Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” a film about a fake
movie, has earned a very real prize: best picture at the Academy Awards.
In share-the-wealth mode, Oscar voters spread Sunday’s honours among a
range of films, with “Argo” winning three trophies but “Life of Pi” leading
with four.
Daniel Day-Lewis became the first person to win three best-actor Oscars,
the latest coming for “Lincoln,” while “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence
triumphed in Hollywood’s big games as best actress for “Silver Linings
Playbook.”
Ang Lee pulled off a major upset, winning best director for the
shipwreck story “Life of Pi,” taking the prize over Steven Spielberg, who had
been favoured for “Lincoln.” It was the second directing Oscar for Lee, who
also won for “Brokeback Mountain.”
The supporting-acting prizes went to Anne Hathaway for “Les Miserables”
and Christoph Waltz for “Django Unchained.” It was Waltz’s second
supporting-actor Oscar in a Quentin Tarantino film after previously winning for
“Inglourious Basterds.” Tarantino also earned his second Oscar, for the
“Django” screenplay, a category he previously won for “Pulp Fiction.”
From the White House, first lady Michelle Obama joined Jack Nicholson to
help present the final prize to “Argo.”
“I never thought I’d be back here, and I am because of so many of you in
this academy,” said Affleck, who shared a screenplay Oscar with pal Matt Damon
15 years earlier for their breakout film “Good Will Hunting.”
Among the wisdom he’s acquired since then: “You can’t hold grudges —
it’s hard but you can’t hold grudges.”
Kind words for an academy that overlooked him for a directing
nomination, making “Argo” just the fourth film in 85 years to win best picture
when its director was not in the running.
Lawrence took a fall on her way to the stage, tripping on the steps.
“You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell,”
Lawrence joked as the crowd gave her a standing ovation.
At 22, Lawrence is the second-youngest woman to win best actress, behind
Marlee Matlin, who was 21 when she won for “Children of a Lesser God.” Lawrence
also is the third-youngest best-actress contender ever, earning her first
nomination at age 20 two years ago for her breakout role in “Winter’s Bone,”
the film that took her from virtual unknown to one of Hollywood’s
most-versatile and sought-after performers.
With a monumental performance as Abraham Lincoln, Day-Lewis added to the
honours he earned for “My Left Foot” and “There Will Be Blood.” He’s just the
sixth actor to earn three or more Oscars, tied with Meryl Streep, Jack
Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman and Walter Brennan with three each, and just behind
Katharine Hepburn, who won four.
“It’s funny, because three years ago, we agreed to do this swap. I had
actually been committed to play Margaret Thatcher,” a role that earned Streep
her third Oscar last year for “The Iron Lady,” Day-Lewis joked. “And Meryl was
Steven’s first choice for Lincoln. I’d like to see that version.”
On a not-so typically predictable Oscar night, given Lee’s win and
Obama’s appearance, the emcee duties came off stylishly as crude-humour master
Seth MacFarlane was on his best behaviour — mostly — as host.
And “Argo” completed a quest that took it from populist underdog to
Hollywood titleholder in an awards-season journey as quixotic as the film’s
story line.
In Greek mythology, Argo was the name of the ship that took hero Jason
and his Argonauts on their unlikely quest for the Golden Fleece that would
elevate him to his rightful kingship. The real-life thriller “Argo” borrows the
name as title for a phoney sci-fi movie concocted by the CIA as cover to spring
six U.S. diplomats from Iran during the hostage crisis that erupted in 1979.
Like the voyage of Jason and the rescue of the Americans, the Oscar
journey of “Argo” was filled with obstacles.
It was a slick, optimistic film in a best-picture race that often
favours sober, gloomier stories. Best-picture doom seemed to chime for “Argo”
after Affleck missed out on a directing nomination.
Leading the Oscars with 12 nominations, “Lincoln” initially looked like
the default favourite. Then “Argo” started collecting every prize in sight,
winning top honours at the Golden Globes and guilds representing Hollywood
directors, actors, producers and writers. Everyone loved “Argo,” which managed
to dominate awards season while coming across as the deserving underdog because
of the directing snub for Affleck, who played nice and spent the time
proclaiming his respect for the academy and endearing himself with
self-effacing humour and humility.
