The Artist won awards for best picture, best director, and best actor. Meryl Streep beat out Viola Davis to win the best actress award for her performance in The Iron Lady. Octavia Spencer got a standing ovation when she won the supporting actress award for The Help. Christopher Plummer won best supporting actor for Beginners; at the age of 82, he is the oldest person ever to win an acting Oscar. Bret McKensie, of Flight of the Conchords fame, won the award for best original song for "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets. Here's some excitement: During the acceptance speech for best documentary, one of the winners got bleeped for using inappropriate language, before the entire group was cut off by the music. Meanwhile, earlier in the evening, J. Lo may have had a slight wardrobe malfunction. As for the host of the show, Billy Crystal shared some screen time with Justin Bieber in a parody of Midnight in Paris.
While last year's award show was mainly about James Franco and Anne Hathaway, this year's show--if you ask Twitter--was about two things: J.Lo's wardrobe malfunction and Angelina Jolie's right leg.
The Winners
Best Picture: The ArtistActress in a Leading Role: Meryl Streep, The Iron LadyActor in a Leading Role: Jean Dujardin, The ArtistDirecting: Michel Hazanavicius, The ArtistActress in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer, The HelpActor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Plummer, BeginnersForeign Language Film: A SeparationAnimated Feature Film: RangoOriginal Screenplay: Midnight in ParisAdapted Screenplay: The DescendantsDocumentary Feature: UndefeatedOriginal Score: The ArtistOriginal Song: "Man or Muppet" from The MuppetsShort Film (Live action): The ShoreShort Film (Animated): The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris LessmoreDocumentary Short: Saving FaceVisual Effects: HugoFilm Editing: The Girl with the Dragon TattooSound Editing: HugoSound Mixing: HugoMakeup: The Iron LadyCostume Design: The ArtistArt Direction: HugoCinematography: Hugo
The Red Carpet
Two actresses from The Artist, Penelope Anne Miller and Missi Pyle, were among the first to arrive on the red carpet. Several women, including Melissa McCarthy and Milla Jovovich, have shown up wearing Greco-Roman gowns. Meanwhile, Wolfgang Puck has been serving Oscar-inspired food on the red carpet to keep everyone’s hunger at bay. As far as award predictions go, George Clooney told one reporter on the carpet, “At the end of the Best Actor race, you’re going to hear someone speaking French.”
'The Dictator' Ashes Seacrest
Maybe the academy should have kept that ban in place. Funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen showed up on the red Oscars in full costume as Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen, his character from upcoming film, The Dictator. The actor was flanked by was also carrying an urn, which he claimed held the remains of King Jong Il. “It gave me the opportunity to bring my dear friend and double tennis partner Kim Jong Il,” he told Ryan Seacrest, before spilling the ashes all over the TV host. “If the someone asks what asks what you are wearing, tell them Kim Jong Il,” he added.
