Hollywood Reacts To Academy Award Noms

Angelina Jolie, Viola Davis, Josh Brolin, Gus Van Sant And A.R. Rahman Share Their Appreciation

(AP)  Reactions to nominations for the Academy Awards:

Danny Boyle, director ofSlumdog Millionaire: “I'm ecstatic! Thank you to the Academy from the cast and crew here in Mumbai, where the film was made and where it's being premiered tonight. It feels like you've given us a billion nominations.”

Several dozen Mumbai slum residents protested the award-winning film on Thursday, calling the film's title insulting. Despite this, the movie was generating a lot of excitement in India ahead of its official release in the country Friday.




Angelina Jolie, best-actress nominee for Changeling :“Working with Clint Eastwood was a reward in itself that will last me a lifetime. To receive a nomination from the Academy on top of that is a privilege beyond any expectation. It has been an exceptional year for acting, and I am honored to be in the company of these talented actors whose performances all deserve this recognition.”

Eastwood himself was ignored for this movie and for his actor-director turn in the box-office hitGran Torino.

Also, Jolie’s real-life partner, Brad Pitt, won a best-actor nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button



Viola Davis, best-supporting-actress nominee for Doubt: “It's everything that you could possibly imagine it is, and not that I needed the nomination to know I was on the right path, but it certainly helps. It really does.”

Doubt also produced nominations for Meryl Streep (best actress), Amy Adams (best supporting actress) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (best supporting actor).






Josh Brolin, best-supporting-actor nominee for Milk: “I couldn't have imagined anything like this a couple years ago. You just do your work and are happy you're able to make some money. This is very, very special, especially because of the movie. It wasn't that I read this character and said, `I have to do this character.' It was more about the movie.”

Some critics have said Brolin should have won an Oscar last year for his work in the Best Picture winner No Country For Old Men.





Gus Van Sant, best-director nominee for Milk: “I didn't know at first what awards we'd won, and when I finally found out, I thought it was pretty great. To have as many as eight is pretty good.”

"Milk" tells of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone by fellow S.F. Supervisor Dan White.






A.R. Rahman, best original score and original song nominee for Slumdog Millionaire: “I am overjoyed by these nominations and deeply grateful that the Academy has embraced the music of this film. `Slumdog Millionaire' has paid magical dividends for so many people around the globe. I am deeply honored to be a part of a film that has inspired so many.”

Featuring a cast of unknowns, "Slumdog Millionaire" mixes the humorous and the horrific in a love story about an orphan from the streets of Mumbai who becomes a champion on India's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."



Stephen Daldry, best-director nominee for The Reader: “I'm delighted for Kate. I think she did two astonishing performances in `Revolutionary Road' and in `The Reader.' Whichever one the Academy went for, I think it's her year. I think it's her turn. I think that it's wonderful for her, but I do think she's done two astonishing performances.”

Winslet received a best-actress nomination for her role in that film.





Anne Hathaway, best-actress nominee for Rachel Getting Married: “It is such a thrill to be recognized in this category with these remarkably talented women. I was with my parents and my dog when I got the news and we were all overjoyed - although I'm not sure my dog knew what was going on. This is a great day to be an actress!”









Kate Winslet, best-actress nominee for The Reader: “I'm extremely happy to have been nominated. And very fortunate. Playing Hanna Schmitz will always remain one of the biggest challenges I've ever been blessed with. I'm genuinely thrilled not just for myself but for the wonderful Stephen Daldry and David Hare. These nominations are a testament to their unwavering commitment to this film. And I'm also very happy for all the people in Germany whose hard work on `The Reader' has been rewarded by these nominations. Surely Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack are smiling down on us today!”

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."

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



James Marsh, best-documentary feature for Man on Wire: “It's very thrilling and also for me kind of funny. You're a documentary filmmaker, you don't ever expect to find yourself in this kind of world. So there's something almost hilarious about it, like God is laughing at me - or perhaps with me, as well.”

[boatdocster]

Angelina Jolie really does not belong in this group. Her acting has been mediocre over the last few years.

SAG, you are supposed to pick nominee''s based on their skill, not their ability to manipulate the press...