Hathaway is the third performer in a musical to win supporting actress
during the genre’s resurgence in the last decade.
“It came true,” said Hathaway, who joins 2002 supporting-actress winner
Catherine Zeta-Jones for “Chicago” and 2006 recipient Jennifer Hudson for
“Dreamgirls.” Hathaway had warm thanks for “Les Miz” co-star Hugh Jackman, with
whom she once sang a duet at the Oscars when he was the show’s host.
“Life of Pi” also won for Toronto composer Mychael Danna’s multicultural
musical score that blends Indian and Western instruments and influences, plus
cinematography and visual effects.
“I really want to thank you for believing this story and sharing this
incredible journey with me,” Lee said to all who worked on the film, a surprise
blockbuster about a youth trapped on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.
“Argo” also claimed the Oscar for adapted screenplay for Chris Terrio,
who worked with Affleck to create a liberally embellished story based on an
article about the rescue and part of CIA operative Tony Mendez’s memoir.
Terrio dedicated the award to Mendez, saying “33 years ago, Tony, using
nothing but his creativity and his intelligence, Tony got six people out of a
bad situation.”
The foreign-language prize went to Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke’s
old-age love story “Amour,” which tells the agonizing story of an elderly man
(Jean-Louis Trintignant) tending his wife (Emmanuelle Riva) as she declines
from age and illness. Montreal’s Kim Nguyen had also been nominated in the
category for “Rebelle” (“War Witch”).
Haneke thanked his own wife for supporting him in his work for 30 years.
“You are the centre of my life,” Haneke said.
The Scottish adventure “Brave,” from Disney’s Pixar Animation unit, was
named best animated feature. Pixar films have won seven of the 12 Oscars since
the category was added.
The upbeat musical portrait “Searching for Sugar Man” took the
documentary feature prize. The film follows the quest of two South African fans
to discover the fate of acclaimed but obscure singer-songwriter Sixto
Rodriguez, who dropped out of sight after two albums in the 1970s and was
rumoured to have died a bitter death.
There was a rare tie in one category, with the Osama bin Laden thriller
“Zero Dark Thirty” and the James Bond tale “Skyfall” each winning for sound
editing.
William Shatner made a guest appearance as his “Star Trek” character
Capt. James Kirk, appearing on a giant screen above the stage during
MacFarlane’s monologue, saying he came back in time to stop the host from
ruining the Oscars.
“Your jokes are tasteless and inappropriate, and everyone ends up hating
you,” said Shatner, who revealed a headline supposedly from the next day’s
newspaper that read, “Seth MacFarlane worst Oscar host ever.”
The performance-heavy Oscars also included an opening number featuring
Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum, who did a classy dance while MacFarlane
crooned “The Way You Look Tonight.” Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
then joined MacFarlane for an elegant musical rendition of “High Hopes.”
Halle Berry introduced a tribute to the Bond franchise, in which she has
co-starred, as the British super-spy celebrated his 50th anniversary on the
big-screen last year with the latest adventure “Skyfall.” Shirley Bassey sang
her theme song to the 1960s Bond tale “Goldfinger.” Later, pop star Adele
performed her theme tune from “Skyfall,” which won the best-song Oscar.
A salute to the resurgence of movie musicals in the last decade included
Oscar winners Zeta-Jones singing “All That Jazz” from “Chicago” and Hudson
doing “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from “Dreamgirls.” Hathaway and Hugh
Jackman joined cast mates of best-picture contender “Les Miserables” to sing
songs from their musical.
Academy officials said all performances were sung live.
Fans had pondered how far MacFarlane, the impudent creator of “Family
Guy,” might push the normally prim and proper Oscars. MacFarlane was generally
polite and respectful, showcasing his charm, wit and vocal gifts.
MacFarlane did press his luck a bit on an Abraham Lincoln joke, noting
that Raymond Massey preceded “Lincoln” star Daniel Day-Lewis as an Oscar
nominee for 1940’s “Abe Lincoln in Illinois.”
“I would argue that the actor who really got inside Lincoln’s head was
John Wilkes Booth,” MacFarlane wisecracked, earning some groans from the crowd.
“A hundred and 50 years later, and it’s still too soon?”
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