The Academy Award ceremony will now take place on 7 March, 2010 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. For many years the ceremony was aired in February. This year’s award ceremony was hosted by Australian actor Hugh Jackman and the event was on February 22nd. The academy made the same compromise in 2006 when the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics coincided with the dates of red carpet to the Oscars.

“Having an extra week is something that’s helpful, especially with late-coming movies,” said Barry Dale Johnson, Oscar consultant for ID PR. Academy “members have more time to see movies,” he said.

The 2010 Oscar Awards nominations will be announced on 22 February, 2010.  This year, Oscar nominations were announced on 22 January.

“In terms of the nominating process, that puts another week in the schedule for members to see movies,” Leslie Unger, an academy spokeswoman, told People, a celebrity and lifestyle magazine.

ABC will broadcast the Oscar ceremony, and the Olympics will be aired by NBC.

Several Oscar strategists think that the change in the Oscar dates can change the DVD release of the Oscar nominated movies since many prefer to release the DVD’s in accord to Oscar dates.

2009 Oscar for Best Motion Picture award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Produced by Christian Colson

The 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Motion Picture is Slumdog Millionaire: Produced by Christian Colson.
1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Producers Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin
2. Frost/Nixon: Produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner
3. Milk: Produced by Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen
4. The Reader: A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nomeiness to be determined
5. Slumdog Millionaire: Produced by Christian Colson

2008 Oscar Best Picture award winner: No Country for Old Men

2009 Oscar for Best Actor award in a leading role winner: Sean Penn for Milk

Sean Penn is the winner of the 2009 Best Actor in a leading role award for Milk.

1. Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
2. Frank Langella , Frost/Nixon
3. Sean Penn, Milk
4. Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

2008 Best Actor award winner: Daniel Day-Lewis

2009 Oscar for Best Actor in a supporting role award winner: Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Actor in a supporting role for his role in the movie The Dark Knight.

Other nominees:

1. Josh Brolin, Milk

2. Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
4. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
5. Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

2008 Best Supporting Actor award winner: Javier Bardem

2009 Oscar for Best Actress in a leading role award winner: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Kate Winslet is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Actress in a leading role.

1. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
2. Angelina Jolie, Changeling
3. Melissa Leo, Frozen River
4. Meryl Streep, Doubt
5. Kate Winslet, The Reader

2008 Best Actress award winner: Marion Cotillard

2009 Oscar for Best Actress in a supporting role award winner: Penelope Cruz

Penelope Cruz is the 2009 Oscar award winner for the Best Actress in a supporting role for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

1. Amy Adams, Doubt
2. Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
3. Viola Davis, Doubt
4. Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

2008 Best Supporting Actress award winner: Tilda Swinton

2009 Oscar for Best Director award winner: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Director.

1. Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
2. Stephen Daldry, The Reader
3. David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
5. Gus Van Sant, Milk

2008 Best Director award winner: Joel and Ethan Coen

2009 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Simon Beaufoy is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Adapted Screenplay for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, screenplay by Eric Roth; story by Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
2. Doubt, written by John Patrick Shanley, previously nominated for Moonstruck (1987)
3. Frost/Nixon, screenplay by Peter Morgan, previously nominated for The Queen (2006)
4. The Reader. screenplay by David Hare
5. Slumdog Millionaire, screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

2008 Best Adapted Screenplay award winner: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

2009 Oscar for Original Screenplay award winner: Milk, Dustin Lance Black

Dustin Lance Black is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Original Screenplay for Milk.

1. Frozen River, Courtney Hunt
2. Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh
3. In Bruges, Martin McDonagh

4. Milk, Dustin Lance Black

5. Wall-E, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon

2008 Best Original Screenplay award winner: Diablo Cody

2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film award winner: Departures, A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan

Departures, A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan, is the winner of the 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

1. The Baader Meinhof Complex, Constantin Film Production, Germany
2. The Class, A Haut et Court Production, France
3. Departures, A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
4. Revanche, A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
5. Waltz with Bashir, A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

2008 Oscar Best Foreign Language Film award winner: The Counterfeiters, Austria

2009 Oscar for Best Animated Film award winner: Wall-E

Wall-E has is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Animated Film.

