The Kerala IPL saga – A technician’s take on the the hoopla

All news channels today are running the Tharoor involvement in Kerala’s IPL story in the ‘breaking news’ mode with everyone giving little substance but more air time over what’s actually nothing. In an attempt to see if Dr Shashi Tharoor or his office would in anyway be connected to the IPL team I discovered some startling facts, all based on information available on the internet. At the outset I’d like to state that this writer couldn’t care less about Sunanda Pushkar and her association with Dr Shashi Tharoor. This writer’s objective is just to present some facts about the new Kerala IPL team related to the real estate they own on the internet and in the process show how Dr Tharoor’s office might be linked to the team much closer than what Dr Tharoor would like everyone to believe.

The way Rendezvous sports won the IPL bid and the fact that there was only one Malayali name was in the owner’s list and he had 1% share in the team was a little hard to believe. It was a little baffling that businessmen with absolutely no connection to the state would like to put up an IPL cricket team spending atrocious amounts of money. The parallels between Dr Tharoor’s political debut and Rendezvous debut in IPL is too obvious. A virtually unknown in Kerala politics, Dr Tharoor was given a ticket to the Lok Sabha seat of Thiruvananthapuram. This despite the fact that he wasn’t from Thiruvananthapuram but from Palakkad in Kerala. He won and subsequently went on to become the Minister of State for External Affairs. The way Rendezvous bid and won the IPL franchisee for Kochi was very similar to Dr Tharoor’s Lok Sabha victory.

Every one has a Twitter account these days, it’s such a huge hit in India. So the Kerala IPL team has it’s own Twitter account too. The screenshot below shows their page and their website (the standard.in) which I take it is their official website. I’m not willing to be fooled by the news displayed on “The Kerala Standard” website, it’s a nice way to keep getting in traffic from search engines. While checking who registered the domain for the Kerala IPL team, where it is hosted I hit upon some information which need to be clarified by our Minister for External Affairs. His office is for sure involved in more than just being good friends for a bunch of people who want stand up for the Malayali pride in fielding an IPL team. Here’s the registrant information of this website, the registrant’s name might be familiar to the one’s on Twitter already. Read it along with the registrant information of Dr Tharoor’s official website.

Domain ID:D3883893-AFIN Domain Name:THESTANDARD.IN Created On:17-Nov-2009 13:23:02 UTC Last Updated On:21-Feb-2010 13:14:07 UTC Expiration Date:17-Nov-2011 13:23:02 UTC Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com Inc. (R101-AFIN) Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED Registrant ID:CR29734645 Registrant Name:Jacob Puthenparambil Registrant Organization: Registrant Street1:Puthenparambil Registrant Street2:Pulincunnu PO Registrant Street3: Registrant City:Alleppy Registrant State/Province:Kerala Registrant Postal Code:688504 Registrant Country:IN Registrant Phone:+91.4712703745 Registrant Phone Ext.: Registrant FAX: Registrant FAX Ext.: Registrant Email:  jacob@tharoor.in Name Server:NS1.SLICEHOST.NET Name Server:NS2.SLICEHOST.NET Name Server:NS3.SLICEHOST.NET

Domain ID:D3443246-AFIN Domain Name:THAROOR.IN Created On:26-Mar-2009 07:13:16 UTC Last Updated On:04-Mar-2010 17:44:22 UTC Expiration Date:26-Mar-2011 07:13:16 UTC Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com Inc. (R101-AFIN) Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED Registrant ID:CR7566948 Registrant Name:Shashi Tharoor Registrant Organization:Office of Dr. Shashi Tharoor, MP Registrant Street1:TC 24/2074 3, Panavila Jn., Thycaud PO Registrant Street2: Registrant Street3: Registrant City:Thiruvananthapuram Registrant State/Province:Kerala Registrant Postal Code:695 014 Registrant Country:IN Registrant Phone:+91.4712324555 Registrant Phone Ext.: Registrant FAX:+91.4712324666 Registrant FAX Ext.: Registrant Email:praveen@tharoor.in Name Server:NS1.SLICEHOST.NET Name Server:NS2.SLICEHOST.NET Name Server:NS3.SLICEHOST.NET

Looking at the WHOIS information for thestandard.in and tharoor.in one can safely conclude that Dr Tharoor’s office or one of his staff members has registered the website for the Kerala IPL team. The email ID listed is jacob@tharoor.in which is probably the official email address of Dr Shashi Tharoor’s OSD, Shri Jacob Joseph. This information is available on the contact page on Dr Tharoor’s website. Did the Minister’s office register the domain for the Kerala IPL team? If Yes then why unless they have a stake in it? If No then why is the official email ID of the Minister’s OSD listen on the domain’s contact information?

