The 81st Academy Awards was held on 22nd February (23rd Feb, NZ time) at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. First-time host: Hugh Jackman.

Winners got given this sprightly fellow:
This statue, ©Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®
“OSCAR®,” “OSCARS®,” “ACADEMY AWARD®,” “ACADEMY AWARDS®,” “OSCAR NIGHT®,” “A.M.P.A.S.®” and the “Oscar” design mark are trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
 

 

 
Best motion picture of the year
Directed by Danny Boyle.
Starring Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Rajendranath Zutshi, Freida Pinto, Irfan Khan.
Best actor in a leading role
Sean Penn for Milk
Other nominations: Richard Jenkins for The Visitor, Frank Langella for Frost / Nixon, Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler
Best actress in a leading role
Kate Winslet for The Reader
Other nominations: Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married, Angelina Jolie for Changeling, Melissa Leo for Frozen River, Meryl Streep for Doubt
Best actor in a supporting role
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Other nominations: Josh Brolin for Milk, Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder, Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt, Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road
Best actress in a supporting role
Penelope Cruz
for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Other nominations: Amy Adams for Doubt, Viola Davis for Doubt, Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler
Achievement in directing
Danny Boyle
for Slumdog Millionaire
Other nominations: Stephen Daldry for The Reader, David Fincher for Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ron Howard for Frost / Nixon, Gus Van Sant for Milk
 
Best animated of the year
Directed by Andrew Stanton.
Starring [voices of] Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Ben Burtt, Sigourney Weaver.
Other nominations: Bolt, Kung Fu Panda
Original Screenplay
Milk by Dustin Lance Black
Other nominations: Frozen River by Courtney Hunt, Happy-Go-Lucky by Mike Leigh, In Bruges by Martin McDonagh, WALL-E by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon
Adapted Screenplay
Slumdog Millionaire by Simon Beaufoy
Other nominations: Curious Case of Benjamin Button by Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Frost / Nixon by Peter Morgan, The Reader by David Hare
Achievement in cinematography
Slumdog Millionaire Anthony Dod Mantle
Other nominations: Changeling, Tom Stern; Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Claudio Miranda; The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister; The Reader, Roger Deakins, Chris Menges
Achievement in art direction
Curious Case of Benjamin Button Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
Achievement in costume design
The Duchess Michael O'Connor
Achievement in film editing
Slumdog Millionaire Chris Dickens
Achievement in makeup
Best original score
Slumdog Millionaire A.R. Rahman
Other nominations: Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat; Defiance, James Newton Howard; Milk, Danny Elfman; WALL-E, Thomas Newman
Best original song
Slumdog Millionaire
'Jai Ho' by A.R. Rahman, Sampooran Singh Gulzar
Other nominations: Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman, Maya Arulpragasam; WALL-E, Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman
Achievement in sound mixing
Slumdog Millionaire
Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty
Other nominations: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, WALL-E, Wanted
Achievement in sound editing
The Dark Knight Richard King
Other nominations: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, WALL-E, Wanted
Achievement in visual effects
Curious Case of Benjamin Button Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
Other nominations: The Dark Knight, Iron Man
Best documentary feature
Best foreign film of the year
Other nominations: The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany), The Class (France), Revanche (Austria), Waltz with Bashir (Israel)