Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees: Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (2008), Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (2008), Sean Penn in "Milk" (2008), Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008) and Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (2008)
Chris Poldoian: I don't think Brad Pitt should've been nominated. I think the special effects [in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"] should win, because that's all his character was, really. People enjoyed his performance because of the technical wizardry, not because of his acting.
Devin Toohey: Yeah, I definitely agree there. He didn't convey that he was actually aging backwards. You never got the idea that when he looked young that he had lived for 60 years.
CP: He should've been nominated for what he did in "Burn After Reading" [2008].
Zach Drucker: I agree.
CP: Maybe just his hair as best supporting actor. Frank Langella?
ZD: I liked his ability to really portray Nixon without really looking at all like Nixon. I don't think he'll win, but I'm glad he got nominated.
DT: Good job as Nixon, but it didn't stand out as one of the standout performances.
ZD: Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke?
DT: I'd give it to Mickey Rourke, since he totally created his character from scratch. Penn did a very good job as Milk, but when you say that, you're giving the utmost praise to the source. He had a very good performance to base that off of.
CP: Couldn't you say the same thing about Mickey Rourke? I mean there are a lot of similarities between his character and Randy "The Ram" Robinson.
ZD: Rourke used to be a boxer.
DT: Yeah, but all actors draw on their own emotional experiences in some way, and if you look historically, there really was a Harvey Milk. Real footage to base his performance off of.
ZD: I think Rourke's gonna get it. Just because the academy loves a comeback story. If they pick Sean Penn, he'll be one of the few actors to get two Best Actor Oscars. I feel that the Academy isn't ready to give Penn that distinction just yet.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Josh Brolin in "Milk," Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (2008), Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (2008), Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (2008) and Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (2008)
DT: Kind of like what you, Chris, mentioned for Brad Pitt, I think that they're giving the nomination to [Robert Downey Jr.] for "Tropic Thunder" as a way of saying, "Hey, here's a Best Supporting Actor nomination because we can't nominate you for Iron Man" [2008].
DT: And then there's Josh Brolin.
CP: What a great couple of years he's had. In 2007, he had "No Country for Old Men," and "American Gangster." Now he's got "Milk" and "W" [2008].
DT: His role [in "Milk"] reminded me of the Heath Ledger performance ... in "Brokeback Mountain" [2005]. [It's] really hard to read a character that could seem like a very simple performance at first, but only because there's so much bubbling underneath.
ZD: Like that scene in "Milk"... when he goes on a drunken tirade.
CP: Yeah, it had the right balance of the humorous and the sinister. I thought Hoffman did a pretty good job in "Doubt." That was a movie where I liked all the individual performances more than the movie in and of itself.
DT: His performance was actually one of the weakest parts of the movie for me. I thought he erased too much of the doubt, compared to when I saw it performed on Broadway. I thought he came off as too innocent.
CP: I know that not everyone here agrees with me, but I thought that Ledger did a great job. He took ... on the daunting task of re-imagining a Jack Nicholson performance — bold move, but it paid off, I thought.
ZD: I know I might draw some fire for this, but I think he should win this category, if only because it's so hard to take an iconic performance ... in a new, sinister direction and make it into an icon for a new generation. I think his death did seal the deal, but then again the pool is weaker than previous years.
DT: Oh yeah, he's undoubtedly going to get it. I'm not gonna beat a dead horse …
CP: So who should get it?
DT: Brolin.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees: Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (2008), Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (2008), Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (2008), Meryl Streep in "Doubt" and Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (2008)
DT: Let's just assume that Melissa Leo doesn't get it for "Frozen River."
ZD: I don't think that's much of a stretch. "Frozen River" was a small Sundance film, so it's quite an accomplishment that she got the nomination, but that's where it ends.
CP: Anne Hathaway does a great job playing a drug-addled woman. Very nuanced portrayal of a polarizing character. I'd like to see her win.
ZD: Will she win?
CP: No, I think Kate Winslet will win it.
