A bit of Oscar buzz

There's a lot of buzz surrounding the 81st Academy Awards ceremony, broadcast on CTV at 8 p.m. this evening.

Peter Gabriel declined the academy's invitation to participate in a live performance that would see the three songs nominated in the best original song category mashed into one short medley.

His song, Down To Earth from the full-length animated feature WALL-E, would have been shortened to 65 seconds.

"It's a bit unfortunate because the songwriters, even though they're a small part of the whole filmmaking process, we still work bloody hard and deserve a place in the ceremony as well," said Gabriel in a video posted on his website.

This year marks only the third time since 1988 that less than five songs have made the final cut.

And many see the omission of Bruce Springsteen's title track from The Wrestler as a disgraceful blunder on the Academy's part.

However, The Boss can take comfort as he finds himself in esteemed company tonight.

Over the years, numerous eligible songs that are now considered classics have been completely overlooked on Oscar night.

These include The Beatles' You've Got To Hide Your Love Away written for the film Help!, Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock and Love Me Tender, The Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive, and At Last from the Glen Miller Orchestra.

Possibly the most grievous exclusion is Bob Dylan's definitive Knockin' on Heaven's Door written for the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

Without a doubt, all eyes will be focused on the best supporting actor category tonight, as viewers anticipate Heath Ledger's posthumous win for his portrayal as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

But history has taught us that just because something or someone deserves to win, doesn't make it so.

Especially when it comes to the Academy Awards.

Take, for example, 1994, when Forrest Gump won best picture over Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption.

Or 1972, when the best director Oscar went to Bob Fosse for Cabaret rather than The Godfather Director Francis Ford Coppola.

In 1941, Citizen Kane, a film widely regarded as the most influential ever made, was awarded only one Oscar - for best original screenplay - even though it was also nominated for best picture, best director, best actor, and best black-and-white cinematography.

Citizen Kane lost to How Green Was My Valley for both best picture and best director.

SooToday.com will post the winners of the 81st Academy Awards live as they are announced starting at 8 p.m.

The following as the complete list of this year's nominees.

BEST PICTURE
 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 Frost/Nixon Milk
 The Reader
 Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DIRECTOR Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
 David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
 Stephen Daldry, The Reader
 Gus Van Sant, Milk

BEST ACTOR
 Richard Jenkins, The Visitor Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon Sean Penn, Milk
 Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

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
 Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
 Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
 Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
 Amy Adams, Doubt
 Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona Viola Davis, Doubt
 Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
 Frozen River, Courtney Hunt Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh In Bruges, Martin McDonagh Milk, Dustin Lance Black WALL-E, Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Roth Doubt, John Patrick Shanley Frost/Nixon, Peter Morgan The Reader, David Hare Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
 Bolt
 Kung Fu Panda
 WALL-E

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
 La Maison en Petits Cubes Lavatory — Lovestory Oktapodi
 Presto
 This Way Up

BEST ART DIRECTION Changeling
 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Dark Knight
 The Duchess Revolutionary Road

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Changeling
 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Dark Knight
 The Reader
 Slumdog Millionaire

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
 Australia
 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Duchess
 Milk
 Revolutionary Road

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
 The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
 Encounters at the End of the World
 The Garden
 Man on Wire
 Trouble the Water

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT The Conscience of Nhem En
 The Final Inch Smile Pinki
 The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306

BEST EDITING
 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Dark Knight
 Frost/Nixon Milk
 Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
 The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany) The Class (France) Departures (Japan) Revanche (Austria) Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
 Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
 Manon on the Asphalt
 New Boy
 The Pig
 Spielzeugland (Toyland)

BEST MAKEUP
 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Dark Knight
 Hellboy II: The Golden Army

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat Defiance, James Newton Howard Milk, Danny Elfman Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman WALL-E, Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
 "Down to Earth," WALL-E
 "Jai Ho," Slumdog Millionaire "O Saya," Slumdog Millionaire

BEST SOUND EDITING The Dark Knight
 Iron Man
 Slumdog Millionaire WALL-E
 Wanted

BEST SOUND MIXING
 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Dark Knight
 Slumdog Millionaire
 WALL-E
 Wanted

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 The Dark Knight
 Iron Man