The Oscars

Paul Torres

THE OSCARS - 84th ACADEMY AWARDS
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2011. The ceremony took place at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood, California and was televised live in the United States on ABC on February 26, 2012.
The ceremony was hosted by Billy Crystal, marking hisninth time as host, and produced by Brian Grazer. Eddie Murphy was originally scheduled to be the host, and Brett Ratner was to be producer. However, Murphy stepped down after Ratner resigned, following Ratner's use of a gay slur when discussing rehearsals.
The Artist and Hugo each won five awards, with the former winning Best Picture and its star Jean Dujardin winning Best Actor. The Iron Lady wontwo awards, including Best Actress for Meryl Streep. The Artist became the first silent motion picture in 83 years (after Wings, which won Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards) and the first French film to win Best Picture.
Academy Awards of Merit were presented in 24 standard competitive categories at the February 26, 2012, ceremony. Nominations for these awards were announced by AMPAS onJanuary 24, 2012. In addition, three Honorary Academy Awards were presented at the 3rd Annual Governors Awards ceremony held on November 12, 2011.

Best Picture | Best Director |
The Artist – Thomas Langmann * The Descendants – Jim Burke, Jim Taylor, and Alexander Payne * Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Scott Rudin * The Help – Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, and MichaelBarnathan * Hugo – Graham King and Martin Scorsese * Midnight in Paris – Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum * Moneyball – Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, and Brad Pitt * The Tree of Life – Dede Gardner, Sarah Green, Grant Hill, and Bill Pohlad * War Horse – Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy | Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist * Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris * TerrenceMalick – The Tree of Life * Alexander Payne – The Descendants * Martin Scorsese – Hugo |
Best Actor | Best Actress |
Jean Dujardin – The Artist as George Valentin * Demián Bichir – A Better Life as Carlos Galindo * George Clooney – The Descendants as Matt King * Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as George Smiley * Brad Pitt – Moneyball as Billy Beane | MerylStreep – The Iron Lady as Margaret Thatcher * Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs as Albert Nobbs * Viola Davis – The Help as Aibileen Clark * Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Lisbeth Salander * Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn as Marilyn Monroe |
Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actress |
Christopher Plummer – Beginners as Hal Fields * Kenneth Branagh – MyWeek with Marilyn as Laurence Olivier * Jonah Hill – Moneyball as Peter Brand * Nick Nolte – Warrior as Paddy Conlon * Max von Sydow – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close as The Renter | Octavia Spencer – The Help as Minny Jackson * Bérénice Bejo – The Artist as Peppy Miller * Jessica Chastain – The Help as Celia Foote * Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids as Megan Price *Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs as Hubert Page |

Best Writing – Original Screenplay | Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay |
Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen * The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius * Bridesmaids – Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo * Margin Call – J.C. Chandor * A Separation – Asghar Farhadi | The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash from The Descendants byKaui Hart Hemmings * Hugo – John Logan from The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick * The Ides of March – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon from Farragut North by Beau Willimon * Moneyball – Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin from Moneyball by Michael Lewis * Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan...