‘Slumdog,’ Eastwood, Hathaway win awards
“Slumdog Millionaire,” the Danny Boyle movie that was once considered a candidate for straight-to-video release before finding a new distributor, was named best film of 2008 on Thursday morning by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.
The movie, set in the slums of Mumbai, is a stirring story about a young man whose experiences throughout his poverty-stricken life help him compete for millions on a game show.
Clint Eastwood received best actor honors as an elderly bigoted widower who reluctantly befriends his Asian immigrant neighbors in “Gran Torino,” and Anne Hathaway earned best actress for her role as a troubled young woman overcoming her demons in “Rachel Getting Married.” David Fincher was named top director for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a fable based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Supporting honors went to Josh Brolin for “Milk” and Penelope Cruz for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
Kazakhstan’s “Mongol” was NBR’s choice for foreign language film, while “Man on Wire” earned best documentary honors.
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, which is composed of film professionals, educators, historians and students, is the first high-profile group to announce winners in the movie awards season. Next week will see the awards race intensify with the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. and the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. announcing their nominees, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. and the New York Film Critics Circle revealing their 2008 winners.
The NBR is also one of the bellwethers for the Oscars. Last year’s best picture winner, “No Country for Old Men,” went on to win that category at the Academy Awards. And two years ago, several NBR winners earned Oscars, including lead actor Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland,” actress Helen Mirren for “The Queen” and director Martin Scorsese for “The Departed.”
The NBR awards will be presented at the annual gala on Jan. 14 at Cipriani in New York City.
Other winners announced Thursday include:
Animated feature: “Wall-E”
Ensemble cast: “Doubt”
Breakthrough performance by an actor: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Breakthrough performance by an actress: Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Directorial debt: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”
Original screenplay: Nick Schenk, “Gran Torino”
Adapted screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”; Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Spotlight Award: Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
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