For those of you who missed the 84th Academy Awards, it’s time to take a look at the main winners from Hollywood’s biggest night.
The biggest triumph of 2012 went to critics favorite ‘The Artist’.
The French silent film was tipped for a win and it delivered, earning five of the gold statuettes.
In terms of award count it actually tied with Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’, but dominated the major categories, taking Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, Best Actor for Jean Dujardin and Best Picture as well as awards for Costume Design and Original Score.
Another clear favorite for a win was Meryl Streep who picked up her second Best Actress trophy.
The actress has received wide praise and several awards for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady’.
At the age of 82, Christopher Plummer picked up his first ever Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ‘Beginners’.
The award is much deserved and has been a long time coming, on accepting his prize the actor quipped “You’re only two years older than me darling, where have you been all of my life?” in reference to his wait.
Best Supporting Actress went to Octavia Spencer for her role in ‘The Help’.
Other winners included veteran director Woody Allen for Best Writing and Bret Mackenzie, known for the comedy series ‘Flight of the Conchords’, for Best Original Song for his contribution of ‘Man or Muppet’ to the latest Muppets movie.
The host for the evening, Billy Crystal, received lukewarm reviews for his tenth turn at hosting the ceremony, and courted controversy for his decision to appear in blackface for the show’s opening montage.
Sacha Baron Cohen, star of the ‘Borat’ and ‘Bruno’ movies, caused a stir on the red carpet when he appeared in character to promote his latest film ‘The Dictator’.
The comedian carried an urn purporting to contain the ashes of Kim Jong-il, which he poured over the head of TV host Ryan Seacrest.
Another star to make an impression on the carpet was Angelina Jolie who appeared wearing an Atelier Versace ball gown, with a huge slit up to the thigh. Jolie’s revealed right leg soon became a trending topic on Twitter and even spawned a fake Twitter account ‘@angiesrightleg‘.
To read more about the 2012 Oscar’s, visit the official site: www.oscar.go.com
For more movie news pick up the latest issue of Tokyo Weekender magazine.
Text by Christopher O’Keeffe
