Although it’s ironic that one of the biggest events on television is an homage to film, it is also true that the two media are closely linked. For example, television allows us to watch movie stars and other Hollywood elite win awards in the comfort of our own home, combining the glamour of cinema with the convenience of TV.
Audience reaction to host Seth MacFarlane was divided. Some found it funny, other found it offensive. Either way, you have to admit that getting a consensus of a worldwide audience of 1 billion would be difficult. There are few times when viewers all agree that the hosts were entertaining. One exception is this year’s Golden Globes, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, to which the opening of the Academy Awards made a few allusions. MacFarlane referred to Tommy Lee Jones’ stoic appearance at the Golden Globes by saying his goal was to make him laugh, which was immediately accomplished. William Shatner as Captain Kirk asked “Why can’t they host everything?” as he came from the future to tell MacFarlane that his reviews the next days would be abysmal. MacFarlane also cracked a joke about Jodie Foster’s extremely public appeal for privacy.
For the first time, there was a theme for the ceremony, celebrating music in film. Dame Shirley Bassey sang “Goldfinger” during the James Bond tribute. There was also a celebration of some of the best movie musicals of the past decade with live renditions of Oscar-winning performances. Catherine Zeta-Jones sang “All that Jazz” from Chicago. Jennifer Hudson got a standing ovation for her performance of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dreamgirls. The cast of Les Misérables performed numbers from the show which was up for several awards last night. Adele also performed live for the first time in a year to sing her Best Original song nominee, now winner, “Skyfall”.
Some of the award categories, such as Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, were easier to predict than others. One of the most buzzed about moments post-show was Jennifer Lawrence tripping on the way up the stairs to accept her Best Actress Award. Then she gave her acceptance speech full of the self-deprecating humor and sarcasm she is so well known for. A final surprise was Michelle Obama announcing the Best Picture winner from the White House.
But if you missed all of this, then you also missed who the winners are, so to get down to what the night was for…
THE WINNERS:
No film truly swept the awards but Life of Pi led the count with 4 wins, closely followed by Argo and Les Misérables with 3 wins each.
- Best Picture: Argo
- Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
- Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
- Best Supporting Actor: Christophe Waltz, Django Unchained
- Best supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
- Best Director: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
- Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
- Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, Argo
- Animated Feature: Brave
- Foreign Language Film: Amour (Austria)
- Original Song: Adele, “Skyfall”
- Original Score: Life of Pi
- Costume Design: Anna Karenina
- Makeup and Hairstyling: Les Misérables
- Cinematography: Life of Pi
- Visual Effects: Life of Pi
- Production Design: Lincoln
- Editing: Argo
- Sound Editing: tie between Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall
- Sound Mixing: Les Misérables
- Documentary Feature: Searching For Sugar Man
- Documentary Short: Inocente
- Live action Short: Curfew
- Animated short: Paperman
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