Earlier this evening, host for the night Billy Crystal presented the award winners of this year’s 2012 Academy Awards during a star-studded ceremony at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood. Michel Hazanavicius’ silent masterpiece The Artist wasn’t quite the runaway winner everyone had predicted, winning five out of ten Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, with Martin Scorsese’s Hugo also picking up five. Meryl Streep pipped The Help star Viola Davies to the the Oscar for Best Actress, whilst 82-year-old Christopher Plummer and Ocatvia Spencer walked away with the awards for Best Supporting Actor/Actress respectively.
The Artist’s major award wins were certainly deserved, with Hazanavicius’ film becoming the first silent effort to win an Oscar in 83 years, and the first black and white Best Picture victor for 18 years. Christopher Plummer’s win also set a precedent, with the veteran US actor becoming the oldest Best Supporting Actor winner in history at the grand old age of 82. After an extremely good Oscar haul in 2011, British cinema has a relatively quiet Academy Awards. Sadly, Gary Oldman missed out on the Best Actor Oscar for his superb turn as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which ultimately went to The Artist star Jean Dujardin.
For a list of all the major winners, see below.
Best Picture
The Artist
Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Best Actress
Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Jean Dujardin (George Valentin) – The Artist
Best Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer (Minny Jackson) – The Help
Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer (Hal) – Beginners
Best Foreign Language Film
A Separation
Best Animation
Rango
Art Direction
Hugo
Achievement in Cinematography
Hugo
Achievement in Costume Design
The Artist
Best Documentary Feature
Undefeated
Best Documentary – Short Subject
Saving Face
Achievement in Film Editing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Achievement in Makeup
The Iron Lady
The Artist
Best Original Song
Man or Muppet – The Muppets
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Best Live Action Short Film
The Shore
Achievement in Sound Editing
Hugo
Achievement in Sound Mixing
Hugo
Achievement in Visual Effects
Hugo
Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
Original Screenplay
Midnight in Paris
What did you make of the 84th Academy Awards? Did you agree with the Academy’s Oscar choices? Are there any films you would have liked to have seen feature more heavily? Let us know using the comment box below.
Daniel Green
