En allant chercher son Oscar pour la meilleure réalisation, le Britannique Danny Boyle a simplement déclaré: "Je voulais juste dire à Mumbai et à tous ceux qui nous ont aidés à faire le film et même à tous ceux qui n'y sont pour rien, merci beaucoup".
Le grand perdant aura été "L'Etrange Histoire de Benjamin Button" porté par l'interprétation de Brad Pitt. Alors qu'il était nommé dans 13 catégories, il ne décroche que trois statuettes "techniques" pour les effets visuels, la direction artistique et le maquillage.
Les autres grands vainqueurs de la soirée auront été Kate Winslet, meilleure actrice pour son rôle d'une ancienne gardienne de camp de concentration nazi dans "Le liseur" ("The Reader") et Sean Penn, Oscar du meilleur acteur pour son interprétation dans "Harvey Milk", la biographie du pionnier de la cause homosexuelle.
En allant chercher son trophée, Sean Penn a déclaré avec un petit sourire de connivence en direction des membres de l'Academy: "Vilains petits cocos (communistes) doublés d'homophiles".
"Milk" a également été distingué pour son scénario original.
L'Oscar de la meilleure actrice dans un second rôle féminin a été attribué à Penelope Cruz pour son interprétation d'une actrice tempétueuse dans le film de Woody Allen, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona".
"Est-ce que quelqu'un s'est déjà évanoui ici" a demandé l'actrice espagnole, ajoutant "parce que cela pourrait m'arriver". Elle a ensuite chaleureusement remercié Woody Allen, qui lui a fait confiance pour ce "beau personnage", "un grand rôle pour une femme".
L'Oscar du meilleur acteur dans un second rôle masculin a été attribué à titre posthume à Heath Ledger pour son interprétation du Joker dans "The Dark Knight" ("Le Chevalier Noir"). C'est le second acteur à recevoir un Oscar à titre posthume, après Peter Finch pour son rôle dans "Network" en 1976.
Le robot romantique de "Wall-E" a été distingué pour la meilleure animation longue, tandis qu'en animation courte, l'Oscar a échappé à "Manon sur le Bitume", d'Elisabeth Marre et Olivier Pont.
Jerry Lewis a été récompensé pour son action humanitaire.
And the Oscar goes to :
Best picture
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"The Reader"
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire"
Director
WINNER: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
Gus Van Sant, "Milk"
Actor
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
WINNER: Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Actress
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
WINNER: Kate Winslet, "The Reader"
Supporting actor
Josh Brolin, "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
WINNER: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road"
Supporting actress
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
WINNER: Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"
Animated feature
"Bolt"
"Kung Fu Panda"
WINNER: "WALL-E"
Adapted screenplay
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," screenplay by Eric Roth, screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
"Doubt," written by John Patrick Shanley
"Frost/Nixon," screenplay by Peter Morgan
"The Reader," screenplay by David Hare
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
"Frozen River," written by Courtney Hunt
"Happy-Go-Lucky," written by Mike Leigh
"In Bruges," written by Martin McDonagh
WINNER: "Milk," written by Dustin Lance Black
"WALL-E," screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
Art direction
"Changeling," James J. Murakami; set decoration: Gary Fettis
WINNER: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Donald Graham Burt; set decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
"The Dark Knight," Nathan Crowley; set decoration: Peter Lando
"The Duchess," Michael Carlin; set decoration: Rebecca Alleway
"Revolutionary Road," Kristi Zea; set decoration: Debra Schutt
Cinematography
"Changeling," Tom Stern
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Claudio Miranda
"The Dark Knight," Wally Pfister
"The Reader," Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," Anthony Dod Mantle
Costume design
"Australia," Catherine Martin
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Jacqueline West
WINNER: "The Duchess," Michael O'Connor
"Milk," Danny Glicker
"Revolutionary Road," Albert Wolsky
Documentary feature
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"The Garden"
WINNER: "Man on Wire"
"Trouble the Water"
Documentary short
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
"The Final Inch"
WINNER: "Smile Pinki"
"The Witness -- From the Balcony of Room 306"
Film editing
"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
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens
Foreign language film
"The Baader Meinhof Complex," Germany
"The Class," France
WINNER: "Departures," Japan
"Revanche," Austria
"Waltz with Bashir," Israel
Makeup
WINNER: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Greg Cannom
"The Dark Knight," John Caglione Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
Original score
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Alexandre Desplat
"Defiance," James Newton Howard
"Milk," Danny Elfman
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman
"WALL-E," Thomas Newman
Original song
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E," music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, lyrics by Peter Gabriel
WINNER: "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire," music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire," music and lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
Animated short
WINNER: "La Maison en Petits Cubes"
"Lavatory -- Lovestory"
"Oktapodi"
"Presto"
"This Way Up"
Live-action short
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"
"Manon on the Asphalt"
"New Boy"
"The Pig"
WINNER: "Spielzeugland"
Sound editing
WINNER: "The Dark Knight," Richard King
"Iron Man," Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
"Slumdog Millionaire," Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
"WALL-E," Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
"Wanted," Wylie Stateman
Sound mixing
"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
WINNER: "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
Visual effects
WINNER: "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