1. Bolt, Produced by Chris Williams and Byron Howard
2. Kung Fu Panda, Produced by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
3. Wall-E, Produced by Andrew Stanton

2008 Best Animated Film award winner: Ratatouille

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures – Original score award winner: A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire.

The 2009 Oscar award winner for Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures is A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire.

A.R. Rahman is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures (original score), for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat
2. Defiance, James Newton Howard
3. Milk, Danny Elfman
4. Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman
5. Wall-E, Thomas Newman

2008 Best Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures winner: Dario Marianelli, Atonement

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures – Original song

A. R. Rahman is the winner of the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Music written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) for Jai Ho.

1. Down to Earth, Wall-E, Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyrics by Peter Gabriel
2. Jai Ho, Slumdog Millionaire, Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyrics by Gulzar
3. O Saya, Slumdog Millionaire, Music and Lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

2008 Best Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures – original song award winner: Falling Slowly, Once

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Art Direction award winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Art Director: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo

Winner of 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Art Director: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo

1. Changeling, Art Director: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Art Director: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
3. The Dark Knight, Art Director: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
4. The Duchess, Art Director: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
5. Revolutionary Road, Art Director: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

2008 Best Achievement for Art Direction winner: Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Cinematography award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle

Anthony Dod Mantle is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Achievement in Cinematography.

1. Changeling, Tom Stern2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Claudio Miranda
3. The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister4. The Reader, Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
5. Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle

2008 Oscar for Achievement in Cinematography winner: There Will Be Blood

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Costume Design award winner

The 2009 Oscar award for Achievement in Costume Design winner is Michael O’Connor for The Duchess.

1. Australia, Catherine Martin
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Jacqueline West
3. The Duchess, Michael O’Connor
4. Milk, Danny Glicker
5. Revolutionary Road, Albert Wolsky

2008 Best Achievement in Costume Design winner: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

2009 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature award winner: Man on Wire, Produced by James Marsh and Simon Chinn

Man on Wire, Produced by James Marsh and Simon Chinn, is the winner of the 2009 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

1. The Betrayal, Produced by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
2. Encounters at the End of the World, Produced by Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
3. The Garden, Produced by Scott Hamilton Kennedy
4. Man on Wire, Produced by James Marsh and Simon Chinn
5. Trouble the WaterProduced by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

2008 Best Achievement for Best Documentary winner: Taxi To the Dark Side

2009 Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject award winner: Smile Pinki, Produced by Megan Mylan

Smile Pinki, Produced by Megan Mylan is the 2009 winner for Best Documentary Short Subject award.

1. The Conscience of Nhem En, Produced by Steven Okazaki
2. The Final Inch, Produced by Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
3. Smile Pinki, Produced by Megan Mylan
4. The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306, An Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

2008 Best Achievement for Best Documentary Short Subject winner: Free Held

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Film Editing award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

Chris Dickens is the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Film Editing award winner for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
2. The Dark Knight, Lee Smith
3. Frost/Nixon, Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
4. Milk, Elliot Graham
5. Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

2008 Best Achievement  in Film Editing winner:  The Bourne Ultimatum

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Makeup award winner: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Makeup award winner.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Greg Cannom
2. The Dark Knight, John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
3. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

2008 Oscar Achievement  in Makeup award winner: La Vie en Rose

2009 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film award winner: La Maison en Petits Cubes, Kunio Kato

La Maison en Petits Cubes, Kunio Kato is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Animated Short Film.

1. La Maison en Petits Cubes, Kunio Kato
2. Lavatory – Lovestory, Konstantin Bronzit
3. Oktapodi, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
4. Presto, Doug Sweetland
5. This Way Up, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

2008 Oscar Achievement Best Animated Short Film award winner: Peter & The Wolf

2009 Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film award winner: Spielzeugland (Toyland), Jochen Alexander Freydank.

Spielzeugland (Toyland), is 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Live Action Short Film.

