Some of the acceptance speeches were above average, perhaps rousing. Billy Crystal came up with his best Oscar nominee song melody yet – even when he sang “‘The Tree of Life’ confused God” – it was funny. The 84rd Academy Awards celebrated “The Artist” with 5 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, Best Actor Jean Dujardin, Original Score and Costume Design. Dujardin didn’t do any tap-dancing on his way to the podium, but he did shoot off a smart enough quip in thanking Douglas Fairbanks. “The Artist” is the first silent film to win since the very first Oscars in 1928 when “Wings” won.
“Hugo” by Martin Scorsese won in many of the technical categories including Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Art Direction. As for me, I wouldn’t place this effort as any of Scorsese’s best 15 films, but so be it.
I predicted Christopher Plummer (“Beginners) and Octavia Spencer (“The Help) to win the supporting acting categories. Best Supporting Actor is usually one of my favorite categories, but this year the nominees list was flat, boring, unexciting. Plummer was the best among the weak field of nominees, and at 82, becomes the oldest ever Oscar winner. To my humble reaction, he gave the most moving speech of the night. “You’re only two years older than me, he said to the statuette, “Where have you been all my life?”
My greater prediction that came true is that Spencer would be ludicrously crying buckets over her win and stammer her way through her speech.
One month before the Oscars, I predicted Meryl Streep to win the award but changed my forecast as the telecast approached. It’s an extraordinary performance in a movie that is inadequate in every other way. “The Iron Lady” is only worth seeing because of Streep.
During these telecasts, I don’t just merely scratch my head. I bellow out “Come on, goddammit!” many, many times – my neighbors prepare for aftershocks. This year, to my surprise, I more or less saw what was coming. But really was baffled that “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” didn’t win for Best Visual Effects, losing to “Hugo.” Biggest delight was seeing “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” win for Best Film Editing. I didn’t think the Academy was that smart. Then again, “Tattoo” lost for Sound Mixing. Another gripe in response to “Hugo.”
The night’s biggest losers were “The Tree of Life, “The Descendants” and “Moneyball.” To explain, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was not an unpardonable loser because it was never expected to win in the first place. “The Tree of Life” has the most cult fans, but was likely going to get snubbed for Best Picture, Director and Cinematography in the same way that Kubrick films were snubbed. “The Descendants” is a big, memorable loser even though it won for Best Adapted Screenplay. Two months ago, it was the front-runner for Best Picture, Director, and Actor, George Clooney, before “The Artist” juggernaut took over. And “Moneyball,” a six-time loser because I think it probably ran second or third in votes for every category it was up for.
However, “Midnight in Paris” won exactly what it was expected and should have won for, Best Original Screenplay for Woody Allen. Although the award is more for fans and aficionados who want justice for the film’s legacy, more than for Woody who doesn’t show up to award shows.
The list of winners:
Best Picture:
“War Horse”
“The Artist” (WINNER)
“Moneyball”
“The Descendants”
“The Tree of Life”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close“
Best Actress:
Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis, ”The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady” (WINNER)
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn“
Best Actor:
Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist” (WINNER)
Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball“
Best Director:
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist” (WINNER)
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”
Best Supporting Actor:
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners“(WINNER)
Max von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Best Supporting Actress:
Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, ”The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Octavia Spencer, ”The Help“(WINNER)
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs“
Writing (Original Screenplay):
“The Artist,” Michel Hazanavicius
“Bridesmaids,” Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
“Margin Call,” J.C. Chandor
“Midnight in Paris,” Woody Allen (WINNER)
“A Separation,” Asghar Farhadi
Writing (Adapted Screenplay):
“The Descendants,” Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (WINNER)
“Hugo,” John Logan
“The Ides of March,” George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
“Moneyball,” Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan
Music (Original Song):
“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets”: Music and lyrics by Bret McKenzie(WINNER)
“Real in Rio” from “Rio”: Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, lyrics by Siedah Garret
Music (Original Score):
“The Adventures of Tintin,” John Williams
“The Artist,” Ludovic Bource (WINNER)
“Hugo,” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse,” John Williams
Visual Effects:
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
“Hugo,” Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning (WINNER)
“Real Steel,” Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier
Animated Feature:
“A-Cat-in-Paris” “Chico & Rita”
“Kung Fu Panda 2”
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango” (WINNER)
Documentary (Feature):
“Hell and Back Again,” Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front,” Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Pina,” Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
“Undefeated,” TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas (WINNER)
Sound Mixing:
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
“Hugo,” Tom Fleischman and John Midgley (WINNER)
“Moneyball,” Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick;
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
“War Horse,” Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson
Sound Editing:
“Drive,” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” Ren Klyce
“Hugo,” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty (WINNER)
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
“War Horse,” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Film Editing:
“The Artist,” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants,” Kevin Tent
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall (WINNER)
“Hugo,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Moneyball,” Christopher Tellefsen
Foreign Language Film:
“Bullhead,” Belgium
“Footnote,” Israel
“In Darkness,” Poland
“Monsieur Lazhar,” Canada
“A Separation,” Iran (WINNER)
Makeup:
“Albert Nobbs,” Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
“The Iron Lady,” Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland (WINNER)
Costume Design:
“Anonymous,” Lisy Christl
“The Artist,” Mark Bridges (WINNER)
“Hugo,” Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre,” Michael O’Connor
“W.E.,” Arianne Phillips
Cinematography:
“The Artist,” Guillaume Schiffman
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” Jeff Cronenweth
“Hugo,” Robert Richardson (WINNER)
“The Tree of Life,” Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse,” Janusz Kaminski
Art Direction:
“The Artist,” Production Design: Laurence Bennett, Set Decoration: Robert Gould
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” Production Design: Stuart Craig, Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan”
“Hugo,” Production Design: Dante Ferretti, Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo (WINNER)
“Midnight in Paris,” Production Design: Anne Seibel, Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
“War Horse,” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
