85th Academy Award Ceremony Winners and Live Blog

via blog.moviewallas.com
via blog.moviewallas.com

Update (2/25/13 3:00 p.m.): I’ve added some of the highlights from last night.

Tonight is Hollywood’s show. The 85th Academy Awards, hosted by Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane, is the night that those in the industry and those who love film have been waiting for. Come back here throughout the night to see the winners and commentary on events during the show. Who will win the night from the Best Picture Nominees of Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark Thirty.

4:03 p.m.: As ABC starts it’s official coverage of the Red Carpet, we are coming down to the wire for you to fill out your ballot at your respective party. Go here in order to fill out your ballot and if you need help, check out the picks by the experts at GoldDerby.com. You can also see my picks for the top four catagories (Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress) in my recent The Nerd is the Word column. I’ll see you all back here for the start of the show at 5:30 p.m. Pacific.

4:45 p.m.: Oscar Experience College Search winners interview. This is something that I love about the industry, giving the future of said industry such an amazing experience.

5:30 p.m.: And there’s the man himself, Seth MacFarlane. Opening strong and making Tommy Lee Jones laugh with his first joke. Nice little jab at the Academy for snubbing Ben Affleck.

5:35 p.m.: MacFarlane keeps his signature style of humor throughout his opening monologue with a special appearance by Capt. James T. Kirk. He must prevent MacFarlane from ruining the Oscars.

5:37 p.m.: Best musical number I’ve ever seen in The Oscars, “We Saw Your Boobs”. A wonderful way to chronicle all the times we’ve seen famous boobs in cinema. Followed by a musical number celebrating the films with some help by Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron.

5:41 p.m.: A reenactment of Flight done entirely with sock puppets, classic. Then the ladies swoon over Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

5:46 p.m.: Having Seth MacFarlane and his musical prowess was the perfect way to build upon this year’s Oscar Theme, which is Music in Film

Actor in a Supporting Role, Presented by Octavia Spencer:

Alan Arkin in Argo
Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Play Book
Phillip Seymour-Hoffman in The Master
Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln
Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained

Thoughts: Waltz is two for two in the category. He won last time for his role as Hans Landa in Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, which was essentially the flip-side of his current Tarantino role, Dr. King Schultz. Calling Quentin Tarantino the hero in his story was beautiful.

5:55 p.m.: Paul Rudd’s beard performing with Melissa McCarthy, very enjoyable.

Best Animated Short Film, presented by Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy:

Paperman
Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head over Heels

Thoughts: The definite favorite for this award. However, my love for The Simpsons blinded my judgement.

Best Animated Feature presented by Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy:

Brave
Paranorman
Frankenweenie
Wreck-It Ralph
Pirates! Band of Misfits

Thoughts: While Wreck-It Ralph was the favorite by many, Brave was an absolutely spectacular film and definitely deserved this.

6:02 p.m.: Reese Whitherspoon presents the first batch of Best Picture nominees, Les MiserablesLife of Pi and Beasts of the Southern Wild. I love how they break up the footage showing of the Best Picture nominees, allowing them to be showcased properly.

6:05 p.m.: Here they are, THE AVENGERS!!

Best Cinematograpy, presented by The Avengers, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo:

Anna Karenina – Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained – Robert Richardson
Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda
Lincoln – Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall – Roger Deakins

Thoughts: It was beautifully shot, something I definitely need to check out.

Achievement in Visual Effects, presented by Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, and R. Christopher White
Life of Pi  Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer, and Donald R. Elliott
Marvel’s The Avengers – Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, and Dan Sudick
Prometheus – Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley, and Martin Hill
Snow White and the Huntsman – Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould, and Michael Dawson

Thoughts: It makes sense, they pretty much created the entire world digitally.

Achievement in Costume Design, Presented by Jennifer Aniston and Channing Tatum:

Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran
Les Miserables – Paco Delgado
Lincoln – Joanna Johnston
Mirror, Mirror – Eiko Ishioka
Snow White and the Huntsman – Colleen Atwood

Thoughts: When asked at my Oscar party what this movie was about, someone replied “Costumes”, so that kind of points to where the effort of the movie went (and it shows in the trailers)

Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling, Presented by Jennifer Aniston and Channing Tatum:

Hitchcock – Howard Berger, Peter Montagna, and Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater, and Tami Lane
Les Miserables – Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

Thoughts: My runner up to The Hobbit.