1. Auf der Strecke (On the Line), Reto Caffi
2. Manon on the Asphalt, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont3. New Boy, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
4. The Pig, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
5. Spielzeugland (Toyland), Jochen Alexander Freydank

2008 Oscar Achievement Best Live Action Short Film award winner: Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Sound Editing award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Tom Sayers

Tom Sayers has won the 2009 Oscar award for Achievement in Sound Editing for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Dark Knight, Richard King
2. Iron Man, Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
3. Slumdog Millionaire, Tom Sayers
4. Wal-E, Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
5. Wanted, Wylie Stateman

2008 Oscar Achievement in Sound Editing award winner: The Bourne Ultimatum

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Sound Mixing award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty have won the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Sound Mixing award for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
2. The Dark Knight, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
3. Slumdog Millionaire, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
4. Wall-E, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
5. Wanted, Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

2008 Oscar Achievement in Sound Editing award winner: The Bourne Ultimatum

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects award winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron

Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron have won the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects award for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
2. The Dark Knight, Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
3. Iron Man, John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

2008 Oscar Achievement in Visual Effects award winner: The Golden Compass

At least, that is the rumor being bandied about in tinselville. The late Health Ledger, who plays the Joker in the latest Batman movie The Dark Knight, has received rave reviews for his performance. The Australian premiere of The Dark Knight has prompted critics to say that Heath Ledger was “manically mesmerizing” and took the shine out of the rest of the cast.

The Daily Telegraph’s film editor Vicky Roach was quoted as saying the interest in Heath Ledger’s last movie was morbid but his triumph in creating one of the most memorable villains in history must be applauded.

It is this electric last performance that is fueling rumors that Heath Ledger may win the Oscar for Best Oscar, posthumously. While some say that the fact that Ledger has given such a great performance as the dark Joker in The Dark Knight is enough, and does not need an Oscar for endorsement, others feel that the Oscar nomination would be a just one, and not ride on sympathy.

So far, the only posthumous Oscar Best Actor winner is Peter Finch for his role in Network. Other posthumous Oscar award winners include Sidney Howard for the Gone with the Wind screenplay (the first posthumous Oscar,) Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson in 1984 for the Bridge on the River Kwai screenplay, and cinematographer Conrad Hall for Road to Perdition.

As far as the Best Actor nominations go, James Dean was nominated twice posthumously for East of Eden and Giant. Spencer Tracy was nominated posthumously for his role in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Massimo Troisi was also nominated posthumously for his role in Il Postino. So were Ralph Richardson and Jeanne Eagels.

None of them won.

History does not bode well for Heath. Besides, do villains really have a chance at the Oscars? Most of the Oscars go to inspiring, sensitive roles. True, there have been villains who have won, notably Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter for Silence of The Lambs, Charlize Theron for Monster, Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland among a handful of others. Most of these performances have plumbed the different shades of darkness. Going by the acclaim that Heath Ledger has won so far for The Dark Knight, it does look like his performance is up there with the others.

Heath Ledger had been nominated many times but did not win any awards, except for the Robert Altman award for I’m Not There and the MTV best kiss award, the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle for Brokeback Mountain. In 2006, Ledger was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe award for his role in Brokeback Mountain.

Previously, Heath Ledger had been nominated for Australian Film Institute awards for Best Lead Actor, Two Hands (1999), Ned Kelly (200) and Candy (2006).

Heath was born to a French teacher, Sally Ledger Bell, and Kim Ledger, a race car driver, in Perth, Australia. Heath first appeared in the Australian movie, Blackrock (1997), followed by Ten Things I Hate About You and Two Hands, in 1999. Ledger then acted in The Patriot, Monster’s Ball, A Knight’s Tale, The Four Feathers, Ned Kelly, The Order, and The Brothers Grimm. Ledger’s final performance (incomplete) was for Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Ledger also wanted to be a director and was working on producer Allan Scott’s adaptation of the 1983 Walter Tevis novel The Queen’s Gambit.

The extremely promising Heath Ledger died in his Manhattan apartment in January 2008, of an accidental prescription drug overdose. He was just 28 years old. Heath’s toxicology report said that the medications found in the toxicological analysis were commonly prescribed for insomnia, anxiety, depression, pain, and cold. In November 2007, Heath had said in an interview that he had trouble sleeping largely due to exhaustion from work. Heath’s costar Christopher Plummer confirmed this and also said that Heath was suffering from a cold or a respiratory illness that seemed to be chronic.