Did you stay up last night to watch the 83rd Annual Academy Awards? I did and I have the scope on the winners (and the losers).
First, let us look at the hosts, Ann Hathaway and James Franco. What did you think of them? Of course, we know that everything is scripted, but I thought there were some moments of banter where it seemed obviously so. While Hathaway stole the audience at certain moments, the chemistry seemed a bit off.
Still there was plenty of other chemistry going on there onstage, such Russel Brand and Helen Mirren.
There were the usual biting moments of humor throughout the event, including James Franco in drag at the expense of Charlie Sheen. I generally can do without such moments, but I have to admit that for the awards these moment were a bit toned down, no doubt in the wake of the Ricky Gervais controversy.
Water cooler talk today (or is it coffee maker) at the office will no doubt center around Best Supporting Actress Melissa Leo saying the F-word and Best Director Tom Hooper reminding us all that we should listen to out mothers. Best Actor Colin Firth was humble and charming, and Best Actress Natalie Portman was gushing and cute.
Jennifer Hudson, one of the presenters, seemed nervous and flubbed a bit, and so did Hathaway, although in Hathaway’s case she gave a confident “so what attitude” and moved on.
The best moment of the night, I think, was the finale, Staten Island’s own PS 22 Chorus singing “Over the Rainbow.”
Now on to the list of winners…
* Best Motion Picture of the Year: “The King’s Speech”
* Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: “Toy Story 3”
* Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth – “The King’s Speech”
* Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman – “Black Swan”
* Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christian Bale – “The Fighter”
* Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Melissa Leo – “The Fighter”
* Achievement in Directing: Tom Hooper – “The King’s Speech”
* Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin – “The Social Network”
* Original Screenplay: David Seidler – “The King’s Speech”
* Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: “In a Better World” (Denmark)