Rags-to-riches drama "Slumdog Millionaire" swept the board at the 81st Academy Awards here Sunday, winning eight Oscars including best picture on a night of high-voltage Hollywood glamor. The feel-good film about a Mumbai tea boy who rises from poverty and enters a television quiz show to win millions and find the love of his life, won eight of the nine categories in which it was nominated at the Kodak Theater.
The acting honours saw Sean Penn triumph for his portrayal of murdered gay politician Harvey Milk in the biopic "Milk" while Britain's Kate Winslet ended her Oscars losing streak for her performance in Holocaust drama "The Reader."
There was a tear-jerking posthumous Oscar for late Australian actor Heath Ledger, a moment of unforgettable poignancy that reduced the star-studded audience to hushed silence. But it was the triumph of "Slumdog Millionaire" that stole the show, with more than a dozen members of the Bollywood-inspired movie's cast and crew crowding the stage to receive best picture from Steven Spielberg.
"We had passion and we had belief and if you have those two things, truly, anything is possible," said producer Christian Colson. The "Slumdog" Oscar-haul included best director honours for British film-maker Danny Boyle and a brace of Academy Awards for Indian composer A.R. Rahman, who won for best song and original score. It was a fairytale night for "Slumdog", which had been nearly released directly to video last year after losing its US distributor, a move which would have ruled it out of Oscars contention. The best picture award brought the curtain down on a revamped Oscars ceremony that had earlier seen Penn and Winslet carve up the top acting honours.
"Thank you, you commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns. I did not expect this," joked Penn after collecting the second best actor Oscar of his career. Penn used his acceptance speech to urge opponents of same-sex marriage - recently banned in California - to rethink their positions.
Winslet, 33, meanwhile won her first Oscar after five previous defeats, for her portrayal of a former Nazi death camp guard who starts a love affair with a teenage boy in post-war Germany and is later put on trial for war crimes. Winslet admitted she had been dreaming of Oscars gold for a very long time. Earlier Heath Ledger's family took to the stage to collect the tragic star's best supporting actor honour for his portrayal of Batman villain the Joker in "The Dark Knight."
Spanish star Penelope Cruz won the best supporting actress prize for her part in the steamy Woody Allen comedy "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." "Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one," an overwhelmed Cruz said as she accepted her award. Period romance "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which began the night with 13 nominations, ended the night with only three Oscars in the technical categories of art direction, makeup and visual effects.
The new-look awards extravaganza had got off to a flying start with Australian actor host Hugh Jackman wasting no time in launching into a medley of musical numbers that referenced this year's nominees. It was one of several innovations made by Oscars show producers that breathed new life into the previously tried and trusted formula which had led to record low television ratings last year.
Academy Award winners: Following is a complete list of winners at the 81st annual Academy Awards, held in Hollywood on Sunday.
-- SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros)
-- SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
-- ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black for "Milk" (Focus Features)
-- ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy for "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)
-- ANIMATED FEATURE
Andrew Stanton for "WALL-E" (Walt Disney)
-- ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Kunio Kato for "La Maison en Petits Cubes" (A Robot Communications Production)
-- ART DIRECTION
Donald Graham Burt for art direction and Victor J. Zolfo for set decoration on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros)
-- COSTUME DESIGN
Michael O'Connor for "The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathe and BBC Films)
-- MAKEUP
Greg Cannom for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros)
-- CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anthony Dod Mantle for "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)
-- LIVE ACTION SHORT FIRM
Jochen Alexander Freydank for "Spielzeugland (Toyland)", a Mephisto Film production
-- DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
James Marsh and Simon Chinn for "Man on Wire" (Magnolia Pictures) A Wall to Wall production
-- DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Megan Mylan for "Smile Pinki", a Principle production
-- VISUAL EFFECTS
Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros)
-- SOUND EDITING
Richard King for "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros)
-- SOUND MIXING
Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty for "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Walt Disney Pictures and Miramax Films are units of Walt Disney Co Universal Pictures and Focus Features are units of General Electric Co's Universal. Warner Bros, New Line Cinema and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc. Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage and DreamWorks are units of Viacom Inc.
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