Best and Worst of Oscar Night

Benjamin Button, Slumdog lead the pack

(NEWSER) - Exactly a year after his death, Heath Ledger has been nominated for an Academy Award, AP reports. Ledger's Supporting Actor nod was the only nom for The Dark Knight, while The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire rose to the top with 13 and 10 nominations respectively. Other nominees:

• Best Picture: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Director: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon; Gus Van Sant, Milk; Stephen Daldry, The Reader; Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog , Benjamin Button , Milk join Reader and Frost/Nixon in best-picture fight

(NEWSER) - The countdown begins to Hollywood's night of nights, with big guns that "are easier to admire and respect than to love" competing for top honors, writes David Gritten in the Daily Mail. No doubt the tabloids are hoping for a Brangelina sweep of the Best Actor and Best Actress categories. Will underdog fave Slumdog Millionaire nab Best Film? Click the image to view a slideshow of the nominated actors; to view trailers of the best-picture nominees, click "video." More»

'Nazi porn' asks use to 'empathize with mass murderer'

(NEWSER) - Mounting criticism of The Reader as an apologia for the Nazis is seriously undermining Kate Winslet's chances for an Oscar, reports the Telegraph. Critics have blasted the film as "Nazi porn," and the author of a book on Hitler charged in a recent article in Slate that it "asks us to empathize with an unrepentant mass murderer." Winslet plays an illiterate concentration camp guard who later seeks redemption by learning to read. More»

(AP) - Meryl Streep and Sean Penn took lead-acting honors tonight at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, she for Doubt and he for Milk. The prize for overall cast went to the rags-to-riches saga Slumdog Millionaire, while Heath Ledger and Kate Winslet took supporting honors for The Dark Knight and The Reader. 30 Rock swept the TV comedy honors; Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin took the individual acting prizes, and the show won the ensemble cast award. More»

Still-grieving kin celebrate Joker nomination

(NEWSER) - Heath Ledger's three sisters are still struggling with the loss of their brother, but they are grateful for the legacy he left behind, they tell the Sydney Morning Herald. His death a year ago "seems like nearly yesterday, and we are all nursing broken hearts," said sis Kate, speaking on the same beach where Ledger's wake was held. But Ledger's Oscar nomination yesterday is cause for joy rather than sorrow, she added. More»