The 55th Annual Academy Awards were hosted by Seth McFarlane, creator of Family Guy. Known for his controversial humor and topics, McFarlane did not disappoint, and even offended some, in his opening monologue for the live telecast.
From making jokes about Chris Brown to singing about Meryl Streep’s female anatomy, McFarlane started the show with copious amounts of song and dance, with cameos from Charlize Theron, Daniel Radcliffe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum.
In keeping with the theme, music in film, Catherine Zeta- Jones performed “All That Jazz” from the film adaptation of “Chicago,” which won Best Picture in 2003, Zeta-Jones winning Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.
Jennifer Hudson of “Dreamgirls,” who won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Effie White in 2006, performed the smash hit “And I Am Telling You.” Followed by the ensemble cast of Les Miserables, including Oscar nominees Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway performing live on stage for the first time.
There were many shocking awards handed out early in the night, as Christoph Waltz took home the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Django Unchained.” As predicted, Anne Hathaway took home the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Cosine in “Les Miserables.”
The Oscars gave tribute to 50 years of James Bond films. Presented by former Bond girl Halle Berry, musical guest Dame Shirley Bassey sang her legendary Bond hit, “Goldfinger.” Adele later sang “Skyfall,” the most recent of the Bond themes, which also took home the award for Best Original Score.
Quentin Tarantino’s controversial film “Django Unchained” received the award for Best Original Screenplay, while Ang Lee took home the award for Best Director for the visually stunning “Life of Pi,” which won many other technical awards.
The odds-on favorite, Daniel Day-Lewis, won the Best Actor award for his portrayal as Lincoln, while Jennifer Lawrence, star of the popular Hunger Games movies, shocked the crowd in winning Best Actress for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook.”
Many expected the award to go to Jessica Chastain for “Zero Dark Thirty.” The category included the youngest Oscar nominee ever, and the first nominee born in the 21st century, nine-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, who starred in “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”
In closing the night, Ben Affleck’s, “Argo”, based on the events of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, took home the most prestigious award of Best Picture. First Lady Michelle Obama presented the award
to Affleck from a live feed in the White House, a first for the Oscars. Affleck delivered what many would call the speech of the night, thanking everyone on his journey and becoming very emotional on stage.
Whether you watched for the Academy Awards for the year’s most amazing films or the red carpet fashion, the Oscars were definitely a delight to watch and lived up to the expectations set by the media and the fans alike.
