Trivia

For the first time since 1944, there were 10 Best Picture nominees.

Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron were the first ex-spouses to compete for the Best Director Oscar.

Up (2009) was the second animated film to be nominated for Best Picture. The first was Beauty and the Beast (1991).

Both Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Stiller were set to present an award with Baron Cohen as a Na'vi from Avatar (2009), pregnant with "James Cameron's love child", and Stiller as his translator. The idea was canceled by the Academy to not offend Cameron. Stiller, however, appeared as a Na'vi in a watered-down version of the skit.

The Blind Side (2009) and A Serious Man (2009) were the first Best Picture nominees since 1995 (Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)) to be nominated for only two Oscars (each).