The 83rd Oscars
Ceremony informationOpting for younger faces for the ceremony, producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer chose James Franco and Anne Hathaway as co-hosts. Franco's nomination for Best Actor marked the first time since 1973 that an actor or actress hosted the award ceremony in the same year that he or she was nominated for an acting award. At the 45th Academy Awards,Michael Caine co-hosted the ceremony and was nominated for Best Actor in Sleuth. The last host to win an acting award wasDavid Niven, who won the Oscar for Best Actor in Separate Tables at the 31st Academy Awards in 1959.[12]
This marked the first time since 1957 that an Academy Awards ceremony was co-hosted by a male/female duo. It was also the first time in the history of the awards broadcasts that a male/female duo physically shared the same stage in their hosting duties.[11]
[edit]Voting trends and summaryFor the second consecutive year, the field of major nominees included at least one blockbuster at the American and Canadianbox offices. However, only three of the nominees had grossed over $100 million before the nominations were announced, compared with five from the previous year.[13] The combined gross of the ten Best Picture nominees when the Oscars were announced was $1.2 billion, the second-highest ever behind 2009. The average gross was $119.3 million.[13]
Two of the ten Best Picture nominees were among the top ten releases in box office during the nominations. At the time of the announcement of nominations on January 25, Toy Story 3 was the highest-grossing film among the Best Picture nominees with $414.9 million in domestic box office receipts.[14] The only other top ten box office hit to receive a nomination was Inception which earned $292.5 million.[14] Among the remaining eight nominees, True Grit was the next-highest-grossing film with $137.9 million[14] followed by The Social Network ($95.4 million),[14] Black Swan $83.2 million,[14] The Fighter($72.6 million),[14] The King's Speech ($57.3 million),[14] The Kids Are All Right ($20.8 million),[14] 127 Hours($11.2 million),[14] and finally Winter's Bone ($6.2 million).[14]
Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 55 nominations went to 15 films on the list. Only Toy Story 3 (1st), Inception (5th),How to Train Your Dragon (9th), True Grit (17th), The Social Network (29th), The Town (32nd), Black Swan (38th), and The Fighter (45th) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, Best Picture or Animated Feature. The other top-50 box office hits that earned nominations were Alice in Wonderland (2nd), Iron Man 2 (3rd), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (6th), Tangled (10th), Tron: Legacy (12th), Salt (21st), and Unstoppable (39th)
For the sixth year in a row the award for Best Picture went to an R rated film (The King's Speech). Despite having the second most nominations of the show with ten, True Grit failed to win anything.
This was the first time since 2000 (Russell Crowe for Gladiator) when the winner of Best Picture also won Best Actor. For the fifth time in history, two performers won for playing a parent and child (Melissa Leo and Christian Bale in The Fighter), but it was the first time that both awards came in the supporting categories; Brenda Fricker and Daniel Day-Lewis also won for playing a mother and son in 1989's My Left Foot, and on three occasions (the awards for 1938, 1987 and 1993) actresses have won for playing a mother and daughter. Also notable was that three of the four acting awards went to performers playing real people, with Bale's subject Dicky Eklund being present at the ceremony; only Best Actress recipient Natalie Portman won for not playing a real person – an ironic twist, given that the Best Actress category had in recent years been the one most constantly won for biographical portrayals (eight times in the previous eleven years).
The King's Speech was the first period film since Chicago to win Best Picture, which is interesting since in the past it has usually gone to period films.
The Fighter also became the first film since 1986 to win both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Oscars. (At the 59th Academy Awards, these were won by Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest, respectively, for Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters.)
The King's Speech also marked only the second Best Picture winner since 1991 to have won only major Oscars, meaning no tech or music awards for it. The other one was No Country for Old Men.
Also notable was that the nominees for Best Picture this year were shorter than most other years. With Inception being the longest just clocking under 2 and a half hours followed by The Social Network which was 2 hours.
[edit]Critical reviewsThe show received mostly negative reception from media publications.[15] Some media outlets were very critical of the show. Most critics judged the hosting duties of Hathaway and Franco as a mismatched affair, with some praising Hathaway's hosting duties while criticizing Franco's unease and lack of energy on stage. Film critic Roger Ebert criticized the telecasting noting that it was "The worst Oscarcast I've seen, and I go back awhile." He went on to praise the winners of the night, but he ended his review with the words, "Dead. In. The. Water."[16] The Hollywood Reporter called the show "spectacularly bad" and stated that "This year, the Oscars hit a new low. Like it fell into a hole."[17] The similar conviction was also echoed by Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers, calling it the "worst Oscars ever".[18] A review from CNN graded the show a C and, commenting on the hosts said "The Oscars were trying to be like the Lady Ga Ga Grammys: Let's try to be young and hip. But with the combo of James Franco and Anne Hathaway as hosts, it fell flat. Anne did her best, but Franco seemed dazed and confused."[19] E! Online also questioned whether it was the worst Oscar show in history stating, "This was sizing up to be everything the Oscars are not supposed to be: clunky, amateurish, and pretty much lacking in actual entertainment value for those of us not picking up awards."[20]
Entertainment Weekly gave one of the very few positive reviews of the show stating "Funny, poised, relaxed, and smart, Anne Hathaway and James Franco made for marvelous Oscar hosts. Their combination of respect and informality struck the right tone for the night, a happily surprising production that had its share of fine moments both planned and ad-libbed." On the overall aspect of the ceremony, they concluded "all in all, it was a fun, briskly paced night.".[21] The Los Angeles Times, who were not as critical of the awards show, gave a moderate review, commenting on Franco and Hathaway, "the two seemed to be following the directive to "first do no harm," as if they knew they couldn't score as big as Jimmy Fallon did with theEmmys but were determined to avoid becoming morning show fodder like Ricky Gervais was after this year's Golden Globes. The result was a show that moved along, with a few draggy bits and high notes, like precisely what it was: a very long and fancy awards show." Their review further said "Overall, the evening had an oddly business-like feel, a mind-numbing evenness that was exacerbated by the relentless predictability of the winners, and the fact that none of the acting winners were played off no matter how long their "thank-yous" went."[22]
[edit]Ratings and receptionA poll conducted by Fox News showed a majority of 57% of viewers ranking the show as the worst Oscars ever.[23]
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 37.90 million people over its length, which was a 10% decrease from the previous year's ceremony.[24][25] An estimated 71.45 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. In addition, the program scored an 11.78 rating over a 33.96 share among the 18-49 demographic, which was a 12% percent drop. The show also drew lower Nielsen ratings compared to the two previous ceremonies with 22.97% of households watching over a 33.63 share.[24]
[edit]Controversies[edit]Leaked ceremony scheduleOn February 25, 2011, reporter Nikki Finke leaked a detailed schedule for the entire ceremony on the websiteDeadline.com.[26] The leaked schedule indicated that, among other details, Tom Hanks would present the first award of the night for Best Art Direction, hosts Franco and Hathaway would appear in an opening segment in which they are digitally inserted into the ten Best Picture nominated films, previous host Billy Crystal would make a guest appearance, Kathryn Bigelow would present the Best Director award, and Steven Spielberg would present the Best Picture award.[27]
[edit]Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin dance and kiss ommissionLGBT-interest media outlets questioned ABC's decision to cut away from a shot of Screenplay Award presenters Josh Brolinand Javier Bardem dancing and exchanging a kiss to an extended shot of Penelope Cruz.[28][29] ABC declined to comment on the incident.[30] Bruce Cohen, co-producer of the telecast and himself openly gay, issued the following statement:
It [the dance and the kiss] was unscripted, and the plan in the truck was always to cut to Penelope in the audience applauding Josh's and Javier’s introduction, so that is what happened, just as they were starting to dance. Josh and Javier’s moment (I saw them start to dance, but, to be honest, I have no idea if they kissed — that’s the first I’ve heard of that) would have made a great TV moment, but since no one knew it was coming, we cut to the gorgeous Mz. [sic] Cruz as planned. By the time we cut back from her close-up, James and Javier were walking to the podium.[31]
[edit]In Memoriam exclusionsThough Corey Haim had been one of the world's most bankable actors before he turned 21 due to his roles in Lucas, The Lost Boys and License to Drive,[32] he was omitted from the 'In Memoriam' tribute montage at both the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards and the 83rd Annual Academy Awards in the year following his death.[33] Perceived by the press as a 'snub', Haim's omission from the Oscars received widespread media coverage.[34][35]Academy Awards of Merit were presented in 24 competitive categories. In each category, award winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface, followed by the remaining nominees.
