My FINAL, FINAL 2009 Academy Award Predictions

I suppose that, after the WGA, DGA, and ACG noms have been announced, one would have to be a fool to contend that The Dark Knight isn't going to slip into the top spot, making it film history's first sequel to win a Best Picture nod without its predecessor being nominated. Sorry, Wall-E--no Best Pic nom for you. So here are my revised, and very final, Academy Award predictions:

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (10)
The Dark Knight (10)
Frost/Nixon (4)
Milk (5)
Slumdog Millionaire (7)

BEST ACTOR
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino (2)
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor (1)
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler (3)

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married (2)
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky (4)
Melissa Leo, Frozen River (1)
Meryl Streep, Doubt (4)
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road (3)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder (2)
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, Vicki Cristina Barcelona (2)
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader (2)

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
David Finscher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Gus Van Sant, Milk

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Milk, Dustin Lance Black
Rachel Getting Married, Jenny Lumet
Synecdoche, NY, Charlie Kaufman (3)
Vicki Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen
Wall-E, original story by Pete Docter & Andrew Stanton; screenplay by Jim Reardon & Andrew Stanton (7)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen Story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Doubt, John Patrick Shanley, based on his play
Frost/Nixon, Peter Morgan, based on his play
Revolutionary Road, Justin Haythe, based on the novel by Richard Yates
Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy, based on the book Q&A by Vikas Swarup

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Australia (2)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ART DIRECTION
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2)
Synecdoche, NY

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess (1)
The Fall (1)
Revolutionary Road

BEST SOUND
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Quantum of Solace (1)
Iron Man (3)
Wall-E

BEST EDITING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Down to Earth," Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Wall-E
"The Wrestler," Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler
"Gran Torino," Clint Eastwood, Kyle Eastwood, et al. Gran Torino
"Jai Ho," A.R. Rahman and Gulzar, Slumdog Millionaire
"I Thought I Lost You," Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele, Bolt (1)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Dark Knight
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Iron Man

BEST MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Synecdoche, NY
Tropic Thunder

BEST SOUND EFFECTS EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Wall-E

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Kung Fu Panda (1)
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir (2)

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany) (1)
The Class (France) (1)
Everlasting Moments (Sweden) (1)
Tear This Heart Out (Mexico) (1)
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

BEST DOCUMENTARY—FEATURE
Fuel (1)
The Garden (1)
Man on Wire (1)
Standard Operating Procedure (1)
Trouble the Waters (1)