Heath Ledger's sister Kate, father Kim and mother Sally Bell

Late actor Heath Ledger was honored with yet another award for his brilliant portrayal of Joker in the latest Batman sequel – The Dark Knight. The actor died 13 months ago due to an accidental overdose of prescribed drugs.  Ledger was only 28 when he died.

After Peter Finch, who won an Oscar for Network in 1976, Ledger is the only actor to win a posthumous best actor in a supporting role Oscar. Although the actor seemed to be a sentimental choice but the wiring portrayal of The Joker in the movie Dark Knight is truly awards winning.

Ledger’s family – father Kim Ledger, mother Sally Bell, and sister Kate – came up on the podium to accept the award on his behalf. The actor’s unexpected death left his colleagues and friends devastated. From Winslet to Jolie all those present in the Kodak Theater were all in tears.

Heath Ledger won the Best Supporting Actor

“This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath’s quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here – his peers – within an industry he so loved. Thank you”, said Ledger’s father, Kim, while accepting the award.

Besides the best supporting actor win, Dark knight was honored with a 2nd Oscar in the Best Sound Editing category. The award was picked by Richard King.

Related: 2009 Oscar Winners

The Cast and Crew of Slumdog Millionaire after 8 Oscar Wins

Slumdog Millionaire, the story of a Mumbai slum dweller who wins one million dollar by talking part in a game show, wins 8 Oscar in the 81st Academy Award.

The first win for Slumdog Millionaire comes with the Best Adapted Screenplay nod.  The other films nominated in this category were The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon and The Reader.

And this was just the beginning for the rags to riches story in the 81st Academy Awards.  Awards kept showering in. Beaufoy in his acceptance speech for the Best Adapted Screenplay award offered thanks to director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson  referring them as “the other two musketeers”.

Slumdog Millionaire Cast

The win continued with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle receiving the 2nd nod for the movie with a win in the Best Cinematography category.

It was not the end for Slumdog Millionaire. Best Sound Mixing and Best Editing both went to the film. The first individual Oscar award for India came with A.R.Rahman who won the Best Original Score  as well as the Best Original Song both for “Jai Ho”. Rahman began with thanking the  entire cast and crew of the film. He said “Mere Pass Maa Hai”, a popular dialogue from Hindi Film, which means I have mother with me. “All my life I have had a choice between hate and love. I chose love, and that is why I am here”, said Rahman as he concluded his speech tonight.

And this truly seemed to be the night for Slumdog Millionaire. The 7th and the 8th feathers were added to the hat with a Best Director win by Danny Boyle and a Best Picture win by Christian Colson. The overwhelmed director said he accepted the award “in the spirit of Tigger” and has fulfilled all the promises he made to his children. Boyle goes on to thank “everyone who helped us make the film and everyone who didn’t”.

Related: 2009 Oscar Winners

It would of greatest honor if the music director of Slumdog Millionaire, A. R. Rahman wins an Oscar on Sunday.  Rahman is ranked among the most tallented and successful film composers in India. With his 3 Oscar nominations, best original score and best original song, for both “Jai Ho” and “O … Saya,”, Rahman is the first Indian bag individual nomination in Oscar. The whole score of the movie was recorded in London.

“It would be a great honor”, exclaimed Mr. Rahman with that dimple from Los Angeles, where he was preparing to perform at the ceremony. “It would help me to do bigger things”.

When asked to name a few Western directors he would like to work with, he simply said, “Baz Luhrmann, Ridley Scott. I’m a big fan of Ridley”.

This 43 year old musician from India has worked in more than 100 films since 1992. He scored for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bollywood themed stage musical “Bombay Dreams” in 2002. Since then the career graph Rahman has seen a steady growth in the West.

“I like to see a film and then start scoring it in my mind, while doing something unrelated. You just grasp a film and start working, and something unpredictable comes out from a third element. The mind, the more active it is, the more productive it is”, added the musician.

Rahman’s tunes have enthralled many globally and specially in India. He creates a fusion melody of Indian and Western Classical music. “ He has a rapper from Tanzania working with him and fulfilled a mutual desire to work with M.I.A., part Sri Lankan, part London, part New York. Add the house-music disco beats sweeping Bollywood dance lately and you have a real moment of fusion”, said Danny Boyle, the director of Slumdog.

Rahman, right after the nominations were announced for the 81st Academy Awards, became a national-hero. Good luck to you Mr. Rahman.

Two more days to go for the 81st Academy Awards and nothing could have been a bigger shock than this. A document that listed the names of all the Oscar Winners were published on the Internet. The spokesperson for the Academy Awards, however, has denied the authenticity of the Online article and has also claimed it to be “fraud”. He has also added that counting of votes, which will decide the Oscar winners are still in the process.

The document that have been published on the net looks authentic and appears to be a scanned paper. It also has an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences letterhead along with a signed stamp of Academy’s president, Sid Ganis. The document states disclaimers like : “This is the final list of winners of the 81st Annual Academy Awards. As always, please treat this information with extreme care”.

The document lists the names of Kate Winslet and Mickey Rourke as best actress for The Reader and best actor for The Wrestler respectively. Heath Ledger is enlisted as the best supporting actor for The Dark Knight and Amy Adams as best supporting actress for Doubt. The best film award goes to Slumdog Millionaire, with its director Danny Boyle being named best director.

The Academy completely disapproves the legitimacy of this document. Oscars spokesperson Leslie Unger said, “The document is a complete fraud”. He also added, “PricewaterhouseCoopers is still counting the ballots and there are only two people there who will know the complete list of winners in advance of the envelopes being opened during the ceremony. The Academy’s president is not advised of the winners in advance and no such list is created”.

Robert Pattinson and Zac Efron

Twilight star Robert Pattinson may not have been nominated in the Academy Awards but he will be onstage as one of the presenters at the 2009 Oscars on 22nd February, the Sunday night. The young and one of the most talked about star has been selected to hand out one of the evening’s trophies.

Along with the “Twilight” actor Robert Pattinson, the 81st Annual Academy Awards will showcase one more heart throb in its presenter’s list. Zac Efron is reported to appear at the Hollywood’s biggest movie event. Efron, who is the real life mate and co-star of Vanessa Hudgens in “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” will be presenting the most prestegious golden statuette to the winner of Best Original Song on the 22nd night.

It has still not be declared whether Efron will give away the award all by himself or be joined by some other presenter. But he certainly shall not be accompanied by the twilight star Pattinson.

The “Hannah Montana” star Miley Cyrus might also be one of the presenters at this year’s Oscars. But the chances for it is very less. She would be attending the Oscar night to support her animated movie “Bolt”, which is up for Best Animated Feature.

The 81st Annual Academy Awards, which will be hosted by Hugh Jackman, will be held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on Sunday, February 22.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has been greeted at the  Academy Awards with 13 Oscar nominations. A film by David Fincher stars  Brad Pitt as the prime character has bagged nominations in important categories like Best Picture, Best Director and Beat Actor. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has also been nominated in the best supporting actress and best adapted screenplay categories.

The story is an adaptation of  F Scott Fitzgerald’s short story. The screenplay writer for the film, Eric Roth, had also written screenplays for films like Forrest Gump. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button  is a strange story of a man who is born with a strange disorder. He has the body of an 80 year old while birth and ages backwards into childhood.

Brad Pitt starts in the movie as  Benjamin Button, co-starred by  Cate Blanchett as Daisy, a dancer with whom he falls in love, and British actress Tilda Swinton as his first lover. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button have earned high praised critical acclamation for its doctored digital effects and makeup. The movie portrays Pitt as an 80 year old man and then slowly follows him to his young age. The make-up and costumes of the film follow intricate details, which has been paid off well with Best Costume, Best Make-Up, Best Art Directing and Best Visual Effects nominations.

Blanchett and Pitt had last appeared together in Babel (2006), a film by Gonzalez Inarritu. Benjamin Button had received 5 nominations in Golden Globe early this month.

Dark Knight

There could be a trend breaking surprise for all the fans when the nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards will be announced on early Thursday morning. The Dark Knight, which was the biggest blockbuster and box office hit of the decade could be the first superhero movie to be nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for an Oscar in the best film category.

The squeal of the Batman movie have received raving critical acclamation  and has been springing up a lot of momentum lately particularly with its nominations for the Producers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America Award, the Writers Guild of America Award and several other crafts honors.

Even if the movie cant make it to the Best Picture category it will certainly bag one in the best supporting actor category. All credit to the late Heath Ledger, who died a year ago of an overdose of prescription pills.

Among the other films that might bag a nomination in the best picture category could be the critics favorite “Slumdog Millionaire”. The film has swept 4 golden globes early this month. “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” will give neck to neck fight in this category.

Foreign Language Films

This year a total number of 67 films were submitted for Oscar nomination in the foreign film category. All the films really showcased an array of robust talents working around the globe. The truth is that the films that are selected in this category hardly show anything that says something good about their native lands. Rather the films focus on dark episodes in their country’s past or stewing social problems of today.

Based on last year’s winning movie, “The Lives of Others”, the countries who have send their films for a nomination have chosen movies such as Brazil’s “Last Stop 174″, which is the agonizing story of children growing up on the streets of Rio, and Italy’s “Gomorrah”, which is a grimy portrait of a collapsing city invaded by organized crime.

Similarly  Uli Edel’s “The Baader Meinhof Complex”, a film from Germany is “the biggest tragedy we had after the Second World War”. Edel has returned to his native country, after working in US for over 2 decades, to tell the story of the Red Army Faction, who were the infamous group of 1960s radicals. They rose from bombing buildings to slaughtering innocents in the name of agitating anti-imperialist revolution.

To make “Waltz With Bashir”, an animated documentary, Ari Folman had to wait for nearly 4 years. The film accounts massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by Lebanese militiamen under the watchful eyes of the Israeli army. “Sabra and Shatila is really a very big turning point in the history of Israel. It’s the first time that Israel went into a war that was not defensive. This was planned war. That was really the breakup of the leadership, and it was never fixed again”, said the director himself.

“The Class” by Laurent Cantet although takes a more contemporary tack but it deals with the harrowing story of the society. Based on the students’ life of an inner-city high school, the movie serves as an example of French society, with racial and cultural tensions encompassing the classroom walls. A playful debate over soccer teams becomes battle about national identity, and a young Chinese student utters aversion for his classmates’ “shameless” behavior.

Movies Lined Up

The annual 81st Oscar-Nominated Make-up Artist and Hairstylist Symposium will be held on 21st February, 2009 to celebrate the Achievement in the field of Makeup. Each make-up artist and hairstylist present special film clips to the Motion Picture Academy, which will be shown during the nomination process. Make-up techniques, artistic process and the respective films will be discussed by the nominees, after which will follow a question and answer session with the press.

A list of seven films have been shortlisted out of which the nominees for the Best Make-up will be chosen. The films are as follows:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Night
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The Reader
Synecdoche, New York
Tropic Thunder
The Wrestler

Nominations for the best make-up category will be announced on January 22nd, 2009.

Jennifer Hudson with her Rolls Royce

This is the time when the hottest trends are born in Hollywood.  From the most desirable jewelries to  must-have shoes and designer wears, the stars just get busy with their pre-Oscar shopping.  Driving down to the big night of Academy Awards is another big trend of the pre-Oscar season. Like  newcomer and “Dreamgirls” star Jennifer Hudson’s favorite is a Rolls-Royce. For many celebrities a customized car is the only way to ride. In fact many of these customized cars are inspired by Oscar nominated movies.

To show  off those legs and pair up with those glitzy evening gowns the stars have already started to shop for glamorous heels from the top designer brands. Everyone from Oscar nominee Kate Winslet to Queen Latifah has only opted for Stuart Weitzman’s shoes. From  peep-toe sandals to Swarovski crystal-crusted shoes his line has nearly every style one can imagine.

The celebrities are also working hard to keep themselves in shape during the Oscar night. New work out regimes have been added to regular routines for many. It has been rumored that  Pinkberry frozen yogurt, a  25-calorie-an-ounce dessert, is the favorite of stars like Kirsten Dunst and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Nicole Kidman in Martin Katz Diamond

Oscar shopping isn’t complete without a few diamonds in your bag. Its the time when the stars go on a shopping spree and pamper themselves with diamond earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings – a material to show off their class and elegance. Jeweler Martin Katz is a hot favorite in hometown Los Angeles for  sparkling gems. Felicity Huffman was seen wearing a Jewelled outfit designed by Katz during the Oscar. Besides Huffman other leading ladies like  Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Salma Hayek, Sarah Jessica Parker and last years Oscar host,  Ellen DeGeneres, have adorned themselves with Katz’s diamonds.

Lisa Kline, a Beverly Hills boutique, is this years must-visit temple of fashion. With the best designs this is a hot spot for all the Hollywood stars. Her latest line of apparels is a jumpsuit. Pairing with  heels or flats and tons of jewelry,  Kline simply claims the stars would look sexy. “It’s a hot look”. The “Oscar Gold” package at Le Spa at Sofitel in Los Angeles have been launched recently for the celebs who want to look  their very best. The package includes the lift and firm facial, a “liquid gold” bath, and a body treatment that would leave the skin satiny soft.