<cite>Nominees for the 81st Academy Awards | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences</cite>: "
Nominees for the 81st Academy Awards
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)
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
Best motion picture of the year
- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
- “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures,
- “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production
- “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production
- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production
