Chicago Film Critics Association Nominees

BEST PICTURE

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL*E

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle–Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher–The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christopher Nolan–The Dark Knight
Andrew Stanton–WALL*E
Gus Van Sant–Milk

BEST ACTOR
Clint Eastwood–Gran Torino
Richard Jenkins–The Visitor
Frank Langella–Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn–Milk
Mickey Rourke–The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway–Rachel Getting Married
Sally Hawkins–Happy-Go-Lucky
Angelina Jolie–Changeling
Melissa Leo–Frozen River
Meryl Streep–Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr.–Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman–Doubt
Bill Irwin–Rachel Getting Married
Heath Ledger–The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon–Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams–Doubt
Penelope Cruz–Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis–Doubt
Rosemarie Dewitt–Rachel Getting Married
Kate Winslet–The Reader

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
In Bruges–Martin McDonagh
Milk–Dustin Lance Black
Rachel Getting Married–Jenny Lumet
Synecdoche, N.Y. –Charlie Kaufman
WALL*E–Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button–Eric Roth
The Dark Knight–Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Doubt–John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon–Peter Morgan
Slumdog Millionaire–Simon Beaufoy

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
The Band’s Visit
Che
A Christmas Tale
I’ve Loved You For So Long
Let the Right One In

BEST DOCUMENTARY
American Teen
Dear Zachary
IOUSA
Man On Wire
Standard Operating Procedure

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Bolt
Kung-Fu Panda
Tale of Desperaux
WALL*E
Waltz with Bashir

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Australia–Mandy Walker
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button–Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight–Wally Pfister
The Fall–Colin Watkinson
Slumdog Millionaire–Anthony Dod Mantle

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button–Alexandre Desplat
The Dark Knight–Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard
Milk–Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire–A.R. Rahman
WALL*E–Thomas Newman

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Russell Brand–Forgetting Sarah Marshall
David Kross–The Reader
Lina Leandersson–Let the Right One In
Dev Patel–Slumdog Millionaire
Brandon Walters–Australia

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Tomas Alfredson–Let the Right One In
Lance Hammer–Ballast
Courtney Hunt–Frozen River
Martin McDonagh–In Bruges
Steve McQueen–Hunger

Who got a boost?:

• In Bruges. Recognition for Most Promising Film Maker and Original Screenplay is a huge plus. The movie actually seems to be gaining some serious (and well-deserved) steam.
• WALL-E for Best Picture. No Pixar film has been nominated for Best Picture ever. Could this be the one?
  
• Clint Eastwood and Richard Jenkins for Best Actor. Jenkins in particular had been left in the dust. Now he might start to have a shot (though I wouldn't be to crazy about that).
• Angelina Jolie and Melissa Leo for Best Actress. One of these makes me happy (the second). The other makes me want to scream.
• Michael Shannon for Best Supporting Actor. Though Revolutionary Road was shut out everywhere else, his presence is significant. Early buzz has been extremely positive, and he was bound to make a splash at some point (even if it's only a small one).
• Australia and the Fall for Best Cinematography. Not huge boosts by any means, but it's nice to see that they're getting recognized.
  
• Bill Irwin for Best Supporting Actor and Rosemarie DeWitt for Best Supporting Actress. These two Rachel Getting Married stars have slowly been gaining momentum (especially DeWitt). Time will tell if it will be enough to push them into the hearts and minds of Oscar voters.
• Che for Best Foreign Language Film. A complete no-show until now. Will it stay that way?
• The Tale of Desperaux for Best Animated Film. A late in the year release that, along with Waltz with Bashir, could potentially steal WALL-E's statue.

Who got snubbed?:

• Revolutionary Road. Except for Shannon, it was completely shut out. Could it possibly be the "very good, but not good enough" movie of the year?
• The Reader in everything save for Supporting Actress.
• Michael Sheen for Best Actor/Supporting Actor in Frost/Nixon. He seems to be getting strong reviews, but perhaps Langella's buzz has sucked the life out of his buzz.
• The supporting cast of Milk.
• Kristin Scott Thomas for Best Actress. And to think that she was left off in favor of Jolie.....yech...