Best PictureBest Director
[edit]Academy Honorary Award[edit]Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award[edit]Presenters and performers[edit]PresentersThe following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.[9]
[show] Presenters (in order of appearance)[edit]Performers[show] Performers (in order of appearance)[edit]In MemoriamDuring the annual "In Memoriam" tribute, Celine Dion performed the song "Smile". In addition, Halle Berry paid special tribute to Lena Horne. The tribute included the following individuals:
This marked the first time since 1957 that an Academy Awards ceremony was co-hosted by a male/female duo. It was also the first time in the history of the awards broadcasts that a male/female duo physically shared the same stage in their hosting duties.[11]
[edit]Voting trends and summaryFor the second consecutive year, the field of major nominees included at least one blockbuster at the American and Canadianbox offices. However, only three of the nominees had grossed over $100 million before the nominations were announced, compared with five from the previous year.[13] The combined gross of the ten Best Picture nominees when the Oscars were announced was $1.2 billion, the second-highest ever behind 2009. The average gross was $119.3 million.[13]
Two of the ten Best Picture nominees were among the top ten releases in box office during the nominations. At the time of the announcement of nominations on January 25, Toy Story 3 was the highest-grossing film among the Best Picture nominees with $414.9 million in domestic box office receipts.[14] The only other top ten box office hit to receive a nomination was Inception which earned $292.5 million.[14] Among the remaining eight nominees, True Grit was the next-highest-grossing film with $137.9 million[14] followed by The Social Network ($95.4 million),[14] Black Swan $83.2 million,[14] The Fighter($72.6 million),[14] The King's Speech ($57.3 million),[14] The Kids Are All Right ($20.8 million),[14] 127 Hours($11.2 million),[14] and finally Winter's Bone ($6.2 million).[14]
Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 55 nominations went to 15 films on the list. Only Toy Story 3 (1st), Inception (5th),How to Train Your Dragon (9th), True Grit (17th), The Social Network (29th), The Town (32nd), Black Swan (38th), and The Fighter (45th) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, Best Picture or Animated Feature. The other top-50 box office hits that earned nominations were Alice in Wonderland (2nd), Iron Man 2 (3rd), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (6th), Tangled (10th), Tron: Legacy (12th), Salt (21st), and Unstoppable (39th)
For the sixth year in a row the award for Best Picture went to an R rated film (The King's Speech). Despite having the second most nominations of the show with ten, True Grit failed to win anything.
This was the first time since 2000 (Russell Crowe for Gladiator) when the winner of Best Picture also won Best Actor. For the fifth time in history, two performers won for playing a parent and child (Melissa Leo and Christian Bale in The Fighter), but it was the first time that both awards came in the supporting categories; Brenda Fricker and Daniel Day-Lewis also won for playing a mother and son in 1989's My Left Foot, and on three occasions (the awards for 1938, 1987 and 1993) actresses have won for playing a mother and daughter. Also notable was that three of the four acting awards went to performers playing real people, with Bale's subject Dicky Eklund being present at the ceremony; only Best Actress recipient Natalie Portman won for not playing a real person – an ironic twist, given that the Best Actress category had in recent years been the one most constantly won for biographical portrayals (eight times in the previous eleven years).
The King's Speech was the first period film since Chicago to win Best Picture, which is interesting since in the past it has usually gone to period films.
The Fighter also became the first film since 1986 to win both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Oscars. (At the 59th Academy Awards, these were won by Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest, respectively, for Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters.)
The King's Speech also marked only the second Best Picture winner since 1991 to have won only major Oscars, meaning no tech or music awards for it. The other one was No Country for Old Men.
Also notable was that the nominees for Best Picture this year were shorter than most other years. With Inception being the longest just clocking under 2 and a half hours followed by The Social Network which was 2 hours.
