2009 OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMS LIST: "And the Oscar goes to...!"

Best Picture
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
'Frost/Nixon'
'Milk'
'The Reader'
'Slumdog Millionaire'
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 Actor
Richard Jenkins 'The Visitor'
Frank Langella 'Frost/Nixon'
Sean Penn 'Milk'
Brad Pitt 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Mickey Rourke 'The Wrestler'
Best Actress
Anne Hathaway 'Rachel Getting Married'
Angelina Jolie 'Changeling'
Melissa Leo 'Frozen River'
Meryl Streep 'Doubt'
Kate Winslet 'The Reader'
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 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 Animated Feature Film
'Bolt'
'Kung Fu Panda'
'Wall-E'
Best Foreign Film
'The Baader Meinhof Complex'
Germany
'The Class'
France
'Departures'
Japan
'Revanche'
Austria
'Waltz With Bashir'
Israel
Best Original Screenplay
'Milk'
Dustin Lance Black
'Frozen River'
Courtney Hunt
'Happy Go Lucky'
Mike Leigh
'In Bruges'
Martin McDonagh
'Wall-E'
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter
Best Adapted Screenplay
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
'Doubt'
John Patrick Shanley
'Frost/ Nixon'
Peter Morgan
'The Reader'
David Hare
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Simon Beaufoy
Best Documentary Feature
'The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)'
'Encounters at the End of the World'
'The Garden'
'Man on Wire'
'Trouble the Water'
Best Original Score
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
'Defiance'
'Milk'
'Slumdog Millionaire'
'WALL-E'
Best Original Song
'Down to Earth''WALL-E'
'Jai Ho''Slumdog Millionaire'
'O Saya''Slumdog Millionaire'
Best Film Editing
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
'The Dark Knight'
Lee Smith
'Frost/Nixon'
Mike Hill, Dan Hanley
'Milk'
Elliot Graham
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Chris Dickens
Best Documentary - Short Subject
'The Conscience of Nhem En'
'The Final Inch'
'Smile Pinki'
'The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306'
Best Cinematography
'Changeling'
Tom Stern
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Claudio Miranda
'The Dark Knight'
Wally Pfister
'The Reader'
Chris Menges, Roger Deakins
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Anthony Dod Mantle
Best Costume Design
'Australia'
Catherine Martin
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Jacqueline West
'The Duchess'
Michael O'Connor
'Milk'
Danny Glicker
'Revolutionary Road'
Albert Wolsky
Best Sound Mixing
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten
'The Dark Knight'
Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty
'WALL-E'
Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt
'Wanted'
Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt
Best Sound Editing
'The Dark Knight'
Richard King
'Iron Man'
Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Tom Sayers
'WALL-E'
Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood
'Wanted'
Wylie Stateman
Best Live Action Short Film
'Auf der Strecke (On the Line)'
'Manon on the Asphalt'
'New Boy'
'The Pig'
'Spielzeugland (Toyland)'
Best Animated Short Film
'La Maison de Petits Cubes'
'Lavatory - Lovestory'
'Oktapodi'
'Presto'
'This Way Up'
Best Makeup
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Greg Cannom
'The Dark Knight'
John Caglione, Jr., Conor O'Sullivan
'Hellboy II: The Golden Army'
Mike Elizalde, Thom Flout
Best Art Direction
'Changeling'
James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
'The Dark Knight'
Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando
'The Duchess'
Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway
'Revolutionary Road'
Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt
Best Visual Effects
'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'
Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron
'The Dark Knight'
Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber, Paul Franklin
'Iron Man'
John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick, Shane Mahan

Duality

©

Caught between the worlds
never really knowing
what is on either side

treading, lightly balancing
loving into the night
and having it shattered
by the cruel light of day

Some dreams are softly spoken
Others, nightmares running rampant
constant struggles
one with the other

and which is real?

never really knowing

what goes on inside of either world

The night's calming sighs
caress the soul as it aches
igniting the heart with faith
The day is full with reality

While balancing the two
seems almost impossible to do

I dream the nights away

and they overflow into days

The day is beautiful
as the Spring draws nearer
displaying life more evident
as the flowers begin to bloom

It touches my heart in a way
that causes me to believe
in the beauty of the world

filling me with ample gratitude

full with the gift

I cannot ignore

and yet
The night brings passion
causing me to hunger

And I am caught in between
never really knowing
what goes on in either world

Who was once a love
may not seem to be
as the light of day shines

and yet
Who was not known as love
may appear within the day's light
from a common place
the night before

Duality of nature
comes knocking at my door

and will continue to knock

until I answer

However vague it seems
Faith does get me through
what passion motivates me to do

And oh, I am

so very grateful

Jennifer Hudson-2009 Grammy Awards

Jennifer Hudson sang an unforgettable performance tonight at the February 8, 2009, 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Her presence at this event was bittersweet, as was her gift of the National Anthem at the 2009 Superbowl. She delivered a spectacular rendition of the Star Spangled Banner through her sadness of dealing with the loss of her family.

A tearful Jennifer Hudson won her first Grammy, thanking her family "in heaven and those who are with me today" to kick off an evening already stoked with drama when police said they were investigating double nominee Chris Brown for an alleged assault on an unidentified woman.

Brown and long-time girlfriend Rihanna, each nominated and slated to perform, separately dropped out of the Grammys at the last minute and their whereabouts were not immediately known Sunday night. The victim of Brown's alleged assault wasn't identified, and it wasn't immediately clear whether Rihanna's absence was related to Brown's.

Hudson, 27, made no direct reference to the killings of her mother, brother and nephew that kept her in seclusion until just this month. But while fighting back tears, she made it clear that her family was foremost on her mind.

"I first would like to thank God who has brought me through," said Hudson, also an Oscar winner, as she accepted her award Whitney Houston. "I would like to thank my family in heaven and those who are with me today."

Hudson later performed "You Pulled Me Through," a typically strong vocal performance that ended in tears. While Hudson's emotion was front and center, her performance was moving and unforgettable.

~Dana

AP