THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE DARK KNIGHT and IRON MAN were nominated for the Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects.

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards were announced today (Thursday, January 22) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker.

BOLT, KUNG FU PANDA and WALL-E are the nominees for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

WALL-E also got nods for Original score, Original song ("Down to Earth"), Sound editing, Sound mixing and Original Screenplay. WALTZ WITH BASHIR got a Best Foreign Language nod.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, FROST/NIXON, MILK, THE READER and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE got Best Picture nominations.

THE DARK KNIGHT was missing from the Best Picture category, but was also nominated in Best Supporting Acting for Heath Ledger, Art Direction, Cinematography, Film Editing, Makeup, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins in THE VISITOR (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in FROST/NIXON (Universal)
Sean Penn in MILK (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in THE WRESTLER (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin in MILK (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in TROPIC THUNDER (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in DOUBT (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in THE DARK KNIGHT (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in CHANGELING (Universal)
Melissa Leo in FROZEN RIVER (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in DOUBT (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in THE READER (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in DOUBT (Miramax)
Penelope Cruz in VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in DOUBT (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in THE WRESTLER (Fox Searchlight)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
BOLT (Walt Disney) Chris Williams and Byron Howard
KUNG FU PANDA (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
WALL-E (Walt Disney) Andrew Stanton

Achievement in Art Direction
CHANGELING (Universal) Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
THE DARK KNIGHT (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
THE DUCHESS (Paramount Vantage, Pathe and BBC Films) Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in Cinematography
CHANGELING (Universal) Tom Stern
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Claudio Miranda
THE DARK KNIGHT (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister