The 84th Annual Academy Awards took place on February 26th, 2012. Writers of this site and some of our devoted readers and listeners gathered together in the Widescreen Warrior chatroom to talk about the show as we watched it – a movement that illustrated the very theme of the show. Movies bring us together. They highlight the best things of life. They make us laugh and cry, and it’s an experience we love sharing with others. I have a grand gratitude for those who share that experience with me, both those I know well and those who just enjoy reading – or taking issue with – my words.
I don’t know about you, but I thought this year’s presentation was well executed. Bringing Billy Crystal back and letting him do the exact same things that entertained us the last time he hosted the show turned out to be just what the ceremony needed. Crystal was great, the theme was the best the ceremony has had in recent memory, and as a result this was one of the best broadcasts I can remember watching – at least the best it’s been since Jackman hosted a few years ago.
As for the winners, here they are along, with the nominees in each category. Yes, there were a few surprises along the way, but overall I don’t think there will be many who will complain about the results – especially not me, since all I really wanted was to see The Muppets win for “Best Song,” which it did.
2012 Academy Award Nominees & Winners
Best Picture
The Artist - *WINNER*
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Directing
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius - *WINNER*
The Descendants - Alexander Payne
Hugo - Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir – A Better Life
George Clooney – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin – The Artist - *WINNER*
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis – The Help
Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady - *WINNER*
Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn
Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Christopher Plummer – Beginners - *WINNER*
Max von Sydow – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – The Help - *WINNER*
Animated Feature Film
A Cat - Paris Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico & Rita - Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2 - Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Puss in Boots - Chris Miller
Rango - Gore Verbinski- *WINNER*
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants - Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash - *WINNER*
Hugo - John Logan
The Ides of March - George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball - Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids - Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call - J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen - *WINNER*
A Separation - Asghar Farhadi
Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo - *WINNER*
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Music (Original Score)
The Adventures of Tintin - John Williams
The Artist - Ludovic Bource - *WINNER*
Hugo - Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Alberto Iglesias
War Horse - John Williams
Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” - The Muppets (Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie) - *WINNER*
“Real in Rio” - Rio (Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett)
Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo - *WINNER*
Midnight in Paris
War Horse
Cinematography
The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo - Robert Richardson - *WINNER*
The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse - Janusz Kaminski
Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist - *WINNER*
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.
Documentary (Feature)
Hell and Back Again - Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front - Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory - Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
Pina - Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
Undefeated - TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas - *WINNER*
Documentary (Short Subject)
“ The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement” – Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
“ God Is the Bigger Elvis” – Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
“Incident – New Baghdad” – James Spione
“Saving Face” – Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy - *WINNER*
“ The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” – Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen
Film Editing
The Artist - Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants - Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall - *WINNER*
Hugo - Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball - Christopher Tellefsen
Foreign Language Film
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran) – *WINNER*
Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady - *WINNER*
Short Film (Animated)
“Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” – William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg - *WINNER*
“La Luna” – Enrico Casarosa
“A Morning Stroll” – Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
“Wild Life” – Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
Short Film (Live Action)
“Pentecost” – Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
“Raju” – Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
“The Shore” – Terry George and Oorlagh George - *WINNER*
“Time Freak” – Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
“Tuba Atlantic” – Hallvar Witzø
Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo - *WINNER*
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Sound Mixing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo - *WINNER*
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
