Welp, I only got 50% this year. In hindsight, after the deluge of promotion for Slumdog Millionaire, I would've probably changed a few of my choices (for music) if playing in an Oscar pool. But since I wasn't losing any money, who cares? Orange is for my prediction; blue is for what I got wrong (or, rather, when the Academy didn't live up to my iron-clad reasoning).

Performance by an actor in a leading role

• Richard Jenkins in The Visitor (Overture Films)
• Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon (Universal)
• Sean Penn in Milk (Focus Features)
• Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
• Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

• Josh Brolin in Milk (Focus Features)
• Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
• Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt (Miramax)
• Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.)
• Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

• Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Angelina Jolie in Changeling (Universal)
• Melissa Leo in Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Meryl Streep in Doubt (Miramax)
• Kate Winslet in The Reader (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

• Amy Adams in Doubt (Miramax)
• Penélope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company)
• Viola Davis in Doubt (Miramax)
• Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
• Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight)

Best animated feature film of the year

• Bolt (Walt Disney) -- Chris Williams and Byron Howard
• Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) -- John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
• WALL-E (Walt Disney) -- Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction

• Changeling (Universal) -- Art Direction: James J. Murakami / Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt / Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
• The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) -- Art Direction: Nathan Crowley / Set Decoration: Peter Lando
• The Duchess (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) -- Art Direction: Michael Carlin / Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
• Revolutionary Road (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) -- Art Direction: Kristi Zea / Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in cinematography

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- Claudio Miranda
• Changeling (Universal) -- Tom Stern
• The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) -- Wally Pfister
• The Reader (The Weinstein Company) -- Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
• Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) -- Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design

• Australia (20th Century Fox) -- Catherine Martin
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- Jacqueline West
• The Duchess (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) -- Michael O'Connor
• Milk (Focus Features) -- Danny Glicker
• Revolutionary Road (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) -- Albert Wolsky

Achievement in directing

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- David Fincher
• Frost/Nixon (Universal) -- Ron Howard
• Milk (Focus Features) -- Gus Van Sant
• The Reader (The Weinstein Company) -- Stephen Daldry
• Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) -- Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature

• The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) (Cinema Guild) -- Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
• Encounters at the End of the World (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment) -- Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
• The Garden (A Black Valley Films Production) -- Scott Hamilton Kennedy
• Man on Wire (Magnolia Pictures) -- James Marsh and Simon Chinn
• Trouble the Water (Zeitgeist Films) -- Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Best documentary short subject

• The Conscience of Nhem En -- Steven Okazaki
• The Final Inch -- Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
• Smile Pinki -- Megan Mylan
• The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306 -- Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
• The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) -- Lee Smith
• Frost/Nixon (Universal) -- Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
• Milk (Focus Features) -- Elliot Graham
• Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) -- Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year

• The Baader Meinhof Complex A Constantin Film Production - Germany
• The Class (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haut et Court Production - France
• Departures (Regent Releasing) A Departures Film Partners Production - Japan
• Revanche (Janus Films) A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production - Austria
• Waltz with Bashir (Sony Pictures Classics) A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production - Israel

Achievement in makeup

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- Greg Cannom
• The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) -- John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal) -- Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- Alexandre Desplat
• Defiance (Paramount Vantage) -- James Newton Howard
• Milk (Focus Features) -- Danny Elfman
• Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) -- A.R. Rahman
• WALL-E (Walt Disney) -- Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

• "Down to Earth" from WALL-E (Walt Disney) -- Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman / Lyric by Peter Gabriel
• Jai Ho from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) -- Music by A.R. Rahman / Lyric by Gulzar
• O Saya from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) -- Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Best motion picture of the year

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• Frost/Nixon (Universal) -- Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
• Milk (Focus Features) -- Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
• The Reader (The Weinstein Company) -- Nominees to be determined
• Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) -- Christian Colson, Producer

Best animated short film

• La Maison en Petits Cubes -- Kunio Kato
• Lavatory - Lovestory -- Konstantin Bronzit
• Oktapodi (Talantis Films) -- Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
• Presto (Walt Disney) -- Doug Sweetland
• This Way Up -- Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Best live action short film

• Auf der Strecke (On the Line) (Hamburg Shortfilmagency) -- Reto Caffi
• Manon on the Asphalt (La Luna Productions) -- Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
• New Boy (Network Ireland Television) -- Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
• The Pig -- Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
• Spielzeugland (Toyland) -- Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing

• The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) -- Richard King
• Iron Man (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) -- Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
• Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) -- Tom Sayers
• WALL-E (Walt Disney) -- Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
• Wanted (Universal) -- Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
• The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) -- Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
• Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) -- Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
• WALL-E (Walt Disney) -- Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
• Wanted (Universal) -- Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
• The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) -- Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
• Iron Man (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) -- John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.) -- Screenplay by Eric Roth / Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
• Doubt (Miramax) -- Written by John Patrick Shanley
• Frost/Nixon (Universal) -- Screenplay by Peter Morgan
• The Reader (The Weinstein Company) -- Screenplay by David Hare
• Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) -- Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay

• Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics) -- Written by Courtney Hunt
• Happy-Go-Lucky (Miramax) -- Written by Mike Leigh
• In Bruges (Focus Features) -- Written by Martin McDonagh
• Milk (Focus Features) -- Written by Dustin Lance Black
• WALL-E (Walt Disney) -- Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon / Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Another reason to love two time Oscar winner Mel Gibson: