Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
  1. Entertainment
  2. Film Festivals & Awards

Oscars 2009: The Winners

News
By Total Film published 23 February 2009

Slumdog sweeps, Penn upsets, Kate doesn't blub...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

In an Oscars that went largely as everyone expected, the biggest - the only - surprise of the night: Sean Penn won Best Actor.

Despite endless predictions that Mickey Rourke was a lock for his role in The Wrestler , it was Penn's performance as doomed politician Harvey Milk that took home the gold.

Otherwise, events mostly stayed to the Ricky Gervais-doctored script - Slumdog Millionaire took eight awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle.

Kate Winslet finally bagged her Best Actress gong on a sixth attempt for her performance in The Reader , while Penelope Cruz took home Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona .

There was a note of sadness as Heath Ledger's family accepted his widely expected posthumous Dark Knight Best Supporting Actor award.

Elsewhere, there was music. There was laughter. There was Hugh Jackman singing and dancing...

It wasn't a perfect ceremony - not all the producers' planned 'surprises' hit the mark - and it ran nearly half an hour long. Still, for the notoriously indulgent Oscars, that's not bad going.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

We'll have a full, blow-by-blow report online soon. For now, the winners in full...

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

Director
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
WINNER: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Actor
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
WINNER: Sean Penn, Milk

Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
WINNER: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
WINNER: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

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

Animated Feature
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WINNER: WALL-E

Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, screenplay by Eric Roth, screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
Doubt, written by John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon, screenplay by Peter Morgan
The Reader, screenplay by David Hare
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire, screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original Screenplay
Frozen River, written by Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky, written by Mike Leigh
In Bruges, written by Martin McDonagh
WALL-E, screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
WINNER: Milk, written by Dustin Lance Black

Art Direction
Changeling, James J. Murakami; set decoration: Gary Fettis
The Dark Knight, Nathan Crowley; set decoration: Peter Lando
The Duchess, Michael Carlin; set decoration: Rebecca Alleway
Revolutionary Road, Kristi Zea; set decoration: Debra Schutt
WINNER: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Donald Graham Burt; set decoration: Victor J. Zolfo

Cinematography
Changeling, Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister
The Reader, Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle

Costume Design
Australia, Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Jacqueline West
Milk, Danny Glicker
Revolutionary Road, Albert Wolsky
WINNER: The Duchess, Michael O'Connor

Documentary Feature
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Trouble the Water
WINNER: Man on Wire

Documentary Short
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
The Witness -- From the Balcony of Room 306
WINNER: Smile Pinki

Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
The Dark Knight, Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon, Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
Milk, Elliot Graham
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany
The Class, France
Revanche, Austria
Waltz with Bashir, Israel
WINNER: Departures, Japan

Make-Up
The Dark Knight, John Caglione Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
WINNER: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Greg Cannom

Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat
Defiance, James Newton Howard
Milk, Danny Elfman
WALL-E, Thomas Newman
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman

Original Song
'Down to Earth' from WALL-E, music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, lyrics by Peter Gabriel
'O Saya' from Slumdog Millionaire, music and lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
WINNER: 'Jai Ho' from Slumdog Millionaire, music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar

Animated Short
Lavatory -- Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
WINNER: La Maison en Petits Cubes

Live-Action Short
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
WINNER: Spielzeugland

Sound Editing
Iron Man, Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
Slumdog Millionaire, Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
WALL-E, Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
Wanted, Wylie Stateman
WINNER: The Dark Knight, Richard King

Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
The Dark Knight, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
WALL-E, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
Wanted, Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

Visual Effects
The Dark Knight, Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
Iron Man, John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
WINNER: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron


Happy with the winners? What did you think of the ceremony? UK folk - tell us about your all-nighter/Oscar party...

PRODUCTS
slumdog millionaire the reader
Total Film

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Latest in Film Festivals & Awards
Five Nights at Freddy's 2
Tabletop Gaming Mckenna Grace opens Pokemon cards at the Oscars, and it's one hell of a vibe
 
 
Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps in Zootopia 2
Film Festivals & Awards After missing out KPop Demon Hunters, Disney has made surprising Oscars history with its unlikely losing streak
 
 
Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob in One Battle After Another
Film Festivals & Awards One Battle After Another wins Best Picture at the 2026 Oscars
 
 
Chase Infiniti as Willa in One Battle After Another
Film Festivals & Awards 2026 Oscar winners in full: One Battle After Another sweeps the Academy Awards with 6 wins, including Best Picture
 
 
Huntr/x in KPop Demon Hunters
Film Festivals & Awards Here's how many Oscars KPop Demon Hunters won
 
 
Michael B. Jordan accepting the Best Actor Oscar for Sinners
Film Festivals & Awards Sinners star Michael B. Jordan wins Best Actor, one of the biggest awards of the night
 
 
Latest in News
Zoomed-in, cropped box art for Pokemon FireRed shows Charizard roaring.
Pokemon "The biggest time save in nearly a decade of Pokemon speedrunning" has been discovered in FireRed
 
 
Marathon Cryo Archive runners looting
FPS Games Marathon's Cryo Archive is locked to weekends partly because you're going to "lose a lot of gear"
 
 
Arc Raiders Queen
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders devs tortured each other during playtests, juicing Arc into Elden Ring bosses
 
 
A fox shopkeeper has a Lucky Cat figurine on the counter in Piece by Piece
Games Two indie games with the same name accidentally launched days apart, so the devs averted disaster by working together:
 
 
Spider-Man Brand New Day
Marvel Movies Tom Holland compares Jon Bernthal's Punisher to RDJ's Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
 
 
Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy Final Fantasy 14 boss Yoshi-P says the JRPG series is releasing games slower these days and losing younger gamers
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Arc Raiders Queen
    1
    Arc Raiders devs tortured each other during playtests, juicing Arc into Elden Ring bosses
  2. 2
    Tom Holland compares Jon Bernthal's Punisher to RDJ's Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
  3. 3
    Two indie games with the same name accidentally launched days apart, so the devs averted disaster by working together:
  4. 4
    Invincible VS director wants players to feel like "a f**king superhero," so expect matches that are a "knock-down, drag-out fight until the death"
  5. 5
    Final Fantasy 14 boss Yoshi-P says the JRPG series is releasing games slower these days and losing younger gamers

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...