"Slumdog Millionaire" - the year's underdog tale - took eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, Sunday night at the 81st annual Academy Awards ceremony.
The late Heath Ledger won the long-anticipated Best Supporting Actor for "The Dark Knight," while Sean Penn won his second Best Actor award for "Milk," and Kate Winslet, after five previous tries, finally came out victorious as Best Actress for "The Reader."
Ledger became the second performer ever honored with a posthumous Oscar. As his father, Kim; his sister Kate and his mother, Sally Bell, went onstage to accept his statuette, the celebrities in the Kodak Theatre teared up.
