The countdown to the Oscars has finally come to an end. Today is D-day for the Slumdog team. Will they bag all ten awards? Read to find out.
Slumdog Millionaire swept the Oscars today winning eight of the nine categories it was nominated in.
- AR Rahman won two awards, Original Soundtrack and Original Score (which he shared with Gulzar).
- Resul Pookutty won for Sound Mixing
- Danny Boyle won for Best Director
- Chris Colson won for Best Picture
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- Best Cinematographer (Anthony Dod Mantle)
- Best Editing (Chris Dickens)
Indians had a superb night out as a documentary called Smile Pinki on a team of surgeons in the country also won an Oscar, for Best Documentary.
But the story of the night was undoubtedly Slumdog, which blew away The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which also had a lot of nominations, and the hugely successful Dark Knight. Heath Ledger posthumously picked up his first award (for Best Supporting Actor) and his family made a moving speech (see the live blog below).
Other than a couple of moments, the evening was a procession of Slumdog's crew walking on stage to pick up their prize.
10:25 Colson pulls the entire cast and crew on state. Anil Kapoor just behind and Azhar in front. "It was an extraordinary journey. We had no stars or money. We had a script that inspired mad love. We had a genius for a director. We had a shared love for the extraordinary city of Mumbai. We had passion and belief." Irrfan just behind as well.
Christian Colson of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE wins BEST PICTURE. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE SWEEPS THE OSCARS, WINNING 8 OUT OF THE 9 CATEGORIES IT WAS NOMINATED FOR
10:19 BEST PICTURE nominees are: Slumdog Milionaire, Milk, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, The Reader.
10:18 Steven Spielberg to give BEST PICTURE award.
10:14 Sean Penn's speech: "You commie, homo-loving sons of guns. I did not expect it, and I do know how hard I make it for me to be appreciated.... (praises director "no finer hand than Gus Van Sant. Talks about support for gay marriage and equal rights). I'm very very proud to live in a country that elects an elegant man as president. Praises Mickey Rourke ("He rises again and he's my brother").
10:12 And the BEST ACTOR AWARD GOES TO SEAN PENN
10:08 And we're back with Adrian Brodie, Ben Kingsley, Michael Douglas, Robert de Niro, Anthony Hopkins.
Nominees are Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Frank Langella (Frost-Nixon), Sean Penn (Milk), Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler). We think Sean Penn.
10:02 After being nominated six times, Winslet wins for the first time: "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't made a version of this speech before. When I was 8, i the bath, I had a shampoo bottle. It's not a shampoo bottle now! (applause). My mum and dad are here somewhere. Dad whistle or something so I know where you are (loud whistle). Yay! Thanks to husband and children. Thanks Anthony (Minghella)."
10:01 And the Oscar for BEST ACTRESS goes to KATE WINSLET
9:56 BEST ACTRESS Award. Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Kate Winslet (The Reader), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Mellissa Leo (Frozen River), Meryl Streep (Doubt). Hmm. Tough one.
9:54 Danny Boy's speech: "You have been so generous to us this evening and want to thank you for this great show you've put up. Thanks to my kids and wife, my dad and sister (thanks all the people are Warner etc). I'm an idiot for leaving
"Just to say to Mumbai. All of you who helped us make this film, and those of you who didn't. You dwarf even the sky."
Nice speech.
9:50 It's Curious Case of BB, Frost-Nixon, Milk and Slumdog. BOYLE WINS FOR SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE!!!!! THAT'S NUMBER 7
9:48 We're back with Hugh Jackman and Reese Witherspoon for the award for BEST DIRECTOR. What's the call? Slumdog's Danny Boyle in this one for sure.
9:41 Queen Latifah on stage in blue silk. Sings as those who have died this year are on screen. Including the great Harold Pinter and Roy Scheider and Charlton Heston and Anthony Minghella, Sidney Pollack, Paul Newman.
9:37 The Oscar goes to DEPARTURES, a Japanese film. Another Japanese speech with lots of Thank yous. I'm berry berry happy! I am here because of films! Now I'm departure! Thank you! Sayonara!
9:36 We're back with Hugh Jackman. And... Freida Pinto's coming out to give an award with Liam Neeson!! The films are for BEST FILM IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE.
9:33 Indians picked up all three awards they were nominated for at the Oscars as AR RAHMAN and GULZAR won for BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (Jai Ho) and RESUL POOKUTTY also won for SOUND MIXING.
9:32 RAHMAN AND GULZAR WIN FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE.
Rahman: "Thanks to the crew and Danny Boyle. The people of Mumbai. the power of hope in our lives. All my life I've had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I am here. God bless."
Superb Speech.
NOW RAHMAN'S SINGING JAI HO. Sounding quite good. Tanvi Shah is on stage singing with him. No sign of Sukhwinder.
RAHMAN'S PERFORMING O SAYA LIVE AT THE OSCARS after winning the OSCAR FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
9:25 Rahman's speech: Before coming I was excited and terrified. last time I felt that was during my marriage. There's a dialogue called Mere Pass Ma Hai. My mother is here. I want to thank the Academy, the jury members. Gulzar. Musicians in Chennai and Mumbai. And I want to say something in Tamil. God is Great. Thank you.
9:25 BEST ORIGINAL SCORE IS WON BY RAHMAN FOR SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
9:20 In case you came in late. Slumdog has won four awards so far (losing only one). India's RESUL POOKUTTY won for SOUND MIXING and made a lovely speech, talking about the silence in the word OM and dedicating the award to India.
9:15 Jerry Lewis comes out to standing ovation. Will he be funny or serious? Let's see. "for most of my life I thought of doing good for someone and not receiving anything in return. Until now. This award touches the depth of my soul because of who it is from. The humility I feel is staggering and will stay with me for the rest of my life. It's such a joy being a part of the movie business. Thank you and goodnight." Very classy.
9:11 And we're back with Eddie Murphy. Looks much thinner than on his last movie outing. Gives otr humanitarian award to JERRY LEWIS.
IT'S A BIG BIG NIGHT FOR SLUMDOG. The movie's picked up four out of the five nominations it's got this year. the only award it lost was to Dark Knight (for Sound Editing). But Resul has won! and Rahman's awards are coming up soon. Dil Tham Ke Baithiye...
9:06 Chris Dickens: "I had a fantastic time in India. Thanks to the crew in India. Vivek, Uday and Anurag." India is rocking it at the awards. Fully.
9:04 Award for BEST EDITING. Slumdog is nominated and the Oscar goes to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE!!!!
9: 02 Resul in panic. Calms down. I share this stage with two magicians, who created the cacophony of Bombay. He says Om, the word that is preceded by silence. I dedicate this award to my country. Thanks to Danny and all the rest of the crew. Thanks. (Loud applause!). SLUMDOG AND RESUL WIN AWARD FOR BEST SOUND MIXING.
9:01 SOUND MIXING. Slumdog's Resul, The Curious Case of BB, Dark Knight, Wall-E.
9:00 DARK NIGHT WINS FOR OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING. Slumdog loses the first of its 10 awards. The score right now is 2 won 1 lost and 7 to be decided.
8:59 OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING Dark Knight. Slumdog is nominated, so is Wall-E and Wanted.
8:57 It seems to be a two-horse race for the big awards between Slumdog (the favourite) and Curious Case.
8:55 We're back with Will Smith. Nominees for OUTSTADING VISUAL EFFECTS. Curious Case of BB, Dark Knight, Iron Man. Winner is THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON FOR OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS
8:50 It's India Shining at the Oscars. SM wins two and a documentary on India (Smile Pinki) also wins. The big ones still to come. Stay tuned.
8:48 SMILE PINKI IS BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT). Thanks go to Nandini Rajwani. And to the subject "the incredible doctor Subodh... thank you thank you thank you." Yay!
8:47 Now BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT). The Final Inch is an Indian movie on this list. Smile Pinki is also India. and it wins!
8:46 Oscar for BEST DOCUMENTARY MOVIE IS MAN ON WIRE.
8:45 Talk show host Bill Maher is out to give out award for BEST DOCUMENTARY. Nominees are The Betrayal, Encounters at the End of the World, The Garden, Man on Wire (which gets a lot of applause).
8:43 Seems to be an emotional year at the Oscars. The underdog, Slumdog Millionaire, is looking very strong to sweep and Rahman and Boyle in particular are way ahead at the moment, just going by the flow so far. The Heath Ledger award and his family's speech was moving.
8:41 This is ever so humbling, says his father. Thanks for recognising my son's amazing work. (audience looking very sad. good moment). This award would have humbly validated Heath's determination to be accepted by you all, his peers in an industry he so loved.
His mother says: He was a compassionate and generous soul. We have been overwhelmed by the honour and respect he has been given by this award.
His sister says: Heath, we both know you created something special. We wish you were here but we are very proud to accept on behalf of your beautiful Matilda (his daughter).
Lovely speech.
8:39 Is this the first time a dead person is picking up an award? Not sure. But what a superb role to win your first (and last) Oscar. The biggest movie of all time.
8:38: OSCAR GOES TO HEATH LEDGER FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
8:36 Long speeches from all. Gooding talking about Downey and his blackface act in Tropic Thunder ("don't take work away from the brothers, man!")
8:32 Many stars (Christopher Walken, Cuba Gooding, Alan Arkin..) to give out the award for SUPPORTING ACTOR. Nominees are Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Michael Shannon and Heath Ledger. We think, yes, it will be Ledger. The Oscars are an emotional award most of the time.
8:30 Rahman's got three nominations. Two for best song (and there's only one other contender in that category - Wall-E) and one for best score. We think he's going to win both.
8:26 Leading up to a Best Score award perhaps?
8:25 Beyonce, spilling out of her dress, joins Jackman. Medley of songs, including All that Jazz and songs from Grease
8:22 And we're back with Hugh Jackman. Some of his one-liners (Change has come this year... the Musical is back!) are flat-lining. He's going into another song and dance routine. This one is choreographed to his strenghts. Long and lazy moves. Singin' in the Rain type.
8:20 Some of the bigger awards (Best Actor, Actress) coming up shortly we think.
8:16 Award for best comedy coming up we think. No, it's for BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM. Manon on the Asphalt, New Boy, The Pig. WInner is TOY LAND.
8:10 Rahman and Resul must be feeling that the stars are slowly coming into alignment. If the Academy's voters liked the movie's cienamatography and its screenplay, surely the music is a shoo-in for winner?
8:09 SM looks very very strong for the bigger awards coming up later in the day. The mood of the voters (the Academy's voters) seems to be leaning towards Slumdog, the Underdog of the line-up that has a billion dollar grossing movie (Dark Knight) and an A star (Brad Pitt in Curious Case).
8:06 Anthony Dod Mantle "I could thank thousands of people, I can't do it. All the people in this little corner here (pointing to the cast and crew)." Danny Boyle's face is glowing.
8:05 IT'S SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE!!!!! WINNER FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER. ITS SECOND AWARD OF THE NIGHT
8:03 Slumdog Millionaire is a nominee here. Torture to wait... Other nominees are Changeling, Dark Knight, Curious Case of BB and The Reader.
8:01 Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller (Looking like Uncle Sam) to give out award for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER
7:55 CURIOUS CASE FOR BENJAMIN BUTTON WINS AWARD FOR MAKE UP. No joy again for Dark Knight. It seems Curious Case of BB is also strong and might win those awards where SM is NOT nominated. But where they are head-to-head?
7:54 AWARD FOR MAKE-UP ARTIST. Only 3 nominees. Curious Case of BB, Dark Knight, Hellboy II. We pick Dark Knight.
7:51 Oscar for BEST COSTUME DESIGN goes to THE DUCHESS, Michael O'Connor. Very long speech. Also banal. But it's his day.
7:50 Costume Design nominees are (again, no SM) Curious Case of BB, Australia, Milk, The Duchess. Awards given out by Daniel Craig and Sara Jessica Parker again...
7:47 And the winner is THE CURIOUS CASE OF BB. Hmmm. No joy yet for Dark Night despite pulling in a billion dollars.
7:45 To give out Best Art Direction is Daniel Craig and Sara Jessica Parker (of Sex and the City). Is SM nominated? No. Dark Knight (our pick), Curious Case of BB, Changeling, The Duchess, Revolutionary Road.
7:43 Nineteen more awards to be given out. Slumdog nominated in 9 of them. Benjamin Button also nominated many times. But the Screenplay award might point to a washout for the others.
7:39 And now awards for Best Animated Short Film (from Black and Aniston). And the winner is... LA MAISON ET PETITS CUBES. Japanese man gives very sweet speech in English. Many thank yous.
7:38 Wall-E gets award for animation, which is well-deserved. Good crisp speech (thanks to my high school drama teacher 28 years ago for casting me as Barnaby ans sowing the seeds of astistic.. etc)/
7:37 WALL-E WINS BEST ANIMATION AWARD
7:36 Jack Black and Jennifer Aniston (looking quite buffed) to give out Best Animation Award.
7:32 Vikas Swarup is thanked on stage (first time for an Indian?). "The wonderful Dev and the wonderful Latika. And the cast who taught me so much about India."
Nice speech.
7:31: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE GETS BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY AWARD. Yay!!! It's the first of 10.
7:31. Many great stories here. Which one's best? We think Slumdog Millionaire. The movie is called and gets some applause. Now much.
7:30 And now to adapted screenplay. Aha, SM is here. Also Benjamin Button, The Reader, Doubt, Frost-Nixon.
7:29 Writer is very young and used to be a Mormon (!). "When I was 13 years old (doesn't look much older now), I never thought this would happen." Thanks his mom and "all the gay and lesbian kids out there."
7:27: MILK is the winner for Best Original Screenplay.
7:25 Steve Martin and Tina Fey (gets huge applause for her Sarah Palin bits). Best Screen Play awards. Nominees are Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges, Milk, Wall-E. What? No SM?? we think it'll be Milk, though we liked Wall-E most.
7:19 I might be the first person to faint on stage, says Penelope on stage. Thanks everyone etc. Thanks her first director Pedro Almodovar. Says she grew up in a small town where this would not have been realised. "Art in any form is and will always be our universal language. We should do everything we can to protect its survival." And some more stuff in Spanish. Not thanking Woody Allen or her cast. But anyway...
7:17 Best Supporting Actress is PENELOPE CRUZ
7:16 High praise for Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona), Amy Adams (Doubt), Viola Davis (Doubt), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler), Taraji P. Henson (Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
7:14 Best Supporting Actress Award goes to...
7:12 OK Irrfan WAS spotted. The whole crew made it. Whew.
7:11 Jackson doing the rounds, going through the guests. Brangelina, Meryl Streep. Tribute to Streep's record 15 Oscar nominations, starting with '79 Kramer Vs Kramer.
7:09 And the finale of him as The Wrestler. Standing ovation begins and and and... almost there. Yes. Not heartfelt though.
7:06 Anne Hathaway (of Rachael's Getting Married) pulled up on stage to act as 'Nixon' to Jackman's 'Frost'. Nicely done.
7:05 Host Hugh Jackman, who's a trained singer and stage actor is singing a tribute to this year's film. Starts with SM. Now doing vaudeville style stuff with Milk.
7.00 And we're live at the Oscars. Hugh Jackman in his tux. Kate Winslet gets early applause "for her range", and now Robert Downey Jr.
One-liners from Jackman, "this is the recession so everything is smaller. Next year I'll be in a movie called New Zealand." Hha Ha.
6:58 No sign of Irrfan at the show, though Anil Kapoor and Rahman were both with Boyle (didn't get to say anything though, bummer), as was Resul.
6:53 Jack Black (Tropic Thunder) and Marisa Tomei (Best Supporting Actress for the Wrestler)
How come this gorgeous creature always gets best supporting type roles? She was devastating in My Cousin Vinnie. Got supporting nomination for that too. Won that one we think.
6: 51 Penelope Cruz arrives, looking goergeous and with her cute Spanish accent: "an' I wanna go back an do sam gud wark. An very excitid."
She's been nominated for Vicky Christina Barcelona, Woody Allen's new film and possibly his best since Annie Hall.
6: 45: And the cast of SM is here!
On the red carpet. Danny Boyle is asked the usual questions: How do you feel etc. "I'm so pleased to get so many people here," Danny said with the crew around him, Rubina Ali, Ayush and Azharuddin. "It's fantastic. Lots more at home watching. It was a big family making that movie."
Dev Patel is asked: "You're 18 and already on the carpet, where do you go from here?"
He said: "Amazing feeling, but these guys (pointing to the kids) are the real stars."
Frieda said she'd promised the kids she'd take them to Miley Cyrus but that hasn't happened...
