The highly-anticipated 81st Annual Academy Award nominations were announced this morning at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. There weren’t a whole lot of surprises in the list, with “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” leading the pack with 13 nominations overall, including acting nods for Brad Pitt and Teraji Henson, while the sleeper hit “Slumdog Millionaire” follows with 10 nominations. Other films heavily recognized included “Doubt,” “Frost/Nixon” and “Milk.”

One pleasant surprise for comic book movie fans: Heath Ledger received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for “The Dark Knight.” The film also received noms for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

In the Best Actress race, grand dame Meryl Streep received yet another nom for “Doubt,” while Anne Hathaway received her first-ever nomination for “Rachel Getting Married.” Somewhat surprising: Kate Winslet was nominated for Best Actress for her role in “The Reader,” but her work in Revolutionary Road was not included. And Brangelina fans will be happy to know that Angelina was also nominated for “Changeling,” so the Jolie-Pitt household probably is doing some celebrating right now. One surprise nomination in the Best Actor category was the fabulous Richard Jenkins, who starred as the deceased dad on “Six Feet Under” for four superb seasons, for his outstanding work in the little seen film, “The Visitor.”

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adam’s, “Doubt,” Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Christina Barcelona,” Viola Davis, “Doubt,” Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler,” Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married,” Angelina Jolie, “Changeling,” Melissa Leo, “Frozen River,” Meryl Streep, “Doubt,” Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk,” Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder,” Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt,” Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight,” Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road”
Best Actor: Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor,” Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler,” Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon,” Sean Penn, “Milk”
Best Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon” Gus Van Sant, “Milk,” Stephen Daldry, “The Reader,” Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River,” Mike Leigh, “Happy Go Lucky,” Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges,” Dustin Lance Black, “Milk,” Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter, “WALL-E”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt,” Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon,” David Hare, “The Reader,” Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Foreign Film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” “The Class,” “Departures,” “Revanche,” “Waltz With Bashir”
Best Animated Feature: “Bolt,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “Wall-E”
Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire”

So, who will win? We’ll find out on Feb. 22 when ABC airs the live broadcast.