewis won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

See our 30-image red-carpet slideshow of the 2009 Oscars.
Read our full list of the 2009 Oscar nominees.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

From ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ to ‘Milk’: HollywoodChicago.com Picks the 2009 Oscar Winners

BrianTT — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:28:15 -0700

CHICAGO – Content director Brian Tallerico and staff writers Dustin Levell and Patrick McDonald have merged their movie-loving minds and come up with the ultimate Oscar preview. Win your office pool, impress your friends and propose a toast to the nominees that should have been when the 81st-annual Academy Awards are broadcast on Feb. 22, 2009 at 7 p.m. CST.

BEST PICTURE

Slumdog Millionaire
Photo credit: Fox Searchlight

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
-Paramount; 13 nominations; $123 million gross

“Frost/Nixon”
-Universal; 5 nominations; $17 million gross

“Milk”
-Focus; 8 nominations; $27 million gross; winner of New York Critics Award

“The Reader”
-The Weinstein Company; 5 nominations; $21 million gross

“Slumdog Millionaire”
-Fox Searchlight; 10 nominations; $89 million gross; winner of BAFTA, Boston Critics, National Board of Review, Producers Guild Award, SAG Ensemble Award, and Golden Globe

Nearly everyone on Earth is predicting a locked-in win for Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” and HollywoodChicago.com is no different. It would be an absolute, jaw-dropping shock to hear “Frost/Nixon” or “The Reader” announced on Oscar night and “Milk” doesn’t have the support needed to get the big win. That leaves the nomination leader - “Button” - and the little movie that could. It’s a Slumdog World, and we only live here.

Dustin thinks the Academy will get it right this year and award the film that deserves the big prize but Patrick and Brian wouldn’t mind seeing a win for “Milk”.

As for the already-notorious snubs of “Wall-E” and “The Dark Knight,” Dustin says, “Twenty years from now, though people will be still be talking about Dark Knight and WALL-E as the great cinematic achievements of 2008 and how they raised the bar for their respective genres.” With no explanation, Patrick throws an interesting film into the ring for what should have been nominated - Neil LaBute’s “Lakeview Terrace”. We love Mr. McDonald and the limb he’s out on with that one.

BEST ACTOR

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler
Photo credit: Fox Searchlight

Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
-1st nomination

Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
-1st nomination

Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
-2nd nomination (no wins)

Sean Penn, “Milk”
-5th nomination (one win); won Boston (tie) and LA Critics Awards and Screen Actors Guild Award

Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
-1st nomination; won BAFTA, Boston (tie) and Chicago Critics Awards and Golden Globe

This may be one of the tightest races in the history of Best Actor. Eliminating the possibility of a shocking split vote letting a third candidate sneak in, it’s going to be one of two ’80s icons - Sean Penn as Harvey Milk or Mickey Rourke as Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson. Langella, Pitt and Jenkins just got picked in the wrong year.

The SAG win for Penn and universal acclaim seems to give him the edge but Rourke has been nearly as lauded during precursor season and won the Golden Globe. It doesn’t hurt Mickey that Sean has won before. It’s a lot harder to get a second prize. But that doesn’t stop Brian from saying Sean’s going to be one of the few and that he deserves it. Dustin and Patrick are going with Mickey and all three think their choice to win is also the one that should.

There may be solid agreement that either Mickey Rourke or Sean Penn will and should win but there’s no consensus pick on the HollywoodChicago.com staff as to who should have been nominated.

Dustin points to the most financially successful film in Clint Eastwood’s history, “Gran Torino,” and what could be the legendary star’s final performance and finds it surprising that the Academy didn’t throw the old man a bone on his last go round as an actor.

Patrick goes back further in the year and picks the underrated Sam Rockwell and his excellent work in David Gordon Green’s “Snow Angels”.

