It was an exciting year for movies, which made for an equally exciting awards season that came to an end with Sunday’s Academy Awards. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane hosted the show with great laughs and amazing self-awareness, giving the show a new and fresh feeling that was much-needed by the producers of the show.
A run-down of the night’s winners…
BEST PICTURE: Argo
With the movie picking up pretty much all the precursors leading up to the Oscars, it was nearly a sure thing that it would win the big prize. That, however, didn’t make it any less exciting to see it actually win and getting to hear producer/director/actor Ben Affleck’s incredibly touching speech. And can you believe that it’s been nearly 15 years since Affleck and Matt Damon won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting? He has come such a long way.
ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
One of the few locks to win, Daniel Day-Lewis became the first actor to win 3 Oscars in the category. Though I myself could not watch Lincoln in its entirety (I’m just not the right demographic for it), I have to admit that he put in an incredible performance. I suppose there’s something to be said about being really careful in choosing the right roles in the right films.
ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
When I had made my initial comments upon hearing the nominees, I had thought the race would come down to Jessica Chastain and Naomi Watts. Of course at the time, I had yet to see Silver Linings. Leading right up to the show, I still believed that it was a really tight race, but I was really happy about Lawrence’s win. For 22, Lawrence really continues to impress us all with just how real she seems and she handled herself wonderfully after her fall up the stairs to collect her award.
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
It was anybody’s guess who would win the award, amongst a group of former winners. In the end, Waltz came out on top for yet another Tarentino role that seemed made for him.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
There was no doubt that Hathaway wasn’t going to win. There’s really nothing else to say about it.
DIRECTOR: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
With Ben Affleck absolutely snubbed in the category, the race ultimately came down to Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg, both great directors. While some believed that Spielberg would add a 3rd Oscar to his collection, I had the sense that Lee would win in the end. Everyone kept on talking about how Lee was able to make a movie based on a book that was deemed unfilmable. If filming the impossible doesn’t get you a win, I don’t what would.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Quentin Tarentino, Django Unchained
For some time, it seemed that Mark Boal’s script for Zero Dark Thirty would win, but having won the award for his The Hurt Locker script just three years ago (against Tarentino’s script for Inglourious Basterds, no less) and continued controversy over the story and the facts, Boal’s chances of winning were diminishing. Tarentino’s penchant for original stories ultimately gave him a win – his first since winning for Pulp Fiction.
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Chris Terrio, Argo
With the swell of support for Argo, Terrio’s script based on a Wired magazine article and Tony Mendez’s book “The Master of Disguise” was clearly the favourite to win against David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook script and Tony Kushner’s script for Lincoln.
ORIGINAL SONG: “Skyfall” by Adele and Paul Epworth, Skyfall
It’s Adele. Was there really any doubt that she wouldn’t win?
ORIGINAL SCORE: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Amour
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Brave
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Rick Carter and Jim Erickson, Lincoln
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi
COSTUME DESIGN: Jacqueline Durran, Anna Karenina
FILM EDITING: William Goldberg, Argo
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Searching for Sugar Man
DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Inocente
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell, Les Miserables
SOUND MIXING: Andy Nelson, Mark Patterson, and Simon Hayes, Les Miserables
SOUND EDITING: (TIE) Per Hallberg & Karen Baker Landers, Skyfall; Paul N.J. Ottosson, Zero Dark Thirty
VISUAL EFFECTS: Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott, Life of Pi
ANIMATED SHORT FILM: Paperman
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: Curfew
Once again, with the great amount of movies in 2012, it was nice to see that wealth was spread, and not just one movie swept. Despite the expected long running time, the overall show was well-produced and provided some great moments. Here’s to hoping that 2013 will provide another great pool of movies by which audiences and critics alike will enjoy.
In the meantime, what were your thoughts on the show? Happy with the winners? How did Seth MacFarlane do as host? Since MacFarlane has already stated that his hosting gig was a one-time thing, who should helm the show next year?