MAIN Arts & Culture Movies 2008 Oscar Awards

Political satirist and Daily Show host Jon Stewart made a return visit to host the 80th Annual Academy Awards - broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC at 8:00 PM ET on Sunday, February 24, 2008.

Early Oscar Buzz & Predictions

Early rumors already pointed to the perfect match of director and story — in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, with a worldwide fanbase pulling for Johnny Depp as best actor.

Multiple nominations, (including best picture) for the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men were also considered sure things, along with a nod to the phenomenal There Will Be Blood and its star Daniel Day Lewis.

However, the January announcement of Oscar nominees also resulted in surprise picks — including one for Tommy Lee Jones for best actor in In The Valley of Elah (our favorite dark horse), and one for sentimental favorite, Juno, receiving best actress, best director and best original screenplay nominations.

Meanwhile, we had bet the rent on a big win for Julie Christie (already a Golden Globe and Critics Choice winner) in Away from Her, but Marion Cotillard - surprise - took home the award for Le Vie En Rose.

As always, Cate Blanchett was back with a gender-bending portrayal as Bob Dylan in I'm Not There, along with a powerful performance in Elizabeth:The Golden Age — and was shut out again! (although kudos to Tilda Swinton for Best Supporting Actress, and for her strong portrayal as an icy corporate lawyer in Michael Clayton.)

Below, check out the complete list of this year's nominees & winners along with links to red carpet pictures & video clips, forum postings & discussions, and related expert commentary on the movie industry's most coveted prize ...

Oscar.com - The official site - featuring the glitz, the glamour, and the movies, actors and actresses of the past, as well as Academy Award history and video clips, this year's Oscar fashion trends, with more news & features as Oscar night draws near.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - A serious look behind the scenes at the Oscar's official governing body, with a searchable database of the award's history, the upcoming ceremony, the official poster available for purchase and the official press kit.

Oscar Igloo - Covering the gamut from Best Picture to technical achievement awards plus news and updates, movie reviews, archived info, pictures, forum.

Awards Show Central - Updates and the latest news and press releases on the Oscars, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards along with a database of past winners plus current movie reviews with video clips, box office stats and lots more from RopeofSilicon.com.

The Oscar Guy - The self-appointed film critic extraordinaire with nominees, presenters, and predictions about this year's winners, plus a cache of both recent and archived reviews, Oscar history, discussion board.

LittleGoldenGuy.com - Get a college education in Academy trivia at this site, laid out with precision and chock full of interesting tidbits on Hollywood's top prize searchable by a criteria-driven database, or browseable by categories including actresses, actors, picture, director, and related links.

2008 Oscar Nominees & Winners

Best Actor
* Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Best Supporting Actor
* Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Casey Affleck, Assassination of Jesse James
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best Actress
* Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Julie Christie, Away from Her
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Best Supporting Actress
* Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Antonement
Amy Ryan, Gone, Baby Gone

Best Picture
* No Country for Old Men
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
There Will Be Blood

Best Director
* Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Best Foreign Film
* The Counterfeiters, Austria
Beaufort, Israel
Katyn, Poland
Mongol, Kazakhstan
12, Russia

Best Animated Film of the Year
* Ratatouille
Persepolis
Surf's Up

Achievement in Art Direction
* Sweeny Todd
American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
There Will Be Blood

Achievement in Cinematography
* There Will Be Blood
The Assassination of Jesse James
Atonement
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
No Country for Old Men

Achievement in Costume Design
* Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Across the Universe
Atonement
La Vie En Rose
Sweeney Todd

Best Documentary
* Taxi to the Dark Side
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
War/Dance

Best Documentary Short
* Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari's Mother

Achievement in Film Editing
* The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
Into The Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Achievement in Makeup
* La Vie En Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Best Original Score
* Atonement
The Kite Runner
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma

Best Original Song
"Falling Slowly", Once
"Happy Working Song", Enchanted
"So Close", Enchanted
"That's How You Know". Enchanted
"Raise It Up", August Rush

Best Animated Short
* Peter and the Wolf
I Met The Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)

Best Live Action Short
* Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)
At Night
Il Supplente (The Subsitute)
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman

Achievement in Sound Editing
* The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

Achievement in Sound Mixing
* The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers

Best Visual Effects
* The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Transformers

Best Adapted Screenplay
* Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Poley, Away from Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Best Original Screenplay
* Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava & Jim Capobianco, Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

also see -> BAFTA Awards | Razzie Awards

Sundance Film Festival | Tribeca Film Festival