[edit]Critical reviewsThe show received mostly negative reception from media publications.[15] Some media outlets were very critical of the show. Most critics judged the hosting duties of Hathaway and Franco as a mismatched affair, with some praising Hathaway's hosting duties while criticizing Franco's unease and lack of energy on stage. Film critic Roger Ebert criticized the telecasting noting that it was "The worst Oscarcast I've seen, and I go back awhile." He went on to praise the winners of the night, but he ended his review with the words, "Dead. In. The. Water."[16] The Hollywood Reporter called the show "spectacularly bad" and stated that "This year, the Oscars hit a new low. Like it fell into a hole."[17] The similar conviction was also echoed by Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers, calling it the "worst Oscars ever".[18] A review from CNN graded the show a C and, commenting on the hosts said "The Oscars were trying to be like the Lady Ga Ga Grammys: Let's try to be young and hip. But with the combo of James Franco and Anne Hathaway as hosts, it fell flat. Anne did her best, but Franco seemed dazed and confused."[19] E! Online also questioned whether it was the worst Oscar show in history stating, "This was sizing up to be everything the Oscars are not supposed to be: clunky, amateurish, and pretty much lacking in actual entertainment value for those of us not picking up awards."[20]
Entertainment Weekly gave one of the very few positive reviews of the show stating "Funny, poised, relaxed, and smart, Anne Hathaway and James Franco made for marvelous Oscar hosts. Their combination of respect and informality struck the right tone for the night, a happily surprising production that had its share of fine moments both planned and ad-libbed." On the overall aspect of the ceremony, they concluded "all in all, it was a fun, briskly paced night.".[21] The Los Angeles Times, who were not as critical of the awards show, gave a moderate review, commenting on Franco and Hathaway, "the two seemed to be following the directive to "first do no harm," as if they knew they couldn't score as big as Jimmy Fallon did with theEmmys but were determined to avoid becoming morning show fodder like Ricky Gervais was after this year's Golden Globes. The result was a show that moved along, with a few draggy bits and high notes, like precisely what it was: a very long and fancy awards show." Their review further said "Overall, the evening had an oddly business-like feel, a mind-numbing evenness that was exacerbated by the relentless predictability of the winners, and the fact that none of the acting winners were played off no matter how long their "thank-yous" went."[22]
[edit]Ratings and receptionA poll conducted by Fox News showed a majority of 57% of viewers ranking the show as the worst Oscars ever.[23]
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 37.90 million people over its length, which was a 10% decrease from the previous year's ceremony.[24][25] An estimated 71.45 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. In addition, the program scored an 11.78 rating over a 33.96 share among the 18-49 demographic, which was a 12% percent drop. The show also drew lower Nielsen ratings compared to the two previous ceremonies with 22.97% of households watching over a 33.63 share.[24]
[edit]Controversies[edit]Leaked ceremony scheduleOn February 25, 2011, reporter Nikki Finke leaked a detailed schedule for the entire ceremony on the websiteDeadline.com.[26] The leaked schedule indicated that, among other details, Tom Hanks would present the first award of the night for Best Art Direction, hosts Franco and Hathaway would appear in an opening segment in which they are digitally inserted into the ten Best Picture nominated films, previous host Billy Crystal would make a guest appearance, Kathryn Bigelow would present the Best Director award, and Steven Spielberg would present the Best Picture award.[27]
[edit]Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin dance and kiss ommissionLGBT-interest media outlets questioned ABC's decision to cut away from a shot of Screenplay Award presenters Josh Brolinand Javier Bardem dancing and exchanging a kiss to an extended shot of Penelope Cruz.[28][29] ABC declined to comment on the incident.[30] Bruce Cohen, co-producer of the telecast and himself openly gay, issued the following statement:
It [the dance and the kiss] was unscripted, and the plan in the truck was always to cut to Penelope in the audience applauding Josh's and Javier’s introduction, so that is what happened, just as they were starting to dance. Josh and Javier’s moment (I saw them start to dance, but, to be honest, I have no idea if they kissed — that’s the first I’ve heard of that) would have made a great TV moment, but since no one knew it was coming, we cut to the gorgeous Mz. [sic] Cruz as planned. By the time we cut back from her close-up, James and Javier were walking to the podium.[31]
[edit]In Memoriam exclusionsThough Corey Haim had been one of the world's most bankable actors before he turned 21 due to his roles in Lucas, The Lost Boys and License to Drive,[32] he was omitted from the 'In Memoriam' tribute montage at both the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards and the 83rd Annual Academy Awards in the year following his death.[33] Perceived by the press as a 'snub', Haim's omission from the Oscars received widespread media coverage.[34][35]Academy Awards of Merit were presented in 24 competitive categories. In each category, award winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface, followed by the remaining nominees.