DT: Same; she was the only redeemable part of ["The Reader"]. She really carried it, and the Academy will recognize her work in it.
ZD: That's what happens when your co-star can't speak English and has to memorize his lines.
DT: Yeah, what's weird about her role is that she's in the movie for about 50 of the 120 minutes, which is [short] for a [best] actress. There's such a strong group of candidates in the…category that this is probably to her advantage. What're your thoughts on Streep's millionth acting nomination?
CP: I thought she did a good job, but like Frank Langella, I don't see this performance as being one that will stand out in the years to come.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Amy Adams in "Doubt," Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008), Viola Davis in "Doubt," Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler"
DT: What's up with the Academy and Marisa Tomei? I mean, I'd have given "The Wrestler" best film of the year, but I didn't think she stood out in that movie.
CP: Well, it's hard to share the screen with Mickey Rourke in that movie.
ZD: I'd have given it to Evan Rachel Wood. While she was on for a shorter period of time, she had a very commanding presence.
DT: Maybe they're giving it to Tomei because she did the edgy thing by playing the stripper.
CP: Amy Adams and Viola Davis in "Doubt?"
DT: Both, I thought, were better in their respective roles than Meryl Streep in "Doubt." Viola Davis, the 10 minutes of the movie she was in [were] arguably the most memorable 10 minutes of the movie.
CP: A very mucous 10 minutes. But good — very good job.
DT: And Amy Adams gave the right level of ambiguity and — dare I say it — doubt that Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman didn't. Very layered performance.
ZD: I hear that Penelope Cruz is the front runner. I was reading that they liked her use of Spanglish. The Academy likes a little Latin flavor.
Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees: David Fincher for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Ron Howard for "Frost/Nixon," Gus Van Sant for "Milk," Stephen Daldry for "The Reader" and Danny Boyle for "Slumdog Millionaire" (2008)
CP: I thought [David Fincher's] direction really elevated "Button."
DT: I think he's a pretty overrated director, but I think that people are making a big deal with this one simply because "Button" is so different than any other movie he's done. "Oh, you're doing a sentimental piece; how different! Here's a nomination for your troubles."
ZD: I thought he had some cool symbolism in there, plus he had to form a bunch of different scenes from totally different time periods.
DT: "Frost/Nixon." Who did Ron Howard sell his soul to in order to get this nomination?
CP: Yeah, the movie lacked any kind of personality. Its staleness kind of reminded me of documentaries.
DT: My problem was with the cutting to the talking heads. Very awkward.
CP: "The Reader?"
DT: Horrible direction. I don't even want to know the director's name.
CP: Danny Boyle?
DT: One of the best parts of "Slumdog Millionaire" was its direction.
CP: Either to Danny Boyle or Gus Van Sant [for "Milk"], really. That's what I think it comes down to.
DT: Yeah, its going to go to either one of these directors, and whichever film doesn't get best director will get best picture.
ZD: You don't think one will take both?
DT: I think the Academy's going to be doing a lot of splits this year. There's no film that everyone is rallying around.
Best Picture
Nominees: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," "The Reader," "Slumdog Millionaire"
CP: "Slumdog" will get best picture, I think. It was the underdog at first, but it's slowly but steadily been winning award after award, and I think it will ride that wave right on through the Oscars.
ZD: I think it should and will win. It is the best picture, in my opinion, and deserves the Oscar.
CP: Then again, the same thing was being said about "Brokeback Mountain." It was winning every award out there, including best director, but then all of a sudden the best picture went to "Crash" (2005).
DT: I think "Button" is this year's "Crash." I can't imagine Hollywood saying — admitting — that they didn't make the best film of the year.
CP: I think that "Slumdog" should win, but "Milk" is a close second. I'd be happy with either one, but like you, [Devin,] I'd split best picture and director.
ZD: For me, I think the only thing keeping "Slumdog" from winning is that ridiculous dance at the end of the film. Total tone shift. Completely unnecessary.
DT: That was my favorite part of the film!
