The 83rd Annual Academy Awards took place on February 27 and here is the list of winners:
Best Picture
The King’s Speech
Best Director
Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
Best Actor
Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
Best Actress
Natalie Portman – Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale – The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress
Melissa Leo – The Fighter
Best Original Screenplay
The King’s Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Social Network
Best Animated Feature
Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Language Film
In a Better World
Best Documentary Feature
Inside Job
Best Animated Short
The Lost Thing
Best Documentary Short
Stranger No More
Best Art Direction
Alice in Wonderland
Best Cinematography
Inception
Best Costume Design
Alice in Wonderland
Best Film Editing
The Social Network
Best Live Action Short
God of Love
Best Original Score
The Social Network
Best Original Song
We Belong Together – Toy Story 3
Best Makeup
The Wolfman
Best Visual Effects
Inception
Best Sound Editing
Inception
Best Sound Mixing
Inception
Of course a lot goes on in an Oscar broadcast, too much for me to write about, still there are four moments that I would like to present for your consideration.
Hosts Moment or Moments
In an effort to attract a younger demographic, the Academy picked Anne Hathaway and James Franco. I thought Hathaway was good as a host. She really put the effort to be engaging with the audience in the hall and with the television audience. As for Franco, he was just there, even dressed up as Marilyn Monroe. Since I’m a recent MBA graduate, the only reason I can think of for Franco’s not engaging performance was that he was very concerned about his studies and that got in the way of his host duties.
Can’t Take That Away From Me Moment
In the celebrity world of plastic surgery, botox and all around shallowness, it was great to see how Kirk Douglas handled himself. Yes, he doesn’t walk as well as he used to and he doesn’t talk as well as he used to, still for someone who is 94 years old and still dealing with the aftereffects of his stroke he showed the world two things:
1. His mind is still as sharp as ever.
2. While a stroke can make it difficult to walk and talk, it doesn’t take away the fact that you have class and Kirk Douglas has it.
By the way, the person who fought over Douglas’ cane was none other than Omar Sharif, Jr. Yes, he’s the son of that Omar Sharif. He has appeared in Egyptian television shows and films and now he wants to try his luck in Hollywood.
This Broadcast Has Been Brought To You By…
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC), at least until the year 2020. While some didn’t like it the network promoted itself during the Oscar broadcast, I didn’t mind. The Oscars has a worldwide audience of at least one billion, so I can’t fault the network for getting the word out about itself. After all with the Internet and satellite television providers, ABC doesn’t have to content itself with North America anymore. There are opportunities to get the network’s programming out all over the world. So, when opportunity to do some promotion came up, ABC grabbed it.
Bravo Bravo Natalie Moment
Yes, I was rooting for Natalie Portman to get the Oscar for Black Swan. Not only did she work hard in preparing for the role, she worked hard and smart throughout her career. She choose roles that weren’t just “girl next door” or love interest. They ran the gamut from Queen Amidala in the Star Wars prequels to Evey in V for Vendetta and it paid off on Oscar night for her. Also, she was gracious enough to thank her parents, her fiancé Benjamin Millipied and the many, many people who were involved in Black Swan. It costs nothing to say thank you, but it means a lot to those who hear it.
Well there you have it, the Oscars in four moments. What will happen with next year’s Oscars? We’ll find out next year.
Sources:
http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/nominees;_ylt=AgaPEOKqWkPbaM8JKL5jrzhIPKJ4
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41817860/ns/today-entertainment/
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