It’s Oscar time! And Admit One is bringing it to you live… from our living room.
Who’s gonna take home the coveted gold statues? Will Argo continue its run? How many of its 12 nominations will Lincoln win? Will Anne Hathaway sing her acceptance speech? Find out here – if you’re not watching it live yourself.
We’ll update this post throughout the telecast and share our thoughts on the winners, the event, and any mishaps that occur along the way.
LIVE BLOG:
Final Thoughts: No real surprises, except maybe Ang Lee winning Best Director. I can see mixed reviews for Seth MacFarlane as host. Thought he started and finished strong but the jokes in the middle were hit and miss. His song and dance routines were impressive though. I liked that they tried some new things, like the Shatner and Obama live links, to try and freshen the show up. Congrats to all the winners!
So what did you think of the show? Agree with the Academy’s picks?
6:01pm – “Here’s to the losers.” Brilliant. Poor Tom Cruise.
5:59pm – Nice recovery Ben. That ramble almost got away from you.
Best Picture:
Amour
Argo – WINNER
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Thoughts: Congrats Ben. Bet you really don’t care about the snub now. How many Oscars is that for Clooney now?
5:53pm – Jack Nicholson! Reminds me to watch Chinatown again soon. Wait… it’s Michelle Obama… live from the White House! A rather unique way to introduce Best Picture.
5:52pm – and now the big one…
Actor in a Leading Role:
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln – WINNER
Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Denzel Washington – Flight
Thoughts: There was never any doubt. He is one of the greatest actors ever to grace the screen. Best speech (and joke) of the night.
5:45pm – Meryl Streep!
Actress in a Leading Role:
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook – WINNER
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible
Thoughts: Whoops, she fell. Blame the wedding dress. All jokes aside, Jennifer, you are seriously talented. Congrats.
Directing:
Michael Haneke – Amour
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Ang Lee – Life of Pi – WINNER
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Thoughts: Huge win for Ang Lee. Was sure Spielberg was going to get the nod. Congrats Ang.
Writing (Original Screenplay):
Michael Haneke – Amour
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained – WINNER
John Gatins – Flight
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty
Thoughts: Second Academy Award for Quentin. Typical Tarantino acceptance speech – possibly a little alcohol fueled?
Writing (Adapted Screenplay):
Chris Terrio – Argo – WINNER
Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
David Magee – Life of Pi
Tony Kushner – Lincoln
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Thoughts: Another big win for Argo. Thought David Magee might get this one.
5:22pm – Charlize Theron and Dustin Hoffman. It shouldn’t work but it so does.
Music (Original Song):
“Before My Time” from Chasing Ice – J. Ralph
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from Ted – Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane
“Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi – Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri
“Skyfall” from Skyfall – Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth – WINNER
“Suddenly” from Les Misérables – Claude-Michel Schonberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
Thoughts: Superb Bond tune. Deserved winner. Love Adele.
Music (Original Score):
Dario Marianelli – Anna Karenina
Alexandre Desplat – Argo
Mychael Danna – Life of Pi – WINNER
John Williams – Lincoln
Thomas Newman – Skyfall
Thoughts: Nice win for Pi. The score was great.
5:07pm – Catherine Zeta Jones doesn’t age!
5:05pm – The In Memoriam was touching, with a special moment from Barbara Streisand.
Production Design:
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln – WINNER
Thoughts: Lincoln wins one… finally.
4:47pm – Wow. Kristen Stewart really doesn’t want to be on stage. I know you’ve hurt your leg but show some respect girl.
4:45pm – It won’t win but I did love Django Unchained – now being highlighted in the third ‘Best Picture’ segment. Sam Jackson was sensational.
4:35pm – Adele wasn’t her usual self. Sounded like she was holding back. I wonder why?
Film Editing:
William Goldenberg – Argo – WINNNER
Tim Squyres – Life of Pi
Michael Kahn – Lincoln
Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers – Silver Linings Playbook
Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg – Zero Dark Thirty
Thoughts: Argo wins. Odds of the big prize have improved greatly.
Actress in a Supporting Role:
Amy Adams – The Master
Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables – WINNER
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook
Thoughts: The dead cert wins it. Was there any doubt? No Jaws for Anne…
4:20pm – Christopher Plummer, you are all class.
Sound Editing:
Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn – Argo
Wylie Stateman – Django Unchained
Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton – Life of Pi
Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers – Skyfall – CO-WINNER
Paul N.J. Ottosson – Zero Dark Thirty – CO-WINNER
Thoughts: A tie!?! Is that legal? Skyfall (co-) wins an award!
Sound Mixing:
Argo John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia – Argo
Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes – Les Misérables – WINNER
Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin – Life of Pi
Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins – Lincoln
Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson – Skyfall
Thoughts: No surprise. Can’t have been easy mixing that film.
4:10pm – Nice CGI on Ted. Looks like a guy in a suit.
Oscar Musical tribute was fun but not everyone was singing live… isn’t that right Catherine? Jennifer Hudson nailed it though.
Foreign Language Film:
Amour (Austria) – WINNER
Kon-Tiki (Norway)
No (Chile)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
War Witch (Canada)
Thoughts: Brilliant film – finally coming to NZ cinemas very soon! Unfortunately this win rules it out for ‘Best Picture’ now.
3:50pm – Who’d like to see Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain go at it in a cage match? No? Just me then.
Documentary Feature:
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar Man – WINNER
Thoughts: Yes! Loved this doco. The closest category of the night though – all outstanding films.
3:38pm – Second ‘Best Picture’ segment features Argo – our pick to win.
Documentary Short Subject:
Inocente – WINNER
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption
Thoughts: More to look out for – at this year’s NZIFF hopefully.
Live Action Short Film:
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew – WINNER
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)
Henry
Thoughts: These all look great. Hunt them down.
3:26pm – Shirley Bassey!
3:25pm – Nice Bond tribute. But where were the classic lines?
3:21pm – Jaws did the trick. Acceptance speeches are now just seconds long. Funny.
Makeup and Hairstyling:
Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel – Hitchcock
Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell – Les Misérables – WINNER
Thoughts: The Hobbit misses out. No surprise Les Mis picked it up given all its nominations.
Costume Design:
Jacqueline Durran – Anna Karenina – WINNER
Paco Delgado – Les Misérables
Joanna Johnston – Lincoln
Eiko Ishioka – Mirror Mirror
Colleen Atwood – Snow White and the Huntsman
Thoughts: Good call… based on the trailer anyway.
3:11pm – Jaws theme to cut speeches off. Hilarious! Funniest moment of the night – although I’m not sure the winners thought so. Nice try fellas, but no one can complete with Jaws.
Visual Effects:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi – WINNER
The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
Thoughts: Close call but can’t argue with the result. Pi gets some early wins on the board.
Cinematography:
Seamus McGarvey – Anna Karenina
Robert Richardson – Django Unchained
Claudio Miranda – Life of Pi – WINNER
Janusz Kaminski – Lincoln
Roger Deakins – Skyfall
Thoughts: Again, well deserved. Life of Pi is absolutely stunning. Made me believe in 3D for the first time.
3:06pm – The Avengers cast intro is how it should be done.
3:03pm – The first of the ‘Best Picture’ segments reminds me just how brilliant Beasts of the Southern Wild and Life of Pi were.
Animated Feature Film:
Brave – WINNER
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
Thoughts: Probably a close call. Wreck-It Ralph would have got my vote.
Best Animated Short Film:
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head over Heels
Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”
Paperman – WINNER
Thoughts: Not seen these but Paperman looks gorgeous. Will have to check it out.
2:56pm – Rudd-McCarthy intro was very odd… and uncomfortable.
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Alan Arkin – Argo
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained – WINNER
Thoughts: Great call and well deserved. Waltz was outstanding as Dr King Shultz. The guy’s acceptance speeches are always classy and humble.
2:45pm – That whole Shatner bit was both funny and strange.
2:43pm – MacFarlane should’ve been cast in Les Mis.
2:40pm – Sock puppet reenactment of Flight!
2:37pm – “We saw your boobs!”
2:36pm – William Shatner!?!
2:34pm – MacFarlane ‘goes there’ with Rihanna and Chris Brown… and even Mel Gibson.
2:33pm – Is it just me or does the audience reaction to MacFarlane’s monologue sound like a laugh track?
2:31pm – Tommy Lee Jones laughed at MacFarlane’s jibe!
2:30pm – We are underway…
2:25pm – We’re not a fashion blog but… Jessica Chastain, Samantha Barks, Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Laurence and Zoe Saldana = Stunning. Bow ties for the Gents = Classy. E!’s ‘Manicam’ = Creepy.
2:00pm – Coffee made. Snacks ready. Time to fly through the Red Carpet coverage before this thing kicks off.
