Slumdog Millionaire’ to ‘Milk’: HollywoodChicago.com Picks the 2009 Oscar Winners

CHICAGO – Content director Brian Tallerico and staff writers Dustin Levell and Patrick McDonald have merged their movie-loving minds and come up with the ultimate Oscar preview. Win your office pool, impress your friends and propose a toast to the nominees that should have been when the 81st-annual Academy Awards are broadcast on Feb. 22, 2009 at 7 p.m.

Fox Searchlight; 10 nominations; $89 million gross; winner of BAFTA, Boston Critics, National Board of Review, Producers Guild Award, SAG Ensemble Award, and Golden Globe

Nearly everyone on Earth is predicting a locked-in win for Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” and HollywoodChicago.com is no different. It would be an absolute, jaw-dropping shock to hear “Frost/Nixon” or “The Reader” announced on Oscar night and “Milk” doesn’t have the support needed to get the big win. That leaves the nomination leader “Button” - and the little movie that could. It’s a Slumdog World, and we only live here.

best actor..


best picture....


As for the already-notorious snubs of “Wall-E” and “The Dark Knight,” Dustin says, “Twenty years from now, though people will be still be talking about Dark Knight and WALL-E as the great cinematic achievements of 2008 and how they raised the bar for their respective genres.” With no explanation, Patrick throws an interesting film into the ring for what should have been nominated - Neil LaBute’s “Lakeview Terrace”. We love Mr. McDonald and the limb he’s out on with that one.

Slumdog Millionaire’ to ‘Milk’: HollywoodChicago.com Picks the 2009 Oscar Winners