2009 Academy Award Nominations: Taraji P. Henson And Viola Davis

Congratulations to Viola Davis and her nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her much-talked about, albeit small and powerful supporting role in Doubt, which also stars Meryl Streep, (who was also nominated for Best Actress), former Best Actor winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. Taraji P. Henson has also been nominated for her crucial supporting role in the Brad Pitt/Cate Blanchett starrer, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. This is going to be a tough choice, as both actors are said to have brought their A-Game to the table, but the clear choice as far as reviews go, has Viola as the favorite, so far. Her performance is said to be devastatingly effective and a focal point in the dramatic narrative of the movie, or the Big Payoff as they say, which is saying a lot for a movie that includes such heavyweights like Streep and Hoffman.

I'll be seeing TCCOBB this evening along with Best Picture nominee Slumdog Millionaire, and I've already watched Milk, The Visitor, Changeling, Tropic Thunder, I've Loved You So Long, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Batman Returns and The Wrestler, and hopefully will get to see a few of the other nominated movies and weigh in with some predictions next month, but I will say that so far, I'm surprised that Kristin Scott Thomas (remember her from Prince's Under The Cherry Moon?) didn't make the list for her strong, yet understated perfomance in I've Loved You So Long. More on that later, but in the meantime, here's a list of some of the main categories:

BEST PICTURE

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

"Frost/Nixon"

"Milk"

"The Reader"

"Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"

Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"

Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"

Meryl Streep, "Doubt"

Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

BEST ACTOR

Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"

Sean Penn, "Milk"

Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, "Doubt"

Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Viola Davis, "Doubt"

Taraji P. Henson,

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin, "Milk"

Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"

Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"

Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"

Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road"

BEST DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"

David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"

Gus Van Sant, "Milk"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"

Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"

Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"

Marttin McDonagh, "In Bruges"

Andrew Stanton,

Jim Reardon, "WALL-E"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAYS

imon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"

David Hare, "The Reader"

Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"

John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"

Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

"The Baader-Meinhof Complex" (Germany)

"The Class" (France)

"Departures" (Japan)

"Revanche" (Austria)"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

"Bolt"

"Kung Fu Panda"

"Wall-E"

BEST ART DIRECTION

"Changeling"

"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"

"Dark Knight"

"The Duchess"

"Revolutionary Road"

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"

"Encounters at the End of the World"

"The Garden"

"Man on Wire"

"Trouble the Water"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Slumdog Millionaire," "Jai Ho," A.R. Rahm

"Slumdog Millionaire," "O Saya," A.R. Rahman & M.I.A.

"Wall-E," "Down To Earth," Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman