Ledger Lands Oscar Nom, Dark Knight Shut Out Otherwise

Maybe...next year?

The Oscar nominees for the major categories were named this morning from the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater, and despite being something of an odds-on favorite among comic book fans, The Dark Knight did not land a nomination for Best Picture, nor did Director Christopher Nolan see a nomination for Best Director, although Heath Ledger did receive a nomination for Best Supporting actor. The film also missed out on Best Adapted Screenplay.

That said, The Dark Knight does have eight Oscar nominations in other, more techincal categories - Achievement in Art Direction, Achievement in Film Editing, Achievement in Make Up, Achievement in Sound Editing, Achievement In Sound Mixing and Achievement in Visual Effects. The Dark Knight is due to be re-released in theaters and IMAX on January 23rd.

Elsewhere in the nominations...

As many observers have pointed out, animated features rarely, if ever see a Best Picture nomination, and this year was no different, although Waltz With Bashir was nominated as Best Foreign Film. The Best Animated Feature nominees were: Bolt, Kung Fu Panda and Wall*E. Wall*E also was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

In terms of genre films and news, Benjamin Button (hey, it is a science fiction story...) saw 13 nominations, and possible/probable Crimson Dynamo in Iron Man 2 Mickey Rourke received a Best Actor nomination for his work in The Wrestler, and Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jr. received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor nomination for Tropic Thunder.

The Oscars will be presented February 22nd rom the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The ceremony will be televised on ABC and hosted by Hugh Jackman.