'Milk,' 'Nixon' up for best picture Oscar

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- "Milk," "Frost/Nixon" and "The Reader" were nominated for the best picture Oscar in Beverly Hills, Calif., Thursday morning.

Also nominated for the Hollywood film industry's top award were "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Slumdog Millionaire."

Each of the films' directors was also nominated for the best director prize. The nominees in that category are Gus Van Sant for "Milk," Ron Howard for "Frost/Nixon," Stephen Daldry for "The Reader," David Fincher for "Benjamin Button" and Danny Boyle for "Slumdog Millionaire."

Up for best adapted screenplay are the authors of "Benjamin Button," "Doubt," "Frost/Nixon," "The Reader" and "Slumdog Millionaire."

In the running for best original screenplay are the scribes who penned "In Bruges," "Milk," "Happy-Go-Lucky," "Frozen River" and "Wall-E."

The nominees for best animated film are "Bolt," "Kung Fu Panda" and "Wall-E."