6:21 p.m.: A tribute to 50 years of James Bond, celebrating the music of the franchise, presented by Halle Berry who played Bond Girl, Giacinta “Jinx” Johnson in Die Another Day.

6:31 p.m.: Recognizing the show’s producers and directors, always a good decision if you want to come back.

Best Live Action Short Film, Presented by Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington:

Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)
Henry

Thoughts: I expected this. It has won so many awards in its run up for the Oscar that it eclipsed the others in that sense. Very interesting that this is the first year that the Academy made these shorts available to it’s members via DVD

Best Documentary, Short Subject, Presented by Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington:

Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Recine
Open Heart
Redemption

Thoughts: I had no knowledge of these, so any one had as much chance in my eyes.

6:37 p.m.: Second batch of Best Picture Nominees, presented by Liam Neeson; ArgoLincoln and Zero Dark Thirty.

6:41 p.m.: 140 years later, Lincoln head shot jokes apparently too soon.

Best Documentary Feature, Presented by Ben Affleck:

5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar Man

Thoughts: This was another one that won a bunch of awards leading up that, though I hadn’t seen it, I had to pick it. I have to see it.

Best Foreign Language Film, Presented by Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain:

Amour (Austria)
Kon-Tiki (Norway)
No (Chile)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
War Witch (Canada)

Thoughts: The obvious choice, being also nominated for Best Picture.

6:52 p.m.: It’s interesting, the orchestra for the Oscars performs live from a studio off site.

6:53 p.m.: John Travolta, presenting a celebration of the movie musicals. We start with Catherinie Zeta-Jones doing “All That Jazz” from Chicago, very sexy. We then are treated to Jennifer Hudson performing “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dream Girls, extremely classy. The cast of Les Miserables then sings “One Day More”. Who knew that Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) had such fantastic singing voices.

7:09 p.m.: Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana give the highlights for the math and science geeks who make the awesome technology that allow the films we watch to be so awesome.

7:10 p.m.: Seth MacFarlane riffs on his own movie, and it was fun. Ted then comes out to ask where the post-Oscars orgy is (it’s at Jack Nicholson’s house).

Best Sound Mixing, Presented by Ted and Mark Wahlberg:

Argo – John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, and Jose Antonio Garcia
Les Miserables – Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, and Simon Hayes
Life of Pi – Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill, and Drew Kunin
Lincoln – Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, and Ronald Judkins
Skyfall – Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, and Stuart Wilson

Thoughts: Definitely makes sense. If you’re going to sing live rather than in the studio, you have to have some fantastic sound mixers.

Best Sound Editing, Presented by Ted and Mark Wahlberg:

Argo – Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
Django Unchained – Wylie Stateman
Life of Pi – Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
Skyfall – Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
Zero Dark Thirty – Paul N. J. Ottosson

Thoughts: When Wahlberg said that there was a tie, everyone was kind of shocked (he literally said “No joke”). Skyfall was most deserved, and I can definitely see why they tied with Zero Dark Thirty.

7:18 p.m.: No way could Seth MacFarlane get through the night without a Sound of Music joke. He loves it too much.

Best Supporting Actress, Presented by Christopher Plummer:

Amy Adams in The Master
Sally Field in Lincoln
Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables
Helen Hunt in The Sessions
Jacki Weaver in Silver Linings Playbook

Thoughts: There was no shock in this award. Anne Hathaway has dominated all talk of this award. It’s always wonderful to see an emotional acceptance speech. Anne can’t even gather her thoughts she’s so happy for her win. Her words to her husband were absolutely beautiful.

7:29 p.m.: President of the Academy, Hawk Koch, invites everyone to the Academy Museum (which sounds fantastic) and introduces the winners of the College winners. Followed by Seth MacFarlane’s boarderline joke of fantasticness.

Achievement in Film Editing, Presented by Sandra Bullock:

Argo – William Goldenberg
Life of Pi – Tim Squyres
Lincoln – Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook – Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty – Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

Thoughts: He truly did a fantastic job in taking Affleck’s film and helping shape it into tonight’s powerhouse.

7:34 p.m: Jennifer Lawrence presents Adele performing her nominated song, “Skyfall”. Probably my favorite Bond song.

7:43 p.m.: Nicole Kidman announces the final batch of Best Picture nominees; Django UnchainedAmour and Silver Lingings Playbook.

Achievement in Production Design, Presented by Daniel Radcliffe and Kristen Stewert:

Anna Karenina – Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent, and Simon Bright
Les Miserables – Eve Stewart and Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi – David Gropman and Anna Pinnock
Lincoln – Rick Carter and Jim Erickson

Thoughts: I’m pretty bummed that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey didn’t win, it was absolutely fantastic for its visual aspects.

7:51 p.m.: Selma Hyak announces the Governor’s awards and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

7:57 p.m.: The saddest part of the show, George Clooney presents the In Memoriam segment. A whole lot of fabulous and talented people passed on this past year, including Marvin Hamlisch, Ernest Borgnine, Tony Scott and Adam Yauch, plus many more. Barbera Streisand also sings in tribute to Hamlisch. Clooney said it best, an entire show could be dedicated to this segment.

Best Original Score, Presented by Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Queen Latifa:

Anna Karenina – Dario Marianelli
Argo – Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi – Mychael Danna
Lincoln – John Williams
Skyfall – Thomas Newman

Thoughts: I still feel like Howard Shore was snubbed for his fantastic continuation of his Middle-earth music in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Best Original Song, Presented by Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Queen Latifa:

“Skyfall” by Adele and Paul Epworth (from Skyfall)
“Suddenly” by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer, and Alain Boublil (from Les Miserables)
“Pi’s Lulleby” by Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri (from Life of Pi)
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” by Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane (from Ted)
“Before My Time” by J. Ralph (from Chasing Ice)

Thoughts: After winning all of those Grammys, it was only a matter of time before Adele came after the Oscar. The song is fantastic, as I said above, probably my favorite Bond song.

Best Adapted Screenplay, Presented by Charlize Theron and Dustin Hoffman:

Argo – Chris Terrio from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez & The Great Escape by Joshuah Bearman
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin from Juicy and Delicious by Lucy Alibar
Life of Pi – David Magee from Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Lincoln – Tony Kushner from Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell from The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Thoughts: Argo is continuing its march to domination.

Best Original Screenplay, Presented by Charlize Theron and Dustin Hoffman:

Amour – Michael Haneke
Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino
Flight – John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal

Thoughts: Absolutely fantastic that Tarantino won. He was right in saying that this is the writer’s year, so many fantastic options for the two awards. (Update 2/25/13 6:57 p.m.: I wanted to embed the video but I can’t turn off autoplay, so I’ve included a link instead)

8:32 p.m.: Ah yes, it was wonderful when Hollywood was Cocaine trees as far as the eye could see.

Best Director, Presented by Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda:

Michael Haneke for Amour
Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild
Ang Lee for Life of Pi
Steven Speilberg for Lincoln
David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook

Thoughts: It was definitely a toss up between Lee and Speilberg since Affleck wasn’t nominated. I’m still mad about Hulk though.

Best Leading Actress Presented by Jean Dujardin

Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva for Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts for The Impossible

Thoughts: She won the SAG and the Golden Globe, so of course she won Best Actress. Even falling on the way up to the stage does not mar her win. We could have had the youngest or oldest winners this year, but we had Lawrence, and that’s just fine with me.

Best Leading Actor, Presented by Meryl Streep:

Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln
Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix for The Master
Denzel Washington for Flight

Thoughts: The Academy loves the guy who plays historical figures. This is Day-Lewis’ third award for this category. I can’t wait to view this performance when Lincoln hits DVD. I love his humor during his acceptance speech (I had no idea he was going to play Margret Thatcher and Streep was going to play Lincoln).

Best Picture, Presented by Jack Nicholson and Michelle Obama (live from The White House):

Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Thoughts: The surprise of Obama’s assistance in presenting was interesting. I’m not sure if that has ever happened before, but I dig it. The Argo train keeps rolling, even after the speed bump of getting snubbed for director, he still gets his Oscar for Best Picture since he was one of the producers. Argo (Bleep) Yourself Academy. This was a fantastic year for films and, while Argo was the best (in my opinion), any one of them would have been worthy of the win. Affleck talking about not holding grudges makes him truly a class act.

This was a fantastic ceremony and I am excited for the prospects of next year.

Ian Hand is the Entertainment Editor for The Siskiyou as well as the writer of the weekly column The Nerd is the Word. Follow him on Twitter @IanHand253.

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