The silent film The Artist was the front-runner for most of the award season, and the movie came out on top tonight, beating out The Help and Moneyball to win Best Picture at the the 84th annual Academy Awards. The film was nominated for ten awards and took home five, including an award for Best Directing and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Jean Dujardin.
In another highly contested category, Meryl Streep bested Viola Davis and Michelle Williams to take home the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Streep has been nominated 17 times, more than any other performer. But she’s won only three Oscars. Her last win was 29 years ago for lead actress in “Sophie’s Choice.”
Other big winners included Octavia Spencer who kept her winning streak going. The actress won her first Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her part in The Help, and Christopher Plummer won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in Beginners. See the list of winners below.
Best Picture:
“War Horse”
“The Artist”
“Moneyball”
“The Descendants”
“The Tree of Life”
“Midnight In Paris”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Actress in a Leading Role:
Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis in “The Help”
Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”
Actor in a Leading Role:
Demian Bichir in “A Better Life”
George Clooney in “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin in “The Artist” — Winner
Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”
Actress in a Supporting Role:
Berenice Bejo in “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer in “The Help” — Winner
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer in “Beginners” — Winner
Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”
Directing:
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius — Winner
“The Descendants” – Alexander Payne
“Hugo” – Martin Scorsese
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen
“The Tree of Life” – Terrence Malick
Writing (Original Screenplay):
“The Artist” – Written by Michel Hazanavicius
“Bridesmaids” – Written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
“Margin Call” – Written by J.C. Chandor
“Midnight in Paris” – Written by Woody Allen — Winner
“A Separation” – Written by Asghar Farhadi
Writing (Adapted Screenplay):
“The Descendants” – Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon and Jim Rash — Winner
“Hugo” – Screenplay by John Logan
“The Ides of March” – Screenplay by George Clooney and Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
“Moneyball” – Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” – Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan
Music (Original Song):
“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” – Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie — Winner
“Real in Rio” from “Rio” – Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett
Music (Original Score):
“The Adventures of Tintin” – John Williams
“The Artist” – Ludovic Bource — Winner
“Hugo” – Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” – Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse” – John Williams
Documentary (Feature):
“Hell and Back Again” – Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” – Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” – Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Pina” – Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
“Undefeated” – TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas — Winner
See the full list of winners here.
We're looking for writers and editors to join the team. Interested? Apply today!
Let’s Be Friends!