Wall-E wins awards season curtain raiser

Awards season is upon us. And the first gongs have gone to the world of animation.
The Los Angeles Film Critics named Disney Pixar's Wall-E as the best film of 2008, the first time the marquee award has gone to an animated flick in its 33-year history.

British director Danny Boyle was named best director for Slumdog Millionaire, his acclaimed story of a boy growing up in the Mumbai slums. And further British success came for Sally Hawkins, who won best actress for her role as the perrennially chirpy teacher in Happy Go Lucky.
Heath Ledger scooped a posthumous award for his supporting role as The Joker in The Dark Knight, which also came second in the best film and director categories. It marked a change for the LA Critics, who have generally rewarded more highbrow fare.
Sean Penn got the best actor nod for the murdered gay politician Harvey Milk in Milk. Penn was one of eight nominations for Milk from the Critics choice Awards, which were also announced yesterday.
Milk tied for the most nominations with The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, the forthcoming David Finch film in which Grad Pitt is born old and gets steadily younger.

Heath Ledger Takes Posthumous Trophy At Australian Awards

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Late actor Heath Ledger won a posthumous trophy for Best Actor at the Australian Film Institute awards on Saturday.

Heath won for his role as the Joker in "The Dark Knight," a performance that's garnered him considerable Oscar buzz.



His sister Kate and his parents accepted the award on his behalf.

"It has been without a doubt the most difficult year, losing such a loved family member," Kate said, according to Reuters.



Other winners at the ceremony included Cate Blanchett, who won Best Actress for her titular performance in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," and "The Black Balloon," an Australian film starring Toni Collette that swept several major categories.

The Australian actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role in 2005's "Brokeback Mountain," died at the age of 28 of an overdose of prescription drugs in his New York apartment in January.

According to reports, "The Dark Knight" will be briefly re-released theatrically on January 23 - the day after both the announcement of the Oscar nominations and the one-year anniversary of Heath's death.