Best picture 'Slumdog' wins 8 Oscars

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- "Slumdog Millionaire," praised by its champions as a story of hope over despair, won eight Oscars including one for best picture Sunday night in Los Angeles.

The story of a young man who, against all odds, wins on a TV game show as a way to win love, "Slumdog Millionaire" won Oscars for director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, as well as best score for A.R. Rahman and original song, "Jai Ho."

It also won for cinematography, film editing and sound mixing.

Boyle literally bounced on stage to collect his directing statuette, explaining that he once promised his children that if he ever won an Oscar he would accept it in the spirit of Tigger from "Winnie the Pooh."

"You have been so generous to us this evening," Boyle told the crowd. "And I just wanted to thank you for that."

Also nominated for best picture were "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "Milk" and "The Reader."

"Button" won Oscars for art direction, makeup design and visual effects.

"Wall-E" was named best animated feature and the Japanese film "Departures" won the Oscar for best-foreign language movie.

Kate Winslet won her first Oscar, a best actress award for "The Reader," and Sean Penn won his second Academy Award, a best actor prize for "Milk."

The late Heath Ledger was honored posthumously with a supporting actor Oscar for "The Dark Knight" and Penelope Cruz won the supporting actress trophy for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

Longtime funnyman Jerry Lewis -- a box-office favorite in the 1950s and '60s who has raised a reported $2 billion for muscular dystrophy research through the annual telethon that bears his name -- received the film academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

The 81st Academy Awards were presented Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, in ceremonies televised live on ABC with actor Hugh Jackman as host.