SEAN PENN - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE IS CRITICS' CHOICE

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE IS CRITICS' CHOICE

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire , which has been piling up more pre-Oscar awards than any other film, added another on Thursday from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. At its Critics Choice awards ceremony in Santa Monica, CA, the group awarded five trophies to the movie's filmmakers, including best picture. Boyle received the award for best director, Simon Beaufoy for writer, Dev Patel for young actor/actress, and A.R. Rahman for composer. Sean Penn was named best actor for his performance in Milk . (The entire cast of Milk , including Penn, was also awarded the top ensemble trophy.) The leading actress category wound up a tie -- with the BFCA recognizing Anne Hathaway for her role in Rachel Getting Married and Meryl Streep, for hers in Doubt. Heath Ledger won a posthumous award in the supporting actor category for The Dark Knight, while Kate Winslet won the supporting actress award for The Reader. Slumdog Millionaire 's Boyle was also among the directors nominated for top honors by the Directors Guild of America Thursday. Others included Christopher Nolan ( The Dark Knight ), David Fincher ( The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ) and Ron Howard ( Frost/Nixon ).

09/01/2009