The nominations for this year’s Academy Awards were announced this morning, and the list may not be one to bring a wide Opie-style grin to the face of Ron Howard. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button led the nominations with thirteen — many of them in predictable categories like SFX and makeup, but also scoring in most of the major categories – and Slumdog Millionaire followed not far behind with ten, then Gus Van Sant’s Milk with eight. Frost/Nixon was nominated in just five categories – Best Picture, Best Actor (Frank Langella), Best Director (Howard), Best Adapted Screenplay (Peter Morgan), and Best Editing. Of the films in the running for Best Picture, it had the fewest nominations alongside The Reader.
This likely means that the film, to gross significantly more than its $25 million budget, will have to be vigorously promoted upon its DVD release if it doesn’t get Best Picture or Best Actor at the ceremony. Indeed, one wonders what sort of bonuses are being planned for the DVD.