Best PictureBest Director
- The King's Speech – Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Gareth Unwin
- 127 Hours – Danny Boyle andChristian Colson
- Black Swan – Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, and Brian Oliver
- The Fighter – David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, and Mark Wahlberg
- Inception – Christopher Nolan andEmma Thomas
- The Kids Are All Right – Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, and Celine Rattray
- The Social Network – Dana Brunetti, Ceán Chaffin, Michael De Luca, and Scott Rudin
- Toy Story 3 – Darla K. Anderson
- True Grit – Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Scott Rudin
- Winter's Bone – Alix Madigan and Anne Rosellini
- Natalie Portman – Black Swan as Nina Sayers/The Swan Queen
- Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Rightas Nic
- Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole as Becca Corbett
- Jennifer Lawrence – Winter's Bone as Ree Dolly
- Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine as Cindy
- Christian Bale – The Fighter asDicky Eklund
- John Hawkes – Winter's Bone as Teardrop
- Jeremy Renner – The Town as James "Jem" Coughlin
- Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right as Paul
- Geoffrey Rush – The King's Speech as Lionel Logue
- Melissa Leo – The Fighter as Alice Ward
- Amy Adams – The Fighter as Charlene Fleming
- Helena Bonham Carter – The King's Speech as Elizabeth, Duchess of York / Queen Elizabeth
- Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit as Mattie Ross
- Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom as Janine "Smurf" Cody
- The King's Speech – David Seidler
- Another Year – Mike Leigh
- The Fighter – Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson
- Inception – Christopher Nolan
- The Kids Are All Right – Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
- The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin fromThe Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
- 127 Hours – Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy from Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
- Toy Story 3 – Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich; characters based on Toy Storyand Toy Story 2
- True Grit – Ethan Coen and Joel Coenfrom True Grit by Charles Portis
- Winter's Bone – Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini from Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell
- In a Better World (Denmark) in Danish,Swedish, and English – Susanne Bier
- Biutiful (Mexico) in Spanish and English –Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Dogtooth (Greece) in Greek – Yorgos Lanthimos
- Incendies (Canada) in French andArabic – Denis Villeneuve
- Outside the Law (Algeria) in Arabic andFrench – Rachid Bouchareb
- Inside Job – Charles H. Fergusonand Audrey Marrs
- Exit Through the Gift Shop –Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
- Gasland – Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
- Restrepo – Tim Hetherington andSebastian Junger
- Waste Land – Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley
- Strangers No More – Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
- Killing in the Name – Jed Rothstein
- Poster Girl – Sara Nesson
- Sun Come Up – Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
- The Warriors of Qiugang – Ruby Yang andThomas Lennon
- God of Love – Luke Matheny
- The Confession – Tanel Toom
- The Crush – Michael Creagh
- Na Wewe – Ivan Goldschmidt
- Wish 143 – Ian Barnes
- The Lost Thing – Andrew Ruhemann andShaun Tan
- Day & Night – Teddy Newton
- The Gruffalo – Max Lang and Jakob Schuh
- Let's Pollute – Geefwee Boedoe
- Madagascar, a Journey Diary – Bastien Dubois
- "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3 –Randy Newman
- "Coming Home" from Country Strong –Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, and Troy Verges
- "I See the Light" from Tangled – Alan Menken and Glenn Slater
- "If I Rise" from 127 Hours – A.R. Rahman,Rollo Armstrong, and Dido
- Inception – Richard King
- Toy Story 3 – Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
- Tron: Legacy – Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
- True Grit – Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
- Unstoppable – Mark P. Stoeckinger
- Inception – Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, and Ed Novick
- The King's Speech – Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen, and John Midgley
- Salt – Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan, and William Sarokin
- The Social Network – Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, and Mark Weingarten
- True Grit – Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, and Peter F. Kurland
- Alice in Wonderland – Art Direction: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Art Direction:Stuart Craig; Set Decoration:Stephenie McMillan
- Inception – Art Direction: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
- The King's Speech – Art Direction: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
- True Grit – Art Direction: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
- The Wolfman – Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
- Barney's Version – Adrien Morot
- The Way Back – Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, and Yolanda Toussieng
- Inception – Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb
- Alice in Wonderland – Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas, and Sean Phillips
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, and Nicolas Aithadi
- Hereafter – Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski, and Joe Farrell
- Iron Man 2 – Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, and Daniel Sudick
- Twelve: The King's Speech
- Ten: True Grit
- Eight: Inception and The Social Network
- Seven: The Fighter
- Six: 127 Hours
- Five: Black Swan and Toy Story 3
- Four: The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone
- Three: Alice in Wonderland
- Two: Biutiful, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and How to Train Your Dragon
- Four: Inception and The King's Speech
- Three: The Social Network
- Two: Alice in Wonderland, The Fighter, and Toy Story 3
[edit]Academy Honorary Award[edit]Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award[edit]Presenters and performers[edit]PresentersThe following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.[9]
[show] Presenters (in order of appearance)[edit]Performers[show] Performers (in order of appearance)[edit]In MemoriamDuring the annual "In Memoriam" tribute, Celine Dion performed the song "Smile". In addition, Halle Berry paid special tribute to Lena Horne. The tribute included the following individuals: