a project of Fincher 's for years . Gallery : The major Oscar nominees '' However , despite eight Oscar nominations , `` The Dark Knight '' -- 2008 's box-office king -- only picked up one in a major category , that for Heath Ledger 's performance as the villainous Joker . The late actor , who died exactly one year ago Thursday , is nominated for best supporting actor , the same award he won posthumously at the Golden Globes almost two weeks ago . Commentary : CNN.com film critic Tom Charity rates the Oscar nominations `` The Dark Knight '' had made the short lists for the producers ' , directors ' and writers ' guilds , but those honors were n't enough to qualify it for a best picture Oscar nomination . What do you think of the nominations ? Send us an iReport `` Slumdog Millionaire , '' the sleeper hit about a Mumbai orphan who seeks fame and love through the Indian version of `` Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ? '' , earned 10 nominations , including best picture , best director -LRB- Danny Boyle -RRB- and best adapted screenplay . The
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` Benjamin Button '' received more life , but Batman ended up in the dark . `` The Curious Case of Benjamin Button '' scored a best actor nomination for Brad Pitt , here with Cate Blanchett . The nominations for the 81st annual Academy Awards were announced Thursday morning , and to nobody 's surprise , `` The Curious Case of Benjamin Button '' did well , nabbing 13 nods to lead all films . The movie , about a man who ages in reverse , is a big film -LRB- almost three hours long -RRB- with big themes -LRB- death and love -RRB- and earned nominations for best picture , best director -LRB- David Fincher -RRB- , best actor -LRB- Brad Pitt -RRB- , best supporting actress -LRB- Taraji P. Henson -RRB- and best adapted screenplay along with eight nominations in other categories . `` This is a great honor for the movie , and I 'm especially happy for David Fincher , for without him there would be no Ben Button , '' said Pitt in a statement . The film , based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story , has been