Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” a film about a fake movie, won the top prize for best motion picture at the 2013 Academy Awards. The movie was unstoppable after winning a slew of honors, including trophies from the Golden Globes, the Directors Guild of America Awards, the Producers Guild of America, the BAFTAs and last week, the Writers Guild of America.
The unlikely combination of Jack Nicholson from the Dolby Theater in L.A. and First Lady Michelle Obama via live satellite from Washington D.C., who opened the envelope to announce the best picture Oscar, lead a touch of gravitas, as well as humor, to the proceeding.
Producer, star and director Ben Affleck took the stage with co-producers Grant Heslov and George Clooney. It’s the first time a film has won a best picture Oscar without receiving a best director nomination since “Driving Miss Daisy” in 1989.
“Argo” beat out contenders “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Django Unchained,” as well as “Amour,” “Les Miserables,” “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Life of Pi.”
“I was here 15 years ago, and I had no idea what I was doing,” Affleck said in his acceptance speech, referring to his screenplay win for “Good Will Hunting.” “I was a kid. I never thought I would be back here, and now I am because of so many of you.”
He added, referencing his career, which has had its ups and its downs, “You can’t hold grudges. It’s hard but you can’t hold grudges. And it doesn’t matter how you get knocked down in life because that’s going to happen. All that matters is you gotta get up.”
In a huge upset, Ang Lee won an Oscar for best director. “Thank you, movie god,” he said. “I have to share this with all 3,000 who worked with me on ‘Life of Pi,’” he said. “You’re the golden statue in my heart.”
It was the least surprising call of the evening when Michael Haneke won the best foreign film prize for “Amour.” The Austrian director said, “Thank you very much for this honor. I have to thank Michael Barker, Tom Bernard from Sony Classics. And thank you above all to both my main actors, Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant, because without them I would not be here.”
Emmanuelle Riva, at age 85, was the oldest actress ever nominated for a best actress Oscar, while Quvenzhané Wallis was the youngest at 9, but the prize went to Jennifer Lawrence for her role as a young widow in “Silver Linings Playbook.” The 22-year-old took a dramatic spill on her way to the stage in her voluminous Dior gown, but when she stood up she received a standing ovation.
“You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell,” she quipped
Another sure thing was Daniel Day-Lewis’s best actor Oscar for “Lincoln.” He’s had plenty of practice perfecting his Oscar speech following one win after another this season, and his Oscar acceptance speech did not disappoint.
The actor bested Hugh Jackman (“Les Misérables”), Bradley Cooper (“Silver Linings Playbook”), Joaquin Phoenix (“The Master”) and Denzel Washington (“Flight”) for the award, and received his Oscar from “Iron Lady” Oscar winner Meryl Streep.
“I really don’t know how any of this happened,” Day-Lewis said. “I do know that I have received so much more than my fair share of good fortune in my life.
“It’s a strange thing, because three years ago, before we decided to do a straight swap, I had actually been committed to play Margaret Thatcher…,” he joked. “And Meryl was Steven’s first choice for ‘Lincoln.’ And I’d like to see that version. And Steven didn’t have to persuade me to play Lincoln, but I had to persuade him that, perhaps, if I was going to do it, that Lincoln shouldn’t be a musical.”
Poking fun at his acting method of staying in character throughout a shoot, he joked, “I do know my wife Rebecca (Miller) has lived with very strange men, and she’s been the perfect companion to all of them.”
He concluded by saying, “For my mother.”
Christoph Waltz (“Django Unchained”) and Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables) won best supporting Oscars.
“We participated in a hero’s journey, and the hero being Quentin,” said Waltz, who has now won two Academy Awards for as many nominations. He also won best supporting actor for Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” in 2009.
Quentin Tarantino would later pick up an Oscar for best original screenplay for “Django Unchained,” and Chris Terrio won for best-adapted screenplay for “Argo.”
Hathaway, who played the tortured, dying Fantine, said at the end of her acceptance speech, after thanking the cast, the crew, her husband Adam Shulman and Hugh Jackman, “Here’s hoping that some day, in the not too distant future, the misfortunes of Fantine will only be found in stories and never more in real life.”
Although she didn’t have a wardrobe malfunction, Hathaway’s Prada gown had an apron back and showed lots of skin, and the satiny top was revealing.
Highlights of the Oscars included Adele’s performance of “Skyfall,” which she co-wrote with Paul Epworth. The usually strappy, outspoken singer, known for her spontaneous speeches, seemed emotional and thanked Epworth for “believing in me all the time.” This marks the first time a Bond theme song has won a best original song Oscar.