Finally, Brian thinks no one worked as hard or embodied a character quite as completely as Benicio Del Toro in “Che”. Sadly, all three men have as much of a chance of winning an Oscar on Sunday night as you do.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 4 Passes to See All 5 Best-Picture Oscar Nominees in One Day

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:06:01 -0700

CHICAGO – We are pleased to announce what’s nothing short of a once-in-a-lifetime HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film opportunity: the chance for four lucky winners to see all five 2009 best-picture Oscar nominees (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “Milk,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon” and “The Reader”) in one glorious Chicago day.

This AMC best-picture showcase with the 2009 Oscar nominees also coincides with an exciting social networking experiment where movie watchers will be using Twitter, live blogging and other social networking tools to document their thoughts in real time.

Read on to learn more about this experiment. “Slumdog Millionaire” stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto from “Trainspotting” director Danny Boyle. “Milk” stars Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco and Alison Pill from director Gus Van Sant. “The Dark Knight” and “WALL-E” failed to earn a 2009 best-picture nomination from the academy.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Taraji P. Henson from director David Fincher. “Frost/Nixon” stars Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon and Oliver Platt from director Ron Howard. “The Reader” stars Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes and David Kross from director Stephen Daldry.

If you win this remarkable HollywoodChicago.com Hookup, you’ll earn the opportunity to see all five heavy-hitting 2008 films for free. This redefines the definition of a movie marathon. The festivities start at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 in downtown Chicago at AMC River East 21 at 322 E. Illinois St. and run all the way through 11:59 p.m. on the same evening.

Want more? You’ll also be entitled to a complimentary large popcorn with unlimited refills all day as well as a collectible movie pass to immortalize the opportunity. The 81st-annual Academy Awards will air on Feb. 22, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET. Want even more?

As if you’re not already getting hooked up enough, this is also your opportunity to be the critic and write for HollywoodChicago.com! Winners will be invited to blog on our discussion boards using your iPhone or data-friendly cell phone or your Wi-Fi-enabled laptop computer at a nearby venue.

One nearby Starbucks with free Wi-Fi is in the Dominick’s grocery store at Illinois and Fairbanks. A second Starbucks is at McClurg Court and Ontario. A Panera Bread is nearby, too. If you win, just make sure you create a thread or threads illuminating your feelings about each film.

To win your unforgettable, Oscar-nominated five-pack pass courtesy exclusively of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is submit an entry of why you deserve a pass using our confidential, Web-based submission form. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and win can be found beneath the graphic below.

Image credit: AMC Theatres

If you noticed the prices mentioned in the graphic above, as a valued HollywoodChicago.com reader we are pleased to inform you that they don’t apply to you. We have negotiated these rates to be entirely free for our four lucky winners.

To secure your free five-pack pass, you must be logged into your HollywoodChicago.com account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Having an account with a valid e-mail address is required to win this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup.

Next, simply submit why you deserve a pass. You must submit your entry using this confidential, Web-based submission form. Please do not comment in this Hookup. Your entry will be invalid if you do so. Please only submit your entry using this submission form.

You must include your e-mail address and full name in your submission. Your personal information will be kept strictly confidential and is only for us to contact you about your winning pass. Your personal information will not be sold or shared elsewhere.

Submit you entry now describing why you deserve a pass!

This HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film is simple: Four people who submit an entry describing why they deserve a five-pack movie pass and commit to blogging on HollywoodChicago.com will win! A studio representative will be at AMC River East on the morning of Feb. 21, 2009 to hand passes to the lucky HollywoodChicago.com four. You will need to present your photo ID to the representative.

Winners will be chosen at our discretion based on how compelling your reason is and based on whether you agreed to the terms of this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup.

Following your entry, winners can click this printer-friendly link to print out the information contained in this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup for your jam-packed movie Saturday. Here is the schedule of 2009 Oscar-nominated best-picture viewings on Feb. 21, 2009 at AMC River East:

“Milk,” 10:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. (15-minute break)
“The Reader,” 1:05 p.m. to 3:19 p.m. (25-minute break)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” (30-minute break)
“Slumdog Millionaire,” 7:15 p.m. 9:27 to p.m. (15-minute break)
“Frost/Nixon,” 9:45 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Heath Ledger, Kate Winslet Win 2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards

BrianTT — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:41:34 -0700

CHICAGO – The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) gave out its coveted awards on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 and Heath Ledger, Kate Winslet, Sean Penn and Meryl Streep walked away with the major film acting prizes. “Slumdog Millionaire” was awarded the prize for best ensemble of the year. Predictably, “30 Rock” and “Mad Men” took home the television ensemble prizes.

The 15th Annual SAG Awards
Photo credit: Turner

“Slumdog Millionaire” beat “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Doubt,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “Milk” for the main prize, often a good indication of what will win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Last year’s winner, “No Country For Old Men,” went on to win the Oscar. “Crash” also won the award on its way to a surprising Oscar for Best Picture.

Sean Penn won best actor for “Milk,” beating Mickey Rourke for “The Wrestler” and making that race for the Oscar a dead heat. Other nominees included Richard Jenkins for “The Visitor,” Frank Langella for “Frost/Nixon,” and Brad Pitt for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.

The win for Meryl Streep for “Doubt” throws that Oscar category into complete disarray. She beat Anne Hathaway for “Rachel Getting Married,” Angelina Jolie for “Changeling,” Melissa Leo for “Frozen River,” and Kate Winslet for “Revolutionary Road”.

Winslet was nominated for the Oscar as well but for “The Reader,” a performance which she won the SAG Award, Golden Globes, and other award for this year. And many people still think Hathaway has a shot. With Streep winning last night, this is a three-lady race like none we have seen in years.

Heath Ledger took the prize for his supporting work in “The Dark Knight” and an emotional Gary Oldman accepted on his behalf. Ledger beat Josh Brolin from “Milk,” Robert Downey Jr. for “Tropic Thunder,” Philip Seymour Hoffman for “Doubt,” and Dev Patel for “Slumdog Millionaire”.

Kate Winslet won for “The Reader,” beating Amy Adams for “Doubt,” Penelope Cruz for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” Viola Davis for “Doubt,” and Taraji P. Henson for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.

“30 Rock” and “Mad Men” won the ensemble awards for television. Predictably, Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey took the individual acting honors for comedy series. The drama prizes were a little more surprising with Hugh Laurie winning for “House” and Sally Field taking the trophy for “Brothers & Sisters”. The male and female lead of HBO’s “John Adams” - Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney - took the awards for the television movie or miniseries categories.

Check out our 44-image gallery for the 15th-annual SAG awards.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

‘WALL-E,’ ‘The Dark Knight’ Snubbed For Major 2009 Oscar Nominations

BrianTT — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:36:15 -0700

CHICAGO – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their 81st annual nominees this morning, January 22nd, 2009. For a body that has been known to make shocking mistakes, they may have topped themselves by excluding the two most beloved movies of 2008, “WALL-E” and “The Dark Knight” from the Best Picture category.

Heath Ledger landed a nomination for “The Dark Knight” and “WALL-E” was included in the screenplay category, but both were left out of several major categories, including both Christopher Nolan and Andrew Stanton being ignored for best director of the year.

Overall, “The Dark Knight” scored eight nominations and “WALL-E” racked up an impressive six, but the exclusion of both from director and picture makes it clear that the Academy didn’t think they were among the best films of the year.

Christian Bale (left) stars as Batman and Heath Ledger (right) stars as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

The films that did have a good morning when the nominees were announced on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 include “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” with a stunning 13 nominations. “Button” will compete with “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” and “Slumdog Millionaire” for the big prize. “Slumdog” came in second with a surprising 10 nominations. “Frost/Nixon” scored five nods, “Milk” landed an impressive eight, and “The Reader” can lay claim to five.

The best director category matched the picture one five for five with David Fincher, Ron Howard, Gus Van Sant, Stephen Daldry, and Danny Boyle all being able to put Oscar-nominated next to their name now. Shockingly, Christopher Nolan was left off the list and some had expected that Darren Aronofsky, might make the cut for “The Wrestler”. We forgot about the Academy’s blind adoration of Stephen Daldry. Three movies - “Billy Elliot,” “The Hours,” “The Reader” - a best director nomination for all three.

In one of the few pleasant surprises of the day and a category that they arguably got right, Richard Jenkins will compete for best actor for “The Visitor” with Frank Langella from “Frost/Nixon,” Sean Penn for “Milk,” Brad Pitt for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and Mickey Rourke for “The Wrestler”.

Angelina Jolie made up for her snubbing last year and landed a nod for her work in “Changeling”. She’ll fight for best actress with Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married,” Melissa Leo in “Frozen River,” Meryl Streep in “Doubt,” and Kate Winslet in “The Reader”. The exclusion of Sally Hawkins’ award-winning work in “Happy-Go-Lucky” was the shock of the day and the kind of snubbing that will be remembered for decades.

The supporting actor category produced a surprise with Michael Shannon landing the only nomination for “Revolutionary Road”. He will compete against the frontrunner, Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight,” Josh Brolin in “Milk,” Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder,” and Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”. Why does it feel like Heath Ledger’s category is the only one people will tune in for? If they’re smart, they’ll give it away late in the telecast.

With Winslet moving from supporting to lead for her work in “The Reader,” that left the race for that category wide open with Penelope Cruz returning back to frontrunner status for her turn in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”. She’ll compete with the ladies from “Doubt” - Amy Adams & Viola Davis - Taraji P. Henson for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and Marisa Tomei for “The Wrestler”.

Taraji P. Henson (left) stars as Queenie with Brad Pitt (right front) in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.
Photo credit: Merrick Morton, Paramount Pictures

Another shocking snub happened in original screenplay when the regularly-nominated Woody Allen was left out of the category in favor of “Frozen River,” “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “In Bruges,” “Milk”, and “WALL-E”. The adapted screenplay category was the most predictable of the day with “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Doubt,” “Frost/Nixon,” “The Reader,” and “Slumdog Millionaire” being the predictable competition.

Nominees for best foreign language film include “Der Baader Meinhof Complex,” “The Class,” “Departures,” “Revanche,” and the likely winner, “Waltz With Bashir”. Animated film nominees were pretty routine with “Bolt” and “Kung Fu Panda” competing for second place with “WALL-E” a likely winner. The final snub of the day? Bruce Springsteen didn’t make the cut for his great title track from “The Wrestler”. The other nominees follow.

Best Art Direction
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Revolutionary Road”

Best Cinematography
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Costume Design

“Australia”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Duchess”
“Milk”
“Revolutionary Road”

Best Documentary Feature
“The Betrayal”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
“Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”

Best Editing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Makeup
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”

Best Original Score
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Defiance”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”

Best Original Song
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”

Best Sound Editing
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Best Sound Mixing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Best Visual Effects
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”

3:26 p.m. update on Jan. 22, 2009: Various nominees have responded with statements about their 2009 Oscar nominations. Read this story here.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger, Mickey Rourke, Sally Hawkins, Colin Farrell Big Winners at 2009 Golden Globes

BrianTT — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:03:37 -0700

CHICAGO – The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards were held Sunday night and “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Mad Men,” “John Adams,” and “30 Rock” were the big winners from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The HFPA spread the wealth around to a variety of talented actors including Heath Ledger, Sally Hawkins, Anna Paquin, Laura Dern, Laura Linney, Alec Baldwin, Paul Giamatti, Tina Fey, Colin Farrell, Mickey Rourke, and Kate Winslet, twice.

Golden Globe Statuette
Photo credit: Chris Haston

“Slumdog Millionaire” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” won the two Best Picture awards, with the former taking away the most Golden Globes overall with four. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association chose “Mad Men” and “30 Rock” as the best television series on the air, giving the latter the most regular series awards with three. HBO’s “John Adams” tied “Slumdog Millionaire” for the most awards with four. Only “Adams,” “Slumdog,” “The Wrestler,” and “30 Rock” won more than a single award with the prizes being spread around to different films and shows.

One of the more emotional beats of the night came when director Chris Nolan accepted Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger for his amazing work in “The Dark Knight” and incredible speeches were given by Kate Winslet, Sally Hawkins, Tina Fey, Steven Spielberg, Danny Boyle, Colin Farrell, Mickey Rourke, and Tracy Morgan, accepting Best Comedy for “30 Rock”.

HBO destroyed on the TV side of the awards, winning all the major dramatic acting awards, as their “True Blood,” “In Treatment,” “John Adams,” and “Recount” were all given trophies before another network even took home their first prize. When the comedy awards came up, it was a clean sweep for “30 Rock,” winning best actor, actress, and comedy series. The dramatic awards were more spread out with “Mad Men” taking series, but “In Treatment” and “True Blood” winning the acting awards.

Winner Kate Winslet for Best Supporting Actress in “The Reader” on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

On the film side, “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Revolutionary Road,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “In Bruges,” and “The Wrestler” were all recipients of major awards, adding fuel to their various Oscar campaigns.

The night opened with Jennifer Lopez presenting the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture to Kate Winslet in “The Reader,” who beat Amy Adams and Viola Davis in “Doubt,” Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”, and Penelope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”. With a stunning seven nominations in her Golden Globe history, including two this year, Winslet’s win was the first of her amazing career (but not the last of the night). She gave a humble speech and looked absolutely amazing. Winslet is clearly the frontrunner for the equivalent Oscar, another award she has never won.

Sting presented the Best Song award to Bruce Springsteen for his excellent contribution to Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler”. He had one of the best lines of the night when he said, “This is the only time I’m gonna be in competition with Clint Eastwood. Felt pretty good, too.”

Simon Baker of “The Mentalist” and Eva Longoria of “Desperate Housewives” kicked off the awards for TV by giving Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series, or TV Movie to Tom Wilkinson for playing Ben Franklin in HBO’s “John Adams,” beating Neil Patrick Harris for “How I Met Your Mother,” Denis Leary for “Recount,” Jeremy Piven for “Entourage,” and Blair Underwood for “In Treatment”. It was Wilkinson’s first win.

Winner Tom Wilkinson, Best Supporting Actor in Mini-Series or TV Movie “John Adams” on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

The same presenters gave HBO another prize when they handed Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie to Laura Dern for “Recount,” beating Eileen Atkins for “Cranford,” Melissa George for “In Treatment,” Rachel Griffiths for “Brothers & Sisters,” and Dianne Wiest for “In Treatment”. Dern dedicated her award to the people who voted for “change in this country” in the last presidential election.

Hayden Panettiere and Zac Efron gave the TV award for Best Actor in a TV Series - Drama to Gabriel Byrne for his brilliant work on “In Treatment”. Byrne, who could not attend, beat Jon Hamm from “Mad Men,” Hugh Laurie from “House,” Jonathan Rhys Meyers for “The Tudors,” and Michael C. Hall for “Dexter”.

The equivalent actress award went to Anna Paquin in “True Blood”. The first-year series star beat Sally Field in “Brothers & Sisters,” January Jones in “Mad Men,” Kyra Sedgwick in “The Closer,” and Mariska Hargitay in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”. If you’re keeping track, all four acting awards for dramatic television went to HBO and for four different series or movies. It was an amazing night for the network that was just getting started.

The Jonas Brothers gave “WALL-E” the award for Best Animated Feature Film, beating “Bolt” and “Kung Fu Panda”. The winner for Best Motion Picture or Mini-Series Made for Television continued the run for HBO and created the first multiple award winner as “John Adams” beat “Raisin in the Sun,” “Bernard and Dorris,” “Cranford,” and “Recount”.

Anna Paquin, Winner of Best Actress: TV Series Drama for “True Blood” on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

Johnny Depp gave Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy to Sally Hawkins for “Happy-Go-Lucky,” beating out Meryl Streep for “Mamma Mia!,” Emma Thompson for “Last Chance Harvey,” Rebecca Hall for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” and Frances McDormand for “Burn After Reading”. The delightful Hawkins was clearly surprised and stunned at her win and gave arguably the most charming speech of the night.

Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture went, as expected, to Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight,” beating Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder,” Ralph Fiennes in “The Duchess,” and Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”. Director Christopher Nolan accepted the award, which was greeted with an almost-immediate standing ovation.

