2008 Phillip Award Nominees

Best Picture

Baghead – Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass - Baghead
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Cean Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall
The Dark Knight – Christopher Nolan , Charles Roven and Emma Thomas
Milk – Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks
The Wrestler – Darren Aronofsky and Scott Franklin

Best Director

Gus Van Sant – Milk
Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Darren Aronofsky – The Wrestler

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
Sean Penn – Milk
Benicio Del Toro – Che
Steve Zissis – Baghead
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Kate Winslet – The Reader
Sally Hawkins – Happy Go Lucky
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Meryl Streep – Doubt
Kate Beckinsale – Snow Angels

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder
Brad Pitt – Burn After Reading
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Anil Kapoor – Slumdog Millionaire
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frances McDormand – Burn After Reading
Viola Davis - Doubt
Amy Adams – Doubt

Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Robert D. Siegel – The Wrestler
Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass – Baghead
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Ben Stiller and Justin Throux – Tropic Thunder
Mike Leigh – Happy Go Lucky

Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay

Peter Morgan – Frost/Nixon
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Peter Buchman and Ernesto Che Guevara – Che
Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, and David S. Goyer – The Dark Knight

Best Cinematography

Maryse Alberti – The Wrestler
Roger Deakins – Doubt
Claudio Miranda – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Colin Watkinson – The Fall
Wally Pfister – The Dark Knight

Best Editing

Elliot Graham – Milk
Greg Hayden – Tropic Thunder
Lee Smith – The Dark Knight
Andrew Wiseblum – The Wrestler
Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

Jeff Mann – Tropic Thunder
Kristi Zea and Debra Schutt – Revolutionary Road
Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Michelle Day – Slumdog Millionaire
Nathan Crowley and Peter Lando – The Dark Knight

Best Costume Design

Jacqueline Durran – Happy Go Lucky
Lindy Hemming – The Dark Knight
Jacqueline West – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Albert Wolsky – Revolutionary Raod
Marlene Stewart – Tropic Thunder

Best Sound Mixing

Mark Weingarten – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Antonio Betancourt – Che
Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg and Gary Rizzo – The Dark Knight
Peter Hliddal – Defiance
Steve Cantamessa and Jason Oliver – Tropic Thunder

Best Sound Editing

Ren Klyce – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Gabriel Gutierez - Che
Richard King – The Dark Knight
Lon Bender – Defiance
Craig Henighan – Tropic Thunder

Best Makeup

Heather Plott – Tropic Thunder
Jean Ann Black – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Caglione Jr. – The Dark Knight

Best Music, Original Score

Alexandre Desplat – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Danny Elfman - Milk
John Williams – Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
James Newton Howard - Defiance
James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer – The Dark Knight

Best Music, Original Song
Bruce Springsteen – The Wrestler

Nomination Tally(Best Pictures in Bold)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – 13
The Dark Knight – 12
Tropic Thunder – 8
The Wrestler – 7
Milk – 6
Doubt – 5
Che – 4
Baghead – 3
Happy Go Lucky – 3
Defiance – 3
Frost/Nixon – 2
Burn After Reading – 2
Slumdog Millionaire – 2
Revolutionary Road – 2
The Reader – 1
Frozen River – 1
Snow Angels – 1
The Fall – 1
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - 1

Drew's Thoughts:
I think the Phils turned out to be a little bit too much like Joes for my taste.
I'm happy to see he shared by sentiments for Benicio but not so happy to see shares Joe's sentiments for Steve Zissis. Very happy to see Brad and Frances and the cast of Doubt represented. One big WTF is where is Bob Downey????? How did Tom Cruise get nominated over him? Glad Button got a score nom, Brad got recognized by someone else for his fantastic work in that film. Though I don't really understand why Ron Howard got a Best Director nom when Frost/Nixon's directorial quality was on par with a TV movie, I respect Phil for blazing his own trail and nominating him. However, nominating Snow Angels ONLY for Kate Beckinsale is just nonsensical.