Slumdog no longer the underdog according to NBR

The National Board of Review announced some good news for fans of Danny Boyle‘s Slumdog Millionaire and great news for fans of David Fincher. Slumdog Millionnaire is officially tapped as a lead contender for an Oscar bid and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won’t go unnoticed as some people have speculated. 

The main surprise here is the two wins that go to Gran Torino with Eastwood beating out the likes of Rourke, Penn and Seymour Hoffman for Best Actor. Another questionable win might be that of the Foreign language film of the year being awarded to Mongol and not the three or four excellent films to come out of this year’s Cannes.

The three names/wins that I’m most pleased about are the Spotlight Award winners in Melissa Leo and Richard Jenkins who should both receive some mid-career boosts from kudos like these and Viola Davis’ short visit in the school-run-by-nuns drama Doubt will wage a war with Cruz for many Best Suppoorting Actress lists. Here are the complete list of winners below (the awards will be given out on the 14th of January at Gotham’s Cipriani 42nd Street).

Film: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Actor: Clint Eastwood, “Gran Torino”
Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Foreign Language Film: “Mongol”
Documentary: “Man On Wire”
Animated Feature: “Wall-E”
Ensemble Cast: “Doubt”
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Directorial Debut: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”
Original Screenplay: Nick Schenk, “Gran Torino”
Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Spotlight Award: Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression: “Trumbo”

TOP TEN FILMS
• “Burn After Reading”
• “Changeling”
• “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”
• “The Dark Knight”
• “Defiance”
• “Frost/Nixon”
• “Gran Torino”
• “Milk”
• “Wall-E”
• “The Wrestler”