Slumdog Millionaire in British charge for Oscars

KATE WINSLET will lead the British charge at next month's Oscars.

The screenwriter David Hare and directors Stephen Daldry, Danny Boyle and Mike Leigh are also among the dozen British nominations in the main categories for the prestigious 81st Academy Awards.

Winslet, 33, will be hoping for victory on 22 February after five previous bids for an Oscar without success.

She has been overlooked for her performance in Revolutionary Road, the drama directed by her husband Sam Mendes. But she has secured a nomination against Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie for playing a former concentration camp guard in The Reader. She will be joined on the red carpet by her director Daldry, and Hare, who adapted the German novel on which the film is based.

A string of nominations were also announced for Slumdog Millionaire, the Boyle film set in India that America has taken to its heart. It tells the story of a teenager from the slums of Mumbai who goes on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

The visually striking movie picks up five nods in the technical categories for the awards.

Boyle will be up against Daldry for best director. Both films also compete for best film in a shortlist which also honours Frost/Nixon.

Shot in America, Frost/Nixon started life as a play at the Donmar Warehouse in London and has been produced by British hit-makers Working Title.

Frank Langella, who starred as President Richard Nixon at the Donmar, gets a best actor listing for reprising the role. His rivals include the hotly tipped Mickey Rourke in his return to cinema in The Wrestler.

Peter Morgan, who wrote Frost/Nixon for the stage and screen, is up for best adapted screenplay against Slumdog writer Simon Beaufoy and Hare.

In the original screenplay category, Martin McDonagh, the playwright, gets a chance of a win for In Bruges, his film debut.

He also directed the comedy thriller. His competition includes Mike Leigh for Happy-Go-Lucky which has stormed America. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the most lauded of American movies with chances of best film, director and actor for Brad Pitt.

Heath Ledger secures a widely expected posthumous nomination for The Dark Knight.

Tessa Ross, controller of Film4 which made Slumdog Millionaire, Happy-Go-Lucky and In Bruges, said: "When the future of public service broadcasting is being debated, it is wonderful to see the films, that would not exist without Film4's support, garner global recognition."

NOMINATIONS

Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire.

Director
Danny Boyle Slumdog Millionaire, Stephen Daldry The Reader, David Fincher Benjamin Button, Ron Howard Frost/Nixon, Gus Van Sant Milk

Actor
Frank Langella Frost/Nixon, Sean Penn Milk, Brad Pitt Benjamin Button, Mickey Rourke The Wrestler, Richard Jenkins The Visitor

Actress
Anne Hathaway Rachel Getting Married, Angelina Jolie Changeling, Meryl Streep Doubt, Kate Winslet The Reader, Melissa Leo Frozen River

Supporting actor
Josh Brolin Milk, Robert Downey Jr Tropic Thunder, Philip Seymour Hoffman Doubt, Heath Ledger The Dark Knight, Michael Shannon Revolutionary Road

Supporting actress
Amy Adams Doubt, Penelope Cruz Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Viola Davis Doubt, Taraji P Henson Benjamin Button, Marisa Tomei The Wrestler

Best adapted screenplay
Simon Beaufoy Slumdog Millionaire, David Hare The Reader, Peter Morgan Frost/Nixon, Eric Roth, Robin Swicord Benjamin Button, John Patrick Shanley Doubt

Best original screenplay
Martin McDonagh In Bruges, Mike Leigh Happy-Go-Lucky, Courtney Hunt Frozen River, Dustin Lance Black Milk, Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Peter Docter Wall-E