"Slumdog Millionaire," left, and "Benjamin Button"

LONDON -- Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" and David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" led all comers with 11 noms each as the contenders for the 2009 Orange British Academy Film Awards were revealed Thursday.

Golden Globe best pic winner "Slumdog" kept its awards momentum going, securing nominations in every major category including best film, director, lead actor (Dev Patel) and supporting actress (Freida Pinto). "Slumdog" also has been picked to compete in the best British film category.

"Button's" noms include best film and director, while leading man Brad Pitt is a double nominee, picking up a lead actor nomination for his title role in the Fincher pic and a supporting actor nom for his turn in the Coen brothers' "Burn After Reading."

"Slumdog" and "Button" will compete for best film with "Frost/Nixon," "Milk" and "The Reader," while Boyle and Fincher will battle it out with Ron Howard ("Frost/Nixon"), Stephen Daldry ("The Reader") and Clint Eastwood ("Changeling") in the director category.

Christopher Nolan's second Batman flick, "The Dark Knight," claimed nine nominations, including a supporting actor nom for Heath Ledger.

"Changeling" is up for eight awards, and "Frost/Nixon" and "The Reader" have six and five nominations, respectively.

The best actor race will see Patel and Pitt face off with Frank Langella for "Frost/Nixon," Sean Penn for "Milk" and Mickey Rourke for "The Wrestler."

Double Golden Globe winner Kate Winslet will once again be competing against herself in the leading actress category. Winslet was nominated in the category for her roles in "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road." She is up against Meryl Streep for "Doubt," Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" and Kristin Scott Thomas for "I've Loved You So Long." This is the second time Winslet has received two best actress BAFTA noms in the same year, having been shortlisted in 2005 for "Finding Neverland" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

Ledger and Pitt are joined in the supporting actor category by Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Doubt") Robert Downey Jr. ("Tropic Thunder") and Brendan Gleeson ("In Bruges").

The best supporting actress will come from among Pinto ("Slumdog"), Amy Adams ("Doubt"), Penelope Cruz ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona"), Tilda Swinton ("Burn After Reading") and Marisa Tomei ("The Wrestler").

BBC film critic and presenter Mark Kermode said the nominations are a good reflection of the rude health of the British film industry. Turning his attention to the inclusion of "Mamma Mia!" in the awards' best British film category, Kermode said: "It was so bad, it was actually brilliant. You really had to see it in the cinema to understand the impact of that film."

Also nominated for outstanding British film alongside "Slumdog" and "Mamma Mia!" are "In Bruges," "Man on Wire" and "Hunger."

Notable omissions from the list include Mike Leigh and his film "Happy-Go-Lucky," which also failed to garner a nomination for star Sally Hawkins, and Terence Davies, who made the critically acclaimed British documentary "Of Time and the City."

The Orange British Academy Film Awards will be presented Feb. 8 at the Royal Opera House in London.

A complete list of BAFTA nominations is on the next page.



The complete list of BAFA nominations follows:

Best film
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" -- Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Cean Chaffin
"Frost/Nixon" -- Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard
"Milk" -- Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen
"The Reader" -- Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti, Redmond Morris
"Slumdog Millionaire" -- Christian Colson

Director
Clint Eastwood, "Changeling"
David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Original screenplay
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "Burn After Reading"
J. Michael Straczynski, "Changeling"
Philippe Claudel, "I've Loved You So Long"
Martin McDonagh, "In Bruges"
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"

Adapted screenplay
Eric Roth, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"
David Hare, "The Reader"
Justin Haythe, "Revolutionary Road"
Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Lead actor
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
Dev Patel, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Lead actress
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Kristin Scott Thomas, "I've Loved You So Long"
Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
Kate Winslet, "The Reader"
Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road"

Supporting actor
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Brendan Gleeson, "In Bruges"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Brad Pitt, "Burn After Reading"

Supporting actress
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Freida Pinto, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Tilda Swinton, "Burn After Reading"
Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"

Music
Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, "The Dark Knight"
Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, "Mamma Mia!"
A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Thomas Newman, "WALL-E"

Outstanding British film
"Hunger" -- Laura Hastings-Smith, Robin Gutch, Steve McQueen, Enda Walsh
"In Bruges" -- Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh
"Mamma Mia!" -- Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman, Phyllida Lloyd, Catherine Johnson
"Man on Wire" -- Simon Chinn, James Marsh
"Slumdog Millionaire" -- Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy

Film not in the English language
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" -- Bernard Eichinger, Uli Edel
"Gomorrah" -- Domenico Procacci, Matteo Garrone
"I've Loved You So Long" -- Yves Marmion, Philippe Claudel
"Persepolis" -- Marc-Antoine Robert, Xavier Rigault, Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Parannaud
"Waltz With Bashir" -- Serge Lalou, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahl Ieli, Ari Folman

Animated film
"Persepolis" -- Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Parannaud
"WALL-E" -- Andrew Stanton
"Waltz With Bashir" -- Ari Folman

The Carl Foreman Award (For special achievement by a British director, writer or producer for their first feature film)
Simon Chinn, producer -- "Man on Wire"
Judy Craymer, producer -- "Mamma Mia!"
Garth Jennings, writer -- "Son of Rambow"
Steve McQueen, director-writer -- "Hunger"
Solon Papadopoulos, Roy Boulter, producers -- "Of Time and the City"

The Orange Rising Star Award (voted for by the public)
Michael Cera
Noel Clarke
Michael Fassbender
Rebecca Hall
Toby Kebbell