Argo beats Lincoln for Best Picture, Jennifer Hudson performance wows.
It's a wrap on the Oscars!
Django Unchained was the night's first winner, scoring a Best Supporting Actor prize for Christoph Waltz. The film also earned writer/director Quentin Tarantino a nod for Best Original Screenplay.
Life of Pi got three statuettes, including a Best Director win for Ang Lee, while Les Misérables earned Anne Hathaway her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Daniel-Day Lewis (Lincoln) beat out Denzel Washington (Flight) for Best Actor, while Beasts of the Southern Wild star Quvenzhané Wallis lost to Jennifer Lawrence.
Apart from Lawrence's win, Silver Linings Playbook was shut out from the awards. The film did, however, nearly sweep the Independent Spirit Awards, which took place on Saturday. The more laid-back awards show, known as the Oscars of indie film, also recognized multiple Oscar-nominee Beasts of the Southern Wild for Best Cinematography and Ava DuVernay's Middle of Nowhere.
In a night of surprises, the biggest shock of all came when dark horse Argo won Best Picture over Lincoln, Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty and six other entries. First lady Michelle Obama presented the award via satellite from the White House. The filmmakers, including producer George Clooney, made it a point to recognize director Ben Affleck, who was left off the Best Director nominees list.
Highlights of the telecast included performances by Dame Shirley Bassey, who sang a restrospective of hits from James Bond films and Jennifer Hudson. Adele also performed her hit "Skyfall," which won her the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Host Seth McFarlane brought his signature edgy wit, but perhaps pushed the envelope too far when he cracked a joke at the expense of on-again couple Chris Brown and Rihanna. When describing the plot of Django Unchained, he quipped, "this is a story about man fighting to get back his woman who has been subjected to unthinkable violence, or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie."
The Family Guy creator also said of Tarantino's slavery-era flick, which attracted plenty of controversy for its liberal use of the n-word: "I'm told the screenplay is loosely based off of Mel Gibson’s voicemails?"
With that, another awards season draws to a close and the speculation begins on who will be contenders for next year's honors.
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(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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