"Slumdog Millionaire" wins big at 81st Oscars

The rags-to-riches romance swept the board, winning eight Oscars

HOLLYWOOD (Agencies)

Rags-to-riches romance "Slumdog Millionaire" swept the board at the 81st Academy Awards here Sunday, winning eight Oscars including best picture on a night of high-voltage Hollywood glamour.

Among the "Slumdog" honors, Briton Danny Boyle was named best director for the often dark but ultimately hopeful tale about a poor Indian boy who competes for love and money on a TV game show, and writer Simon Beaufoy won adapted screenplay.

It was a fairytale night for "Slumdog", which had been nearly released directly to video last year, a move which would have ruled it out of Oscars contention.

Kate Winslet Kate Winslet was named best actress for her dramatic turn as a former Nazi prison guard who involves herself in a love affair with a teenage boy in "The Reader." Winslet, won her first Oscar after five previous defeats, for her portrayal of a former Nazi death camp guard who starts a love affair with a teenage boy in post-war Germany and is later put on trial for war crimes.

Sean Penn The acting honors saw Sean Penn triumph for his portrayal of murdered gay politician Harvey Milk in the biopic "Milk" while Britain's Kate Winslet ended her Oscars losing streak for her performance in Holocaust drama "The Reader." "Thank you. Thank you. You commie, homo-loving sons-of-a-gun. I did not expect this," joked the famously outspoken Penn after collecting the second best actor Oscar of his career. Penn used his acceptance speech to urge opponents of same-sex marriage -- recently banned in California -- to rethink their positions.

Supporting roles Heath Ledger There was a tear-jerking posthumous Oscar for late Australian actor Heath Ledger as his family took to the stage to collect the tragic star's best supporting actor honor for his portrayal of Batman villain the Joker in "The Dark Knight."

Penelope Cruz Spanish star Penelope Cruz won the best supporting actress prize for her part in the steamy Woody Allen comedy "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

Host Hugh Jackman Period romance "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which began the night with 13 nominations, ended the night with only three Oscars in the technical categories of art direction, makeup and visual effects. The new-look awards extravaganza had got off to a flying start with Australian actor host Hugh Jackman wasting no time in launching into a medley of musical numbers that referenced this year's nominees. It was one of several innovations made by Oscars show producers that breathed new life into the previously tried and trusted formula which had led to record low television ratings last year. In the most noticeable break with the past, the show called on giants of the acting world to introduce each individual nominee in the acting categories, a ploy that heightened the anticipation inside the theater.