The 81st annual Academy Award nominations were announced this morning, and it looks like Oscar has himself a case of Benjamin Button fever. People Magazine says

Benjamin Button led the field, with a total of 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Supporting Actress, Director and Screenplay. It was followed by Slumdog Millionaire, with 10.

Perennial nominee Meryl Streep, a two-time Oscar winner who already holds the record for most nominations of any actor or actress – this is her 15th time up at bat – was nominated as Best Actress in Doubt.

Also up for best picture: “Milk” and “The Reader.” Now, I understand including “The Reader,” because of its insightful meditation into the duality of human nature and the legacy of collective guilt inherited by the post-war generation. And — more importantly — it had boobs. But “Milk?!” For Best Picture? Please. Just because it’s about a gay doesn’t make it great. It just makes it gay. Kinda like your mom, but without the mustache and socialist agenda. Zing!

Complete list of nominees after the jump

Best Picture

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

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

Best Supporting Actress

* Amy Adams, Doubt
* Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
* Viola Davis, Doubt
* Taraji Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Marissa Tomei, The Wrestler

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 Original Screenplay

* Frozen River
* Milk
* In Bruges
* Happy-Go-Lucky
* Wall*E

Best Adapted Screenplay

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Doubt
* Frost/Nixon
* The Reader
* Slumdog Millionaire

Best Animated Film

* Bolt
* Kung Fu Panda
* Wall*E

Best Foreign Language Film

* The Baader Meinhof Complex
* The Class
* Departures
* Revanche
* Waltz With Bashir

Best Art Direction

* Changeling
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* The Duchess
* Revolutionary Road

Cinematography

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

Sound Mixing

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* Slumdog Millionaire
* Wall*E
* Wanted

Sound Editing

* The Dark Knight
* Iron Man
* Slumdog Millionaire
* Wall*E
* Wanted

Original Score

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Defiance
* Milk
* Slumdog Millionaire
* WALL*E

Original Song

* “Down to Earth” from WALL*E
* “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire
* “O Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire

Costume

* Australia
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Duchess
* Milk
* Revolutionary Road

Documentary Feature

* The Betrayal
* Encounters at the End of the World
* The Garden
* Man on Wire
* Trouble the Water

Documentary (short subject):

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

Makeup

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

Animated Short Film

* La Maison en Petits Cubes
* Lavatory — Lovestory
* Oktapodi
* Presto
* This Way Up

Live Action Short Film

* Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
* Manon on the Asphalt
* New Boy
* The Pig
* Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Live Action Short Film

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* Iron Man