LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rags-to-riches romance "Slumdog Millionaire" won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay Sunday and Penelope Cruz was named best supporting actress for her role as a painter in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" as the world's top film honors got under way.

"Slumdog," an often dark but ultimately hopeful tale about a poor Indian boy who competes for love and money on a TV game show, was the frontrunner for best film coming into the Oscars and received 10 nominations in various categories.

As the ceremony began, host Hugh Jackman put the show in full musical mode with an opening routine that drew a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd that included nominees Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Mickey Rourke and Anne Hathaway.

The number covered all five of the best film nominees and had Jackman dancing hip hop, hitting high notes in a duet with Hathaway for "Frost/Nixon" and climbing to the top rope of a fake wrestling ring to crescendo his song with "The Wrestler."

Following Jackman, Cruz was given the first Oscar, best supporting actress Academy Award, for her portrayal of a fiery Spanish painter in director Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

Holding back tears, Spanish actress Cruz thanked Allen and her friend and Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, who was instrumental in putting her on a track to stardom. She dedicated the Oscar to her family and "everyone who has helped me from the beginning."

Cruz took a moment to talk about watching the Oscars as a little girl in Spain and said she felt the ceremony was a moment of unity for people around the world.

In other awards, Dustin Lance Black won the Oscar for best original screenplay for writing "Milk," about slain gay activist Harvey Milk, and Simon Beaufoy took home the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for "Slumdog." "Slumdog" had previously won awards from industry groups whose members include actors, directors, producers and writers.

"SLUMDOG" SEEN

The biggest draw for the Oscars has been having popular movies at the center of the show and suspense over which films, actors and actresses will win one of more than 20 honors handed out in a range of categories from best film, to makeup, editing, sound and even short films.

In the best picture category, "Slumdog's" key competition comes from "Milk," starring Penn as gay activist Harvey Milk, as well as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" with Pitt as a man who ages backward.

The other two nominees are "Frost/Nixon," which recounts the historic interviews of disgraced former U.S. President Richard Nixon by British TV host David Frost, and the drama "The Reader."

The competition for best-actor appears to be a two-way battle between Penn and Mickey Rourke as a faded athlete in "The Wrestler." Saturday, Rourke won the independent film world's Spirit Award for best actor, but that honor comes from different voters than the roughly 6,000 academy members who cast Oscar ballots.

Kate Winslet is tipped for best actress playing a German Nazi-era prison guard in "The Reader" over Meryl Streep as a nun who suspects sex abuse in a Catholic school in "Doubt.

Heath Ledger, who died in 2008 of an accidental prescription drug overdose, is favored for best supporting actor as the villain Joker in Batman movie "The Dark Knight."

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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