Achievement in film editing: “Slumdog Millionaire”, Chris Dickens

Nominees:

“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
“Slumdog Millionaire”, Chris Dickens

My Pick: “Slumdog Millionaire”, Chris Dickens
http://blogs.woodtv.com/2009/02/19/picking-the-oscar-winners/

Achievement in sound mixing: “Slumdog Millionaire”, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

Nominees:

“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
“Slumdog Millionaire”, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“WALL-E”, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
“Wanted”, Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

My Pick: “The Dark Knight”, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick

My Upset Pick: “Slumdog Millionaire”, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
http://blogs.woodtv.com/2009/02/19/picking-the-oscar-winners/

Achievement in sound editing: “The Dark Knight”, Richard King

Nominees:

“The Dark Knight”, Richard King
“Iron Man”, Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire”, Tom Sayers
“WALL-E”, Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
“Wanted”, Wylie Stateman

My Pick: “WALL-E”, Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood

My Possible Upset Pick: “Iron Man”, Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes or “The Dark Knight”, Richard King

Achievement in visual effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron

Nominees:

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

My Pick: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron

Best documentary short subject: “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan

Nominees:

“The Conscience of Nhem En”, Steven Okazaki
“The Final Inch”, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
“Smile Pinki”, Megan Mylan
“The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306”, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

My Pick: none

Best documentary feature: “Man on Wire”, James Marsh and Simon Chinn

Nominees:

“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World”, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
“The Garden”, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
“Man on Wire”, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
“Trouble the Water”, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

My Pick: “Man on Wire”, James Marsh and Simon Chinn

Performance by an actor in a supporting role: Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”

Nominees:

Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

My Pick: Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”

My Upset Pick: none
http://blogs.woodtv.com/2009/02/19/picking-the-oscar-winners/

Oscars Musical Tribute… Hugh Jackman is doing such a great job… good choice to have Beyonce join him in this number.

He may be first time host of the Oscars, but we knew he could do it:http://blogs.woodtv.com/2009/02/19/watching-the-oscars/

Best live action short film: “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Nominees:

“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
“Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
“New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
“The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

My Pick: none

Oscars Comedy Tribute… nice to see references to “Step Brothers” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”… two of my favorite comedies of the year.