“Slumdog” Takes Four Over Weekend (IndieWire)

By Peter Knegt

“Slumdog Millionaire” officially completed its sweep of the precursors this weekend, winning honors from the Art Directors Guild, Cinema Audio Society, ACE Eddies and American Society of Cinematographers.

Anthony Dod Mantle, the cinematographer of “Slumdog Millionaire,” was honored in the cinematic feature category of the 23rd Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards. At the ceremony, held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, Dod Mantle beat out Roger Deakins, for “Revolutionary Road” and “The Reader,” Chris Menges, also for “The Reader,” Claudio Miranda for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and Wally Pfister for “The Dark Knight.”

“Recreating stories for the cinema can help us understand the present, learn more about different ways of life, transport us to a fantasyland, and reveal truths about reality and what it means to be human,” said actress Amy Adams, who presented the award to Dod Mantle. “This year’s nominees demonstrated a mastery of enchantment.”

At the 59th annual ACE Eddie Awards, “Slumdog”‘s Chris Dickens was given the best-edited feature film honors, while Stephen Schaffer won the award for best-edited feature film comedy or musical for “Wall-E,” and Jinx Godfrey earned best-edited documentary for “Man on Wire.” The ACE Eddie is a great predictor of the Academy’s best editing category, getting it right every year since 2000 (when ACE winner “Gladiator” lost to “Traffic” at the Oscars).

Also separated into three categories, the Art Directors Guild Awards gave “Slumdog”‘s Mark Digby honors for best contemporary film design, while “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”‘s Donald Graham Burt took best period film design and “The Dark Knight”‘s Nathan Crowley won for best fantasy film design.

Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, “Slumdog” also triumphed with the Cinema Audio Society. The film’s production mixer Resul Pookutty and re-recording mixers Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke won for outstanding achievement in motion picture sound mixing at CAS’s 45th Annual Awards. “Slumdog” beat out “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Quantum of Solace” and “WALL-E.”

The Academy Awards are handed out next Sunday. “Slumdog” is competing in 10 categories, nearly all of which it has dominated respective precursors in.