Jacob Joseph
Officer on Special Duty
Telephone: 23014118
Email: jacob@tharoor.in

Source: http://tharoor.in/contact/

Additionally I also have considerable proof to believe that both these websites are hosted out of the same datacenter in the US, I did a trace of the IP address and see them pointing to the same location owned by RACKSPACE. The underlined lines below shows that both websites though they resolve to different IP addresses are hosted out of the same datacenter and the IP space is owned by RACKSPACE, one person manages the hosting space rented here in all probability. Do the Minister’s office or personal staff host the Kerala IPL team’s website? If Yes then why is the minister denying close association with the IPL team? If No then how come the Minister’s official website and the Kerala IPL website are hosted out of the same facility? Coincidence? A might one I’d say !

tharoor.in (174.143.27.168)

13   355 ms   416 ms   294 ms  RACKSPACE-M.edge2.Dallas3.Level3.net [4.59.36.50]

14   287 ms   285 ms   283 ms  vlan907.core7.dfw1.rackspace.net [98.129.84.181]

15   284 ms   286 ms   289 ms  aggr511a-1-core7.dfw1.rackspace.net [98.129.84.149]

16   285 ms   282 ms   291 ms  174-143-27-168.static.cloud-ips.com [174.143.27.168]

thestandard.in (204.232.202.72)

15   268 ms   267 ms   271 ms  main1.above.net [209.133.126.42]

16   268 ms   277 ms   275 ms  vlan907.core7.dfw1.rackspace.net [98.129.84.181]

17   302 ms   289 ms   281 ms  98.129.84.217

18   272 ms   273 ms   294 ms  204-232-202-72.static.cloud-ips.com [204.232.202.72]

Shri Jacob Joseph who also is associated with mobmag.in and tenders4u.com is an active twitter user and Dr Tharoor even once attributed him to the reason for getting onto Twitter. Why should the Minister deny his close association with the Kerala IPL team and attribute it to just mentoring when his personal staff seem to be closely involved in their presence on the internet? Surely the interests aren’t philanthropic.

The URL posted today by Dr Tharoor’s OSD is in bad taste. Why rake up Mr Lalit Modi’s past when that’s already been part of a court dispute in the BCCI election case? When you knew he was indicted why did you even seek his favour for an IPL team? This particular gentleman has always gone on overdrive on Twitter when Dr Tharoor landed into a controversy, should a Union Minister of India’s personal staff start giving out sound bites? Are the personal staff of the Minister exempt from helping hold the integrity and respect of the high office the Minister holds and get into a slander match with a sporting honcho who thinks he can turn any sport into a money spinner?

I’m sure every information on the WHOIS pages of these domain will be changed overnight, but the fact that they were on them till today is a testimony to the the shallow thought that went into owning these online resources. It’s not a crime to own a stake in a cricket team in a format that’s exciting and gets good ad revenues for broadcasters. Someone should take a long hard look and say “let’s stop insulting the intelligence of our audience and come clean out of this.” It’s not a big deal, but would mean a lot to folks such as this writer who have loved Dr Shashi Tharoor’s books and have seen every interview he has given about a dozen times on the internet and looked up to him as a man who made his country proud all through his career.

Toyota’s goof up in the US

I’m not sure if we can brand Toyota’s protracted inaction and denying the existence of the problem with so many cars in the US as arrogance, they were caught completely unawares and the recent departure of a top executive from the west coast added to the organization’s woes. A chance to regain customer loyalty appears to have gone down the drain for Toyota now.

TATA Motors wasn’t a manufacturer with a spotless reputation for manufacturing passenger cars. When I selected the TATA Indigo amongst many other choices that were available in 2005 I heard tons of criticism from various quarters. TATA were reeling in negative publicity given all the problems with the Indica which customers were so pissed off at. For the money that one had to pay for the Indigo one was getting a far spacious and decent car than what was on offer from other manufacturers for the same price.

