Beyonce and Hugh may have flopped big time, but last night’s Oscar ceremony wasn’t a total wash.

With so many of the big awards decided before the telecast even started, there wasn’t too much in the way of suspense at last night’s 2009 Academy Awards.  As expected, Slumdog Millionaire won Best Picture, along with seven other Oscars; Kate Winslet finally got her Best Actress trophy; and the show once again ran past its scheduled 11:30 curtain by about 20 minutes.  The biggest question mark was how the telecast’s new producing team–which included Dreamgirls director Bill Condon–would reinvent the tired Oscar format.  For the most part, they ran a smooth ship, without too many dead spots or snooze-inducing montages.  That said, some of their choices–most notably the way the acting awards were presented–fell completely flat and that Beyonce/Hugh Jackman musical number…well, we’ll get to that later.

Now that all of the Academy’s envelopes have been opened, it’s my turn to hand out awards for the 2009 Oscars.  Oh and by the way, I went 17-for-24 in my predictions this year, which is up from last year.  My biggest mistake was picking the two underdogs in the lead acting categories–I went for Rourke and Leo and Penn and Winslet wound up winning as everyone else in the world but me predicted.  Just goes to show you that sometimes it’s better to play it safe…

Best Success Story: Slumdog Millionaire won seven out of the eight trophies it was nominated for, losing the Sound Editing category to The Dark Knight.  I’ve said before that I’m not a huge fan of the movie, but everyone involved in Slumdog–from director Danny Boyle to composer A.R. Rahman to cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle–delivered humble and appealing acceptance speeches and there is something cool about the fact that a film that was essentially disowned by its original studio (Warner Brothers) wound up striking Oscar gold.  And how cute were those little kid actors too?

Biggest Flop: Once seen as a major contender, Frost/Nixon went home empty-handed last night, failing to pick up a single award.  Director Ron Howard managed to smile through it all, but you could tell that his producer Brian Grazer was pissed off.

Sorest Loser: Was it just me or did David Fincher look like he wanted to go all Zodiac on Danny Boyle when the latter won the Best Director prize?  Don’t worry man, you’ll be back someday.  Hopefully with a better movie than Benjamin Button.

Most Gracious Winner: Sean Penn’s shout-out to old pal Mickey Rourke was the highlight of a classy acceptance speech, that also included a pointed message to anti-gay rights protesters who were apparently picketing outside the Kodak Theater.  As he himself joked, Penn isn’t the easiest guy to get along with, but he’s clearly as committed to his craft as he is to his politics.

Biggest Upset: The Japanese film Departures beat out favorites The Class and Waltz with Bashir for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.  This might have been easier to predict, of course, had the general public actually been able to see Departures, but as of now, it still hasn’t played in wide or even limited release.  But hey, the Oscar win should be a great thing to advertise on the DVD packaging.

Best Presenter: Ben Stiller graciously allowed Robert Downey Jr. to steal Tropic Thunder away from him, but he scored last night’s biggest laughs when he showed up with Joaquin Phoenix’s gigantic beard and drugged-out demeanor.  Natalie Portman played a delightful straight girl as well.  Someone cast them together in a comedy, stat!

Worst Presenter: So this is what being Justin Timberlake’s girlfriend does to you–you dress up in a curtain and forget the ability to read.  And she wonders why she fights against prejudice every day.

Biggest Waste of Time: It’s nice that the musical is back and everything, but surely the Academy could have found a better way to honor this genre than a slapdash production number that crammed the Mamma Mia! and High School Musical kids onstage opposite a slumming Beyonce and an overly earnest Hugh Jackman.  Badly choreographed and awkwardly sung, this clumsy stage show would have been laughed out of any Broadway theater.  Jackman’s opening song-and-dance routine wasn’t any better.  The guy’s a natural born showman, but this material didn’t put his skills to great use.  Oh and Beyonce, please stop singing “At Last.”  You’re just begging Etta James to come after you at his point.

Best Telecast Change: Convincing Academy head Sid Ganis not to deliver another boring speech.  The wave and smile was all we needed.

Worst Telecast Change: Dragging five previous award winners onstage to talk directly to each of the five nominees in the acting categories.  Not only did these monologues all sound the same (“You’re great!  I mean really, really great!”), there were also a number of weird match-ups.  Even Frank Langella looked confused about why Michael Douglas was praising him and Marion Cotillard seemed like she wanted to leap into Kate Winslet’s arms and start making out with her.  Now that would have been good television.

Most Deserving Winners: Wall-E for Animated Feature; Sean Penn for Best Actor; Heath Ledger for Supporting Actor; Penelope Cruz for Supporting Actress; Slumdog Millionaire for Original Score and Song; Benjamin Button for Art Direction.

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Milk star Diego Luna opens up about his role in Gus Van Sant’s acclaimed biopic, kissing his childhood pal on camera and being a first-time daddy.

GIANT: How much did you know about the real Harvey Milk before signing on to the movie?
Diego Luna: I knew a little bit because I was in San Francisco three years ago visiting a friend and I walked through the Castro area, where Harvey.  As soon as I agreed to do the movie, I started reading about him and what a character he was.  I’m so happy this film is being made and people are going to hear his story.  Because it is such a recent story, so we shouldn’t forget about it.  We should be learning how to share and co-exist in the same place and respect ourselves, but we seem to be going the other way.

GIANT: What kind of research did you do to learn more about your role as Harvey’s lover, Jack Lira?
Luna: Well, I decided not to talk to his family, but I did talk to many of Harvey’s friends and people who go to meet him in San Francisco.  I wanted to be as respectful as possible.  He was a guy that needed a lot of attention and Harvey was there to give him that.  He kind of hated the political scene that Harvey was part of, though.  It became a very weird relationship because it was obvious it wasn’t going to go far.  I think Jack is a guy who initially brought a lot of joy into Harvey’s life, but then it went in the exact opposite direction.

GIANT: There’s a real intimacy to Milk that you don’t often see in mainstream Hollywood films about gay couples.  How were you able to create such a relaxed, romantic vibe on set?
Luna: It was because he had a fantastic star and an amazing director and a great crew around us.  Sean is a very generous performer in that he is always really focused on creating real moments between actors.  It’s a pleasure to work with someone like that and it makes [the romance] real easy.  The most important part is the amount of risk Gus was willing to take with this film.  He was so relaxed throughout.  When you have to jump into cold water, it can be kind of scary, but if you look in the pool and you see your director waiting for you, you jump and become part of it.

GIANT: You previously locked lips with a guy–specifically your childhood pal Gael Gracia Bernal–in 2001′s Y Tu Mama Tambien.  What do you remember about that experience?
Luna: That scene was a little difficult because he was a really close friend.  We definitely got wasted afterwards.  But since then, I’ve realized that kissing a man is not the hardest part.  It’s what happens before and after.  I got a lot of terrible jokes after Y Tu Mama Tambien and it still makes me laugh how much attention that kiss provoked.  It’s totally not important to me.

GIANT: Milk is your most high-profile role in 2008, but earlier this year you appeared as a Michael Jackson impersonator in Harmony Korine’s underrated flick Mister Lonely.
Luna: That was painful process.  The first part was amazing and it was crazy enough to enjoy every single moment.  But I did start to fall into the loneliness of the character when we were shooting in Scotland in the middle of nowhere.  The World Cup was happening at the same time and I was so far away.  I remember just having to get out of a depression.  It’s twisted because that guy doesn’t want to be himself, but imagine a guy who doesn’t want to be himself and chooses to be Michael Jackson!  That makes it very difficult to know how to love and believe in him.  You have to find the logic to a character like that.

GIANT: What’s next for you?
Luna: The only thing I can really talk about is, Rudo y Cursi, which will be out soon in Mexico and hopefully in the States later on.  It’s with Gael again and this is the first time we’ve acted together in seven years.  It’s a story about two brothers.  It’s very different from Y Tu Mama Tambien, but it talks about some of the same things.  I’m also writing a script for a film I’m planning to direct.  It’s a story about a boy in a little town in Mexico.  I can’t say much because I believe if the film isn’t done, you shouldn’t talk about it.  Otherwise you’re one of those guys who talk a lot and do nothing.

GIANT: Before we let you go, congrats to you and your wife [Camila Sodi, left] on your new son, Geronimo.  How does fatherhood feel?
Luna: It is the best!  No sleep, but it’s the best time ever.  It’s such a nice feeling that it’s not about you anymore.  There’s something more important in this world than you.  Being in love is giving your life to someone in a way but there is something special when you realize you don’t matter that much to yourself.  Also, that there’s a type of love you didn’t know existed that is more powerful than anything.  I picked his name because it has a little bit of everything.  First it’s a name I love, it sounds beautiful to me.  There are a lot of other connotations and one is the Native American chieftain.  He’s going to think everyone’s talking to him whenever I take him to the playground, but at least he’ll be known by everyone.

Pick up the December/January issue of GIANT to read more about Diego Luna.  And check out Milk in theaters now and Mister Lonely on DVD.  Trailers below.