Best Foreign Language Film went to Israel’s “Waltz With Bashir,” beating Germany’s “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” “Everlasting Moments” from Sweden/Denmark, Italy’s “Gomorra,” and France’s “I’ve Loved You So Long”.

Back to the TV award, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart gave Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television to Laura Linney to “John Adams,” making it three awards for the film. She beat Judi Dench in “Cranford,” Catherine Keener in “An American Crime,” Shirley MacLaine in “Coco Chanel,” and Susan Sarandon in “Bernard and Doris”. Six TV awards into the evening and HBO was the only network that had won a single prize.

Alec Baldwin, winner Best Actor in TV Series Musical or Comedy 30 Rock on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen gave the first big award of the night to “Slumdog Millionaire,” giving Simon Beaufoy the award for Best Screenplay, beating “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Doubt,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “The Reader”.

Bouncing back and forth between film and television, the next award was Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, which went to Alec Baldwin in “30 Rock”. Baldwin predictably beat Steve Carell from “The Office,” Kevin Connolly from “Entourage,” David Duchovny in “Californication,” and Tony Shalhoub from “Monk”.

Terence Howard and Megan Fox gave the award for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie to, as widely expected by this point, Paul Giamatti in “John Adams,” making it a clean sweep for the mini-series, winning a stunning four awards. Giamatti beat Kiefer Sutherland in “24: Redemption,” Tom Wilkinson and Kevin Spacey in “Recount,” and Ralph Fiennes in “Bernard and Doris”. It was the great Giamatti’s first win at the Golden Globes.

“30 Rock” won the prize for Best TV Comedy again, beating “Californication,” “Entourage,” “The Office,” and “Weeds”.

“Slumdog Millionaire” would take home its second prize of the night when Kate Beckinsale and Sean Combs gave A.R. Rahman the trophy for Best Score. Rahman beat the much more widely known composers, Alexandre Desplat for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Clint Eastwood for “Changeling,” James Newton Howard for “Defiance,” and Hans Zimmer for “Frost/Nixon”.

Danny Boyle, winner Best Director of Motion Picture Slumdog Millionaire on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

David Duchovny and Kane Krakowski gave Best Actress in a TV Comedy to, predictably, Tina Fey in “30 Rock”. Fey beat Christina Applegate for “Samantha Who?,” America Ferrera for “Ugly Betty,” Debra Messing for “The Starter Wife,” and Mary Louise Parker for “Weeds”. “30 Rock” had swept the comedy awards, winning best actor, actress, and series, all choices hard to argue with although it might have been nice to spread the wealth a bit. Fey gave a great speech, taking jabs at the people who had criticized her online.

Steven Spielberg accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement from Martin Scorsese, an old friend and, as Spielberg said, “inspiration”. As the clip reel of Spielberg’s work made crystal clear, if anyone deserves a lifetime achievement award it is Steven Spielberg.

Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson presented best director to Danny Boyle for “Slumdog Millionaire,” beating Stephen Daldry for “The Reader,” David Fincher for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Ron Howard for “Frost/Nixon,” and Sam Mendes for “Revolutionary Road”.

The most surprising win of the night, by far, came when Sandra Bullock gave Best Actor in a Comedy to Colin Farrell for “In Bruges”. The very gracious and surprised Farrell beat his co-star in the film, Brendan Gleeson, Dustin Hoffman for “Last Chance Harvey,” James Franco for “Pineapple Express,” and Javier Bardem in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”.

Sacha Baron Cohen cracked about the end of Madonna’s marriage before giving Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy to Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” beating “Burn After Reading,” “In Bruges,” “Mamma Mia!,” and “Happy-Go-Lucky”. Sadly, Woody didn’t appear to accept the award himself.

