Oscar noms throw some curveballs

It's Button v Slumdog at the Oscars - and Revolutionary Road and Clint Eastwood have been snubbed. Benjamin Button leads the race with 13 nominations, ahead of Slumdog on 10. The only surprise among the top two is Cate Blanchett missing out for Supporting Actress.

The next-best is Milk with a surprise 8: Oscar’s not known for being this gay-friendly, but it’s a biopic, which always goes down well. Among its noms is a surprise Best Supporting Actor nod for Josh Brolin.

The Dark Knight collected 7 nods, mostly technical, but inevitably Heath Ledger is recognised. Wall*E follows on 6.

Frost/Nixon only picked up 5 nominations – but still no recognition for Michael Sheen. Also on 5 is The Reader – with Kate Winslet recognised in Best Actress rather than Supporting (the Golden Globe category she was slotted into and won) – and Doubt, with 4 of its cast being rewarded with noms.

Changeling garnered just 3 nods (including Best Actress for Angelina Jolie), while The Wrestler got 2 for Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei.

The big losers were Revolutionary Road, scoring just 3 noms (2 of which are in crafts), and Clint Eastwood, who’s work behind the camera on Changeling, and in front of the camera as well as behind it in Gran Torino, failed to chime with voters.

Predictions? Tough: Ledger for Best Supporting Actor and Jolie for Actress – everything else is wide open!

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

Best Director
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
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
Kate Winslet - The Reader

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

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

Best Foreign Film
Revanche
The Class
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Departures
Waltz With Bashir

Best Animated Feature Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Screenplay
Happy-Go-Lucky
Milk
Wall-E
In Bruges
Frozen River

Best Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

Best Original Song
Down To Earth - Wall-E
Jai Ho - Slumdog Millionaire
O Saya - Slumdog Millionaire

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

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

Costume Design
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Australia
Milk
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Make-up
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Sound Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Iron Man
Wanted
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Wanted
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

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