Doubt, Frost/Nixon Receive Multiple Oscar Nods; Five Playwrights Nominated

The movie versions of two Broadway hits, Doubt and Frost/Nixon, drew five nominations each for the 81st Academy Awards, which will be presented on February 22. Doubt nabbed acting nominations for all four major players Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis and Frost/Nixon’s Oscar nods include Best Picture and a Best Actor nomination for Tony winner Frank Langella.

Joining Frost/Nixon in the Best Picture race are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire and a surprise pick, The Reader, directed by Stephen Daldry, currently represented on Broadway by Billy Elliot. Daldry was also nominated for Best Director alongside Danny Boyle Slumdog Millionaire, David Fincher The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ron Howard Frost/Nixon and Gus Van Sant Milk. Benjamin Button received the most nominations, a total of 13.

Daldry has had a charmed career, as far as the Oscars are concerned: As Entertainment Weekly writer Dave Karger noted on the Today show, Daldry has directed a total of three movies—Billy Elliot, The Hours and The Reader—and received a Best Director nomination for all three.

Five playwrights were included among the 10 nominees for best screenplay. Mike Leigh Happy-Go-Lucky and Martin McDonagh In Bruges were nominated for Best Original Screenplay; David Hare The Reader, Peter Morgan Frost/Nixon and John Patrick Shanley Doubt will compete for Best Adapted Screenplay.

In another unexpected twist, Kate Winslet's widely expected Best Actress nomination came for the Holocaust drama The Reader rather than for her acclaimed performance as an unhappy 50s wife in her husband Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road.

Among the acting nominees with a theatrical background are Marisa Tomei Best Supporting Actress for The Wrestler and Michael Shannon Best Supporting Actor for Revolutionary Road. The four acting categories include the following nominees:

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, The 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