Mickey Rourke, winner Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama The Wrestler on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

Mark Wahlberg and Cameron Diaz presented Kate Winslet with her second award of the night for “Revolutionary Road,” beating Anne Hathaway for “Rachel Getting Married,” Angelina Jolie for “Changeling,” Kristin Scott Thomas for “I’ve Loved You So Long,” and Meryl Streep for “Doubt”. The clearly stunned Winslet was speechless, repeating “thank you so much” and crying. It took seven nominations for Kate Winslet to win two awards in one night.

After what was clearly now just a technical error in favor of Anne Hathaway earlier this week, most expected her to win, making the Winslet announcement that much more surprising.

Blake Lively and Rainn Wilson presented the award for Best Television Series - Drama to “Mad Men,” beating “Dexter,” “House,” “In Treatment,” and “True Blood”. A predictable but deserving win.

Susan Sarandon appeared to present Best Actor in a Drama, which went to Mickey Rourke for “The Wrestler”. Rourke beat out Sean Penn in “Milk,” Leonardo DiCaprio in “Revolutionary Road,” Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon,” and Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. Rourke was humbled and happy to win. He thanked, among others, Axl Rose, Bruce Springsteen, and his dogs. Someone give this man an Oscar.

Not surprisingly, “Slumdog Millionaire” closed the night with a win for Best Drama, presented by Tom Cruise. The excellent film beat “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “The Reader,” and “Revolutionary Road”.

See the full list of 2009 Golden Globe winners in list form.
Read about Anne Hathaway’s early, accidental Golden Globe snafu.
Read more Golden Globes articles on HollywoodChicago.com.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

‘WALL-E,’ ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ ‘The Dark Knight’ Win Awards From Chicago Film Critics Association

BrianTT — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:21:57 -0700

CHICAGO – The Chicago Film Critics Association announced their winners for the best of 2008 and an animated robot, superhero movie villain, wrestling star, and former teen actress walked away with big prizes. “Wall-E” was the big winner of the day, taking home an amazing four prizes, the most presented to any one movie this year.

Pixar’s “Wall-E”, an animated masterpiece about the last robot on planet Earth, won the big prize for Best Picture and also took home Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Animated Film.

The Chicago Film Critics Association, which includes HollywoodChicago.com’s Publisher Adam Fendelman and Content Director Brian Tallerico, gave their Best Director prize to Danny Boyle for “Slumdog Millionaire”. The sleeper hit about a young man trying to prove that he didn’t cheat on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” also claimed prizes for Best Adapted Screenplay and Dev Patel for Most Promising Newcomer.

The Best Actor trophy for 2008 went to Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”, beating out Sean Penn in “Milk”, Clint Eastwood in “Gran Torino”, Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”, and Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon”.

For Best Actress, Sally Hawkins in “Happy-Go-Lucky”, Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”, Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”, and Meryl Streep in “Doubt” all lost out to Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”.

Heath Ledger took home another prize for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of The Joker in “The Dark Knight”, stealing the prize from Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder”, Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”, Bill Irwin in “Rachel Getting Married”, and Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road”. “The Dark Knight” also won Best Cinematograpy.

Perhaps the most surprising win of the day was Kate Winslet’s for Best Supporting Actress for “The Reader”. Also nominated in that category was the most-common winner of the season, Penelope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”, Amy Adams in “Doubt”, Rosemarie DeWitt in “Rachel Getting Married”, and Viola Davis in “Doubt”.

The excellent Swedish horror sensation “Let the Right One In” won the prizes for Best Foreign-Language Film and Most Promising Director for Tomas Alfredson and “Man on Wire” took the trophy for Best Documentary.

The Chicago Film Critics Association

2008 CFCA AWARD WINNERS

BEST PICTURE: WALL-E

BEST DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTOR: Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Kate Winslet - The Reader

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: WALL-E (Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Slumdog Millionaire (Simon Beaufoy)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Let the Right One In

BEST DOCUMENTARY: Man On Wire

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: WALL-E

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Dark Knight (Wally Pfister)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: WALL-E (Thomas Newman)

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER: Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire

MOST PROMISING DIRECTOR: Tomas Alfredson - Let the Right One In

If you’d like to go back in time a few days and see the 2008 nominees from the Chicago Film Critics Association, read our coverage here from Dec. 15, 2008.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com