Hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco failed to bring excitement to this year’s Academy Awards. Despite all the hype leading up to the film industry’s biggest night, the young pair did not leave up to the promise of injecting the show with a younger, hip vibe. Hathaway tried too hard (so much giddy giggling) while Franco didn’t try hard enough (was the soap actor high as a kite or what?). Most jokes fell flat, including the opening Inception-y dream sequence. The auto-tuned bit was quite enjoyable, however. But let the numbers speak for themselves: In the 18-49 demo, ratings dropped twelve percent from last year (11.7 rating vs. 13.3); this year’s ceremony attracted 37.6 million viewers compared to last year’s Alec Baldwin/Steve Martin treat which garnered 41.7 million. Since the show itself really wasn’t all that memorable, let’s just skip right past it and onto the winners.
The King’s Speech ruled the night with wins in the major categories including Best Picture, Best Actor (Colin Firth), and Best Director (Tom Hooper), and Best Original Screenplay (David Seidler). The Social Network took home three wins; Aaron Sorkin was recognized again for Best Adapted Screenplay, as was Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Best Original Score. The film also received Best Achievement in Film Editing. Though it’s still a damn shame that Christopher Nolan was not nominated for his directing, Inception did managed to snag four awards including Best Achievement in Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was not ignored; it won Best Achievement in Art Direction and Costume Design.
Other notable winners include Natalie Portman as Best Actress (Black Swan), Christian Bale and Melissa Leo as Best Supporting Actors in The Fighter, and Best Animated Feature was Toy Story 3. The animated flick was also recognized for Randy Newman’s “We Belong Together” original song. Sadly Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop did not receive Best Documentary. Look after the break for the rest of the Oscar winners. Continue reading Oscar winners: ‘The King’s Speech’ receives top honors