BY VICTORIA KRUKENKAMP
SC Staff Writer

The 85th Annual Academy Awards were held Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California where writer and comedian Seth MacFarlane hosted for his first time.

This year’s Academy Awards offered viewers a theme honoring music in film