The ownership experience wasn’t without problems. The first was a problem with the fuel injection mechanism which was detected in the first year of owning the car. What was promised to be a 3 day work went for over a month, because the defective parts were replaced under warranty and took it’s own time to be dispatched from the factory. I was frustrated, I vented out to the head of works in Coimbatore and there after to the regional head of customer service in Bangalore.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was given an alternative car to use while mine was being repaired. To top it off the costs for the repairs were close to Rs.40,000/- and I didn’t spend a penny out of my pocket, warranty covered them all. I wasn’t charged labour charges for all the delays caused for this repair. I was happy at the service levels provided by the authorized service center, however I still would like them to attend to many small things that need attention when a car goes for service.

The second was an accident after midnight on a highway in April 2008 caused severe damage to left side all the way from the front fender to the rear boot. One look at the car would send shivers down one’s spine, the damage looked menacing. However nothing happened to the three people who were travelling in the car, not even a scratch. That was a sterling testimony to the way the car’s structure was built. To imagine what’d have been the case if this was one of the Maruti’s was shuddering.

If you are evaluating a new car don’t miss checking out the TATA Indigo Manza.

India is on Twitter?

We are living in a chaotic period in the modern India. Telangana, Naxals, Inflation, Kashmir, Terrorism, Liberalization … buzzwords that are heard everyday on TV, in the papers, on the internet and at bus stops in our country. Last year particularly was the coming of age of Twitter in our country. We saw a whole gamut of famous people get onto to Twitter and started using it mostly to promote their own personal agendas.

Shashi Tharoor, by far the most followed and eloquent amongst the newest twitterers from India keeps hitting media headlines for a casual remark he makes to his friend or commenting about aspects of foreign policy. The media which erstwhile played the role in bringing the message from the establishment, film starts and other avenues was finding it hard to cope with the fact that all these people now were directly talking to their target audience. Given this new channel established the media then had to report what was going on in Twitter which most often was a tad stale for the one’s that follow all these celebs on Twitter in the first place.

You have prominent personalities from the electronic media like Rajdeep Sardesai, Vikram Chandra, Sagarika Ghosh, Prabhu Chawla, Barkha Dutt …. on Twitter. You have reporters from these channels on Twitter. You have Vir Sanghvi, N Ram, Pritish Nandy and a whole gamut of professionals from the print media on Twitter. The film industry is there on twitter. All these folks promote their own articles, shows, movies on the medium. The folks from the media sometimes encourage debate, my favorite is Vir Sanghvi who never seems to have a problem calling a spade what it is. Go on, tweet to your hearts content and if you get a reply from one of these celebs do make a big deal about it.

Last week I was standing in a long line at a railway booking counter. The counters open at 8 AM and if you are one of those hapless one’s hoping to get a Tatkal ticket on a weekend train you better get to the booking counter by 8:15 AM or you don’t stand a chance in hell to get a confirmed reservation. Being the 17th person in the line I was slightly worried. As the crowd moved with only 10 more left an officer in Army uniform turned around:

Officer: Tatkal ticket?

Me: Yes sir, Saturday’s train, just 17 tickets remaining.

Officer: Aagay jao, mera tho utna jaldi nahi hai. (Go ahead, mine isn’t as urgent)

Me: Bahut shukriya sirji. (Thank you sir)

Don’t we need more people like this officer to make this world a better place?

The 2010 Ferrari F1 Challenger - Unveiled

The 2010 Ferrari F1 Challenger is ready to be unveiled. Here are some pics.

    

Santander assumes the role of principal sponsor considering the amount of coverage they’ve been given on the car, hope Alonso lives up to the Spanish bank’s expectations. It’s intriguing however for Santander to try to cash in on Lewis’ popularity in the UK, the new building blocks ad being an example.

Vigilante citizens or pseudo-moral hooligans?

Kerala as a society has always projected itself to be progressive, forward looking and intelligent. There is a high level of literacy across the state and this is simply not just based on if a person can write his/her own name, most people can read the daily newspaper. This state also has amongst the largest circulated newspapers in India. There are also the largest number of news channels in Malayalam, I’m just sharing a perception and not basing this on any fact.

Rajmohan Unnithan, one of the new leaders emerging in the Congress, was hounded, heckled and paraded in front of the media and subsequently taken to the police station in Manjeri and for what? Rajmohan was surrounded in the house he was with a friend/colleague/acquaintance of his by members of the PDP (People’s Democratic Party) and DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India). This group of vigilantes took it upon themselves to then hurl abuses at the duo, brand the woman a prostitute, tease them, harass them, rip their clothes (marginally, heck does that make it any less a crime?) and force the Police to book a case against them.

Paul Zachariah, noted social activity, commentator, columnist and write in Malayalam, wrote in the New Indian Express that Rajmohan took a short break as he was passing through Manjeri in Malappuram district. I’m not going to get into the morals of this episode, what outrages me is the fact that sort of vigilantism has been glorified by the media in Kerala and people alike. Manjeri for one is a well known red bastion, a strong hold of the communists and hence the DYFI showing up on Rajmohan’s doorstep is hardly surprising nor is the presence of their new found friend, the PDP.

Why would a shrewd politician like Rajmohan walk into a trap, if that’s version of this episode is true? This politician is a known Left baiter and has spoken acerbically about many such episodes in the past. He’s also played the villain role in a couple of movies. Once close to K Karunakaran he fell out with him after they split and was one of the harshest critic of Karunakaran’s son Muraleedharan who is currently trying his best to return to the Congress(I) after a failed stint trying to setup a third front in Kerala.

At the end of this apparently Rajmohan insisted that a medical test be conducted and no instance of sexual contact between the two could be proved. The media took it upon itself to telecast this sort of harassment ‘live’ as if it were of such national importance. Paul Z makes an interesting observation, he says the society in Kerala as such is starved for sex and hence this craving for sensationalism. Anyone who has been to “God’s own country” can vouch for the fact that except the big cities Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, life’s not easy at all for the women who have to travel by bus or train to their workplace and back.

What has the law enforcement agencies got to do by arresting and booking cases against two adults just because they were under the same roof? (Immoral trafficking!!!! Bullshit) Who gives these vigilantes the power to go about being the law and justice system all rolled into one? What if these two people were sleeping around? Who should be bothered by it? What happened to the progressiveness that marked the leftist ideals of yore?

Happy New Year 2010

Wow, it's been a while since any of us posted here. Live caught up with us and spoilt quite a few ideas. But here we are again ..

:::::::: HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 ::::::::: Hope this year brings to you all the prosperity, happiness and love that you need.

Hopefully I'll be more regular on here this year than the last couple of years. Strike that. I will be more regular. Ciao.

Oscar nominations - 2008

The following is the complete list of nominations announed for the 81st Academy Awards:

Performance by an actor in a leading role

- Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films) 

- Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal) 

- Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features) 

- Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.) 

- Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight) 

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

- Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features) 

- Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) 

- Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax) 

- Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.) 

- Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) 

Performance by an actress in a leading role

- Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics) 

- Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal) 

- Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics) 

- Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax) 

- Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company) 

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

- Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax) 

- Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company) 

- Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax) 

- Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.) 

- Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight) 

Best animated feature film of the year

- “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard 

- “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne 

- “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton 

Achievement in art direction

- “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis 

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo 

- “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando 

- “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway 

- “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt 

Achievement in cinematography

- “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern 

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda 

- “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister 

- “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins 

- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle 

Achievement in costume design

- “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin 

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West 

- “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor 

- “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker 

- “Revolutionary Road”  (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky 

Achievement in directing

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher 

- “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard 

- “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant 

- “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry 

- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle 

Best documentary feature

- “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath 

- “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser 

- “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy 

- “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn 

- “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal 

Best documentary short subject

- “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki 

- “The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant 

- “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan 

- “The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde 

Achievement in film editing

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall 

- “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith 

- “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley 

- “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham 

- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens 

Best foreign language film of the year

- “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany 

- “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France 

- “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan 

- “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria 

- “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel 

Achievement in makeup

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom 

- “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan 

- “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz 

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat 

- “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard 

- “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman 

- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman 

- “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman 

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

- “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel 

- “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar 

- “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam                   

Best motion picture of the year

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers 

- “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers 

- “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers 

- “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined 

- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer 

Best animated short film

- “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato 

- “Lavatory - Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit 

- “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand 

- “Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland 

- “This Way Up”, A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes 

Best live action short film

- “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi 

- “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont 

- “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie 

- “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh 

- “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank 

Achievement in sound editing

- “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King 

- “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes 

- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers 

- “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood 

- “Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman 

Achievement in sound mixing

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten 

- “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick 

- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty 

- “WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt 

- “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt 

Achievement in visual effects

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron 

- “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin 

- “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan 

Adapted screenplay

- “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord 

- “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley 

- “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan 

- “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare 

- “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy 

Original screenplay

- “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt 

- “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh 

- “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh 

- “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black 

- “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter