On Feb. 26, the 84th Annual Academy Awards took place in Hollywood, CA. In case you didn’t catch all three hours of the awards show (or you were smart and didn’t watch it), I am here to fill you in on everything you missed.
First, as I mentioned in my previous Cannonized Cinema column previewing the Oscars, there were nine films nominated for Best Picture. I feel that this is at least four too many (or in the case of this year, one “Moneyball” too many). However, it was the silent film “The Artist” that took home Best Picture. For the most part, I agree with this decision. To make a silent film in this day and age is not only bold, it’s down right risky. But the filmmakers were able to make a beautiful film that kept the attention of today’s ADHD audience. Kudos to Michael Hazanavicius, director of “The Artist” who also took home Best Director and to Jean Dujardin for winning Best Actor in “The Artist.”
Meryl Streep took home another Oscar for her performance in “The Iron Lady.” Streep, who won Best Actress, has been nominated 17 times for either Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress, more than any other person. She had previously won Best Supporting Actress in 1979 for “Kramer vs. Kramer” and won Best Actress in 1982 for Best Actress for “Sophie’s Choice.” I’ll admit that I’m a little biased when it comes to Streep. I believe she is a fantastic actress and her 17 nominations and three wins prove that. I’m almost tempted to spearhead a campaign to rename the Best Actress Award the Meryl Streep Award.
Christopher Plummer took home Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Beginners.” Many feel this is an honor long overdue for the 82-year-old actor, a sentiment I couldn’t agree with more. Octavia Spencer won Best Supporting Actress for her role in “The Help.” Some believe this was because the Academy knew “The Help” wasn’t going to win Best Picture, Best Director or Best Actress so it had to win something. While I wish that politics didn’t play a role in deciding the Academy Awards, it unfortunately is a reality of the awards, and I feel this time it played a hand in Spencer winning.
Oh, one more thing. The song “Man or Muppet” from the film “The Muppets” by Bret McKenzie won Best Original song. If you haven’t seen “The Muppets,” go see it and you’ll know why it deserved to win.
By Kelly Cannon
Life EditorÂ
