The envelope finally opens up and names imprinted in the golden letters goes into the book of cinematic history. It came as no surprise to anyone when France's Michel Hazanavicius won the Oscar for best director for silent movie The Artist, at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, triumphing over veterans including Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen.
Giving France more reasons to celebrate, this black and white homage to the silent film era also bagged the Best Picture of the year, while Jean Dujardin took home the Oscar for the lead actor. The film topped a field that included "The Descendants," "Hugo," "The Help," "Moneyball," "War Horse," "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," "Midnight in Paris" and "The Tree of Life". Hollywood veteran Meryl Streep, won the much awaited and well deserved Oscar for her tour de force portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, her third win third Oscar for lead actress, and her 17th overall nomination.
Christopher Plummer became the oldest acting winner ever at the 84th Academy Awards for his supporting performance in “Beginners,” while veteran bit player Octavia Spencer earned the supporting-actress prize for her breakout role in “The Help”.
Martin Scorsese’s Paris adventure “Hugo” set the ball rolling by winning first two prizes of the night, for cinematography and art direction. It also won for visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing.
Laughter soared inside the Kodak Theaters when TJ Martin one of the co-directors of “Undefeated”, in his excitement, uttered the F-Word after winning the Oscar for best documentary. Another with Oscar “Oops!” moments, we could say.
-by Parmita Borah