The Oscar winners and our impressions of the night as a whole

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

And so, another edition of the Academy Awards is in the books. Overall, this was a predictable end to a rather predictable year at the Oscars. I think we all knew, once the nominations were released, and films like DRIVE and TAKE SHELTER were ignored that this would be a fairly ho-hum affair, and it was. Really, the only surprise (to me anyways) was Meryl Streep taking home the Oscar for THE IRON LADY, as I was certain Viola Davis was going to win.

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Other than that, no huge surprises. Jean Dujardin and THE ARTIST continued it’s streak, and hopefully the talented Jean Dujardin will go on to a successful Hollywood career. If not, well, he’s already the biggest thing in France since Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, so there’s always that…

The biggest upset of the evening for me was the way Sacha Baron Cohen was completely ignored as THE DICTATOR, although the sharp-eyed among you might have spotted him in the background when Michelle Williams was being interviewed. Over on E!, he caused a bit of controversy by spilling what he claimed to be Kim Jong Il’s ashes over a pissed-off Ryan Seacrest. Damn, I should have watched E!

As for host Billy Crystal, he did a safe but commendable job as host. He was about the same as he’s been in the other eight years that he hosted. I’m sure the Academy was thrilled to have him back. His jokes were light, pleasant, and totally non-offensive (save for a slight jab at Christian Bale, warning that the audience was in his eye line) and the A-listers ate him up. His mind-reading bit was kinda funny, and it gave THE ARTIST’s Uggie his moment to shine (although the pooch looked tuckered out by the end). I thought his opening montage was a tad cheesy, but fun- and his song & dance, well, it’s Billy…

Here’s a complete rundown of the winners.

BEST PICTURE
THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
THE HELP
THE TREE OF LIFE
HUGO
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
MONEYBALL
WAR HORSE
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, THE DESCENDANTS
Brad Pitt, MONEYBALL
Jean Dujardin, THE ARTIST
Damien Bachir, A BETTER LIFE
Gary Oldman, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, ALBERT NOBBS
Viola Davis, THE HELP
Rooney Mara, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Meryl Streep, THE IRON LADY
Michelle Williams, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
Nick Nolte, WARRIOR
Jonah Hill, MONEYBALL
Max von Sydow, EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
Christopher Plummer, BEGINNERS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, THE ARTIST
Melissa McCarthy, BRIDESMAIDS
Janet McTeer, ALBERT NOBBS
Octavia Spencer, THE HELP
Jessica Chastain, THE HELP

BEST ANIMATED FILM
RANGO
CHICO AND RITA
A CAT IN PARIS
KUNG FU PANDA 2
PUSS IN BOOTS

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Alexander Payne, THE DESCENDANTS
Martin Scorsese, HUGO
Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Terrence Malick, THE TREE OF LIFE

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne and Jim Rash, THE DESCENDANTS
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, MONEYBALL
John Logan, HUGO
George Clooney and Grant Heslov, IDES OF MARCH
Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo, BRIDESMAIDS
JC Chandor, MARGIN CALL
Asghar Farhadi, A SEPARATION

BEST ART DIRECTION
THE ARTIST
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2
HUGO
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
WAR HORSE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
HUGO
THE TREE OF LIFE
WAR HORSE

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
ANONYMOUS
THE ARTIST
HUGO
JANE EYRE
W.E.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
HELL AND BACK AGAIN
IF A TREE FALLS
PARADISE LOST 3: PURGATORY
PINA
UNDEFEATED

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
“The Barber of Brimingham”
“God is the Bigger Elvis”
“Saving Face”
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
“Incident in New Baghdad”

BEST EDITING
THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
HUGO
MONEYBALL

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BULLHEAD
FOOTNOTE
IN DARKNESS
A SEPARATION
MONSIEUR LAZHAR

BEST MAKEUP
ALBERT NOBBS
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2
THE IRON LADY

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
THE ARTIST
HUGO
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
WAR HORSE

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Man or Muppet,” THE MUPPETS
“Real in Rio,” RIO

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
“Dimanche/Sunday”
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
“La Luna”
“A Morning Stroll”
“Wild Life”

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
“Pentecost”
“Raju”
“The Shore”
“Time Freak”
“Tuba Atlantic”

BEST SOUND EDITING
DRIVE
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
HUGO
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
WAR HORSE

BEST SOUND MIXING
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
HUGO
MONEYBALL
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
WAR HORSE

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2
HUGO
REAL STEEL
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON