The filmmakers accepted the best-picture trophy surrounded by the movie’s adult professional actors and some of the children the British director cast from the slums of Mumbai.

The other top winners at yesterday’s awards ceremony were Briton Kate Winslet, best actress for the Holocaust-theme drama The Reader; Sean Penn, best actor for the title role in Milk; Australian Heath Ledger, supporting actor for The Dark Knight; and Spaniard Penelope Cruz, supporting actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

A story of hope amid squalor in Mumbai, Slumdog Millionaire had 10 nominations for Oscars.

Its eight wins included adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing and both music Oscars, for score and song.

“Just to say to Mumbai, all of you who helped us make the film and all of those of you who didn’t, thank you very much. You dwarf even this guy,” Boyle said, holding up his directing Oscar.

As he took the stage to accept his prize for playing slain gay-rights pioneer Harvey Milk, Penn gleefully told the crowd: “You commie, homo-loving sons of guns.”

He condemned the “signs of hatred” carried by anti-gay protesters who demonstrated near the Oscar site, and California’s recent vote to ban gay marriage.

For his demented Batman villain The Joker, Ledger became only the second actor to win posthumously   13 months after his death from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

His Oscar was accepted by his parents and sister on behalf of his 3-year-old daughter, Matilda.

The other posthumous Oscar winner was Peter Finch, best actor for Network two months after his death in 1977.

Cruz became the first Spanish woman to win an acting Oscar, for her role as a woman in a steamy three-way affair in Woody Allen’s romance.

New Zealand did not figure in the Oscars awards, but it was mentioned.

The ceremony was hosted by Australian actor Hugh Jackman, whose most recent performance was in the movie Australia.

“Because of the recession, everything is being downsized,” he told the audience. “Next year, I’ll be starring in a movie called New Zealand.”

- AP

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“Atonement,” a British period romance revolving around unrequited passion and a devastating lie, picked up seven nominations, as did the legal thriller “Michael Clayton.”

All four films were nominated for best picture, along with the quirky teen pregnancy comedy “Juno.”

The animated hit “Ratatouille” earned five nominations, while “Juno” and the French-language drama “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” scored four each.

The directors of “No Country For Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Juno,” “Michael Clayton” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” were also nominated.

In the lead actor race, “Michael Clayton” star George Clooney will compete against Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood,” Johnny Depp for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah” and Viggo Mortensen for “Eastern Promises.”

Australian actress Cate Blanchett received two nominations, for her lead role in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” and for her supporting role as Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.”

The other lead-actress contenders were British veteran Julie Christie for “Away From Her,” French actress Marion Cotillard for “La Vie en Rose,” Laura Linney for “The Savages” and Canadian actress Ellen Page for “Juno.”

“No Country For Old Men,” a gory meditation on moral decline, and “There Will Be Blood,” a gritty drama about a pioneering California oilman, led the nominations for the 80th annual Academy Awards on Tuesday, organizers said.

Each film collected eight nominations, including a nod for best picture.

“Atonement,” a British period romance revolving around unrequited passion and a devastating lie, picked up seven nominations, as did the legal thriller “Michael Clayton.”

All four films were nominated for best picture, along with the quirky teen pregnancy comedy “Juno.”

The animated hit “Ratatouille” earned five nominations, while “Juno” and the French-language drama “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” scored four each.

The directors of “No Country For Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Juno,” “Michael Clayton” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” were also nominated.

In the lead actor race, “Michael Clayton” star George Clooney will compete against Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood,” Johnny Depp for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah” and Viggo Mortensen for “Eastern Promises.”

Australian actress Cate Blanchett received two nominations, for her lead role in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” and for her supporting role as Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.”

The other lead-actress contenders were British veteran Julie Christie for “Away From Her,” French actress Marion Cotillard for “La Vie en Rose,” Laura Linney for “The Savages” and Canadian actress Ellen Page for “Juno.”

Source: Reuters