Halle Berry, a former Bond girl and an Oscar winner, introduced a 50-year tribute to the Bond franchise, which opened with Dame Shirley Bassey, looking and sounding terrific, as she sang “Goldfinger.”
The cast of the Oscar-winning movie “Chicago” – Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger, and Queen Latifah – reunited on stage during the musical segment of the Oscars. Catherine Zeta-Jones, who won an Oscar for best supporting role in “Chicago,” performed a sizzling rendition of “All That Jazz,” and looked just as good as she did when she first played Velma onscreen in 2002.
Jennifer Hudson belted “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” from “Dreamgirls,” which brought the singer a best supporting actress Oscar in 2006. The performance brought the starry crowd to a standing ovation, and no one looked more entranced than the adorable Quvenzhané Wallis.
And then there was Barbra Streisand, who in an evening with many highlights, made her return to the Oscars after 36 years following the In Memorian tribute, which concluded with Marvin Hamlisch, who, she said, “died too early.”
In a black-and-gold sparkly gown, she said of Hamlisch, that he “was a composer of extraordinary depth and versatility … He was also a very kind and generous friend who could always make me laugh.” She then launched into “The Way We Were,” from Sydney Pollack’s 1973 movie in which she co-starred with Robert Redford.
Oscar host Seth MacFarlane got in a few zingers (see his opening monologue here), but mainly made us miss Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who were so brilliant at the Golden Globes.
He opened the Oscar show with, “And the quest to make Tommy Lee Jones laugh begins now.” The camera panned to Jones, who got the memo and laughed, as though on cue. “It’s an honor to host the Oscars because everyone else said no,” MacFarlane said, adding, “This is like church, but with more people praying.”
A bit with William Shatner dressed as “Star Trek’s” Captain Kirk warned that MacFarlane’s Oscar hosting duties would be panned as “worst Oscar host ever.” Later, after song-and-dance numbers with Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum and various other actors, MacFarlane worked his way up to “mediocre host,” a description that sadly seemed to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
At least he received a thumbs up from former Oscar host Steve Martin, who tweeted, “Seth MacFarlane was wonderful and who knew? I did. But then, I wrote ‘Cruel Shoes.’”
Academy Awards 2013: Complete List of Winners
BEST PICTURE
Amour
Argo – WINNER
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln – WINNER
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook – WINNER
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained – WINNER
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables – WINNER
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
BEST DIRECTOR
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi – WINNER
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
John Gatins, Flight
Michael Haneke, Amour
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained – WINNER
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Tony Kushner, Lincoln
David Magee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Chris Terrio, Argo – WINNER
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Brave – WINNER
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained, Robert Richardson
Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda – WINNER
Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall, Roger Deakins
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran – WINNER
Les Misérables, Paco Delgado
Lincoln, Joanna Johnston
Mirror Mirror, Eiko Ishioka
Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar Man – WINNER
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Inocente, Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine – WINNER
Kings Point, Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
Mondays at Racine, Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
Open Heart, Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
Redemption, Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
BEST FILM EDITING
Argo, William Goldenberg – WINNER
Life of Pi, Tim Squyres
Lincoln, Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook, Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty, Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Amour, Austria – WINNER
Kon-Tiki, Norway
No, Chile
A Royal Affair, Denmark
War Witch, Canada
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Hitchcock, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
Les Misérables, Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell – WINNER
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi, Mychael Danna – WINNER
Lincoln, John Williams
Skyfall, Thomas Newman
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Before My Time” from Chasing Ice, Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from Ted, Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
“Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi, Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
“Skyfall” from Skyfall, Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth – WINNER
“Suddenly” from Les Misérables, Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Anna Karenina, Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
Les Misérables, Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi, Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
Lincoln, Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson – WINNER
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Adam and Dog, Minkyu Lee
Fresh Guacamole, PES
Head over Heels, Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly
Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, David Silverman
Paperman, John Kahrs – WINNER
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Asad, Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
Buzkashi Boys, Sam French and Ariel Nasr
Curfew, Shawn Christensen – WINNER
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw), Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
Henry, Yan England
BEST SOUND EDITING
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 – WINNER
Zero Dark Thirty, Paul N.J. Ottosson – WINNER
BEST SOUND MIXING
Argo, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
Les Misérables, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes – WINNER
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
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
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 – WINNER
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.
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