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The romantic fantasy "The Curious
Case of Benjamin Button" led Academy Awards contenders Thursday
with 13 nominations, among them best picture and acting honors for
Brad Pitt and Taraji P. Henson, and a directing slot for David
Fincher.
      

Other best-picture nominees are "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," "The
Reader" and "Slumdog Millionaire."
      

As expected, Heath Ledger had a supporting-actor nomination for
"The Dark Knight" on the one-year anniversary of his death from
an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. But the Batman
blockbuster was shut out for other top categories such as best
picture and director.
      

"Slumdog Millionaire" lived up to its rags-to-riches theme,
coming in second with 10 nominations, including a directing spot
for Danny Boyle and two of the three song slots.
      

Real-life couple Pitt and Angelina Jolie both will be going to
the Oscars as nominees. Jolie had a best-actress nomination for the
missing-child drama "Changeling."
      

The acting categories were loaded with surprises. Kate Winslet
won two Golden Globes, best dramatic actress for "Revolutionary
Road" and supporting actress for "The Reader." But she was
nominated for lead actress at the Oscars for "The Reader" and
shut out for "Revolutionary Road."
      

Actors considered longshots also sneaked in, among lead-actor
nominee Richard Jenkins for "The Visitor," best-actress contender
Melissa Leo for "Frozen River" and supporting-actor pick Michael
Shannon for "Revolutionary Road."
      

Winslet reunited with "Titanic" co-star Leonardo DiCaprio for
"Revolutionary Road," but he also was shut out for a nomination
on that film.
      

Other best-actress nominees were Anne Hathaway for "Rachel
Getting Married" and Meryl Streep for "Doubt."
      

Joining Pitt and Jenkins in the best-actor category were Frank
Langella, "Frost/Nixon"; Sean Penn, "Milk"; and Mickey Rourke,
"The Wrestler."
      

Other acting snubs included Clint Eastwood for "Gran Torino,"
Sally Hawkins for "Happy-Go-Lucky" and Kristin Scott Thomas for
"I've Loved You So Long."
      

But perhaps the biggest surprise overall was the so-so results
for "The Dark Knight," which had been picking up momentum as one
Hollywood trade guild after another picked it as one of the year's
best films.
      

The largest blockbuster in years, "The Dark Knight" had eight
nominations, but other than Ledger's honor, its scored only in
technical categories such as cinematography, visual effects and
editing.

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The romantic fantasy "The Curious
Case of Benjamin Button" led Academy Awards contenders Thursday
with 13 nominations.

`Benjamin Button' leads Oscars with 13 nominations

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