If there is one thing the Academy loves it’s themselves (and middle-aged white men, ie: themselves). And so it was for the 84th Academy Awards, held at the Hollywood and Highland Center, with Tinsletown odes The Artist and Hugo picking up the majority of the golden fellows.
Meanwhile: Meryl Streep won her 3rd Oscar, Woody Allen won his 4th, and genius man, Flight of the Conchord Bret McKenzie won his 1st. FULL LIST BELOW.
Accepting the award from Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, McKenzie said: “I grew up in New Zealand watching The Muppets on TV. I never thought I’d get to work with them. I was genuinely starstruck when I got to meet Kermit the Frog, but once you get to know him, he’s just a normal frog, and like many of the stars here, he’s a lot shorter in real life.” Of working with the iconic characters created by Jim Henson: “It’s a true honour to work in the shadow of such legends.”
Here’s the song:
The bookies (and us) got it pretty much right with no major surprises on the night. The big winner was the gorgeous, French crowd-pleaser The Artist taking 5 awards – including Best Film, Director and Actor. Martin Scorsese’s Hugo also won 5, but in the less sexy ‘technical’ categories.
See our image gallery (55 shots) from the red carpet, ceremony and Governor’s Ball.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS:
Thomas Langmann (left) and Michel Hazanavicius (right) and the cast of The Artist | Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Film: The Artist
Nominated: The Descendants | Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close | The Help | Hugo | Midnight in Paris | Moneyball | The Tree of Life | War Horse
Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Lead Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Nominated: Demián Bichir, A Better Life | George Clooney, The Descendants | Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Matt Brown / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Lead Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Nominated: Glenn Glose, Albert Nobbs | Viola Davis, The Help | Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Nominated: Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn | Jonah Hill, Moneyball | Nick Nolte, Warrior | Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Supporting Actress:
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Nominated: Bérénice Bejo, The Artist | Jessica Chastain, The Help | Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids | Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Greg Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Director: The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
Nominated: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris | Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life | Alexander Payne, The Descendants | Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen didn’t go to the Oscars ceremony (he never does).
Best Original Screenplay:
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
Nominated: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist | Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids | J.C. Chandor, Margin Call | Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
The Descendants’ writers: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash | Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants,
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Nominated: John Logan, Hugo | George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, The Ides of March | Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin, Moneyball | Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Rango director Gore Verbinski | Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Animated Film: Rango
Nominations: A Cat in Paris | Chico & Rita | Kung Fu Panda 2 | Puss in Boots
A Separation director Asghar Farhadi | Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Nominated: Bullhead | Footnote | In Darkness | Monsieur Lazhar
TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas for Undefeated | Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Documentary: Undefeated
Nominated: Hell and Back Again | If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front | Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory | Pina
Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Cinematography: Hugo, Robert Richardson
Nominated: The Artist: Guillaume Schiffman | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Jeff Cronenweth | The Tree of Life: Emmanuel Lubezki | War Horse: Janusz Kaminski
Angus Wal & Kirk Baxter | Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
Nominated: The Artist | The Descendants | Hugo | Moneyball
Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Original Song: The Muppets,
Bret McKenzie, ‘Man or Muppet’
Nominated: Rio: Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, Siedah Garrett, ‘Real in Rio’
Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Original Music: The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Nominated: The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn | Hugo | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | War Horse
Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo | Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Art Direction: Hugo,
Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
Nominated: The Artist| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II | Midnight in Paris | War Horse
Matt Brown / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Costume Design: The Artist, Mark Bridges
Nominated: Anonymous | Hugo | Jane Eyre | W.E.
Mark Coulier and J.Roy Helland for The Iron Lady | Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Make Up: The Iron Lady,
Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland
Nominated: Albert Nobbs | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
Tom Fleischman & John Midgley | Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Sound Mixing: Hugo,
Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
Nominated: The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo | Moneyball | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | War Horse
Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty | Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Sound Editing: Hugo,
Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty
Nominated: Drive | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | War Horse
Presenter Ben Stiller in the background | Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Best Special Visual Effects: Hugo,
Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman, Alex Henning
Nominated: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II | Real Steel | Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Best Documentary Short: Saving Face
Nominated: The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement | God Is the Bigger Elvis | Incident in New Baghdad | The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Best Animated Short: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Nominated: Dimanche | La Luna | A Morning Stroll | Wild Life
Best Short: The Shore
Nominated: Pentecost | Raju | Time Freak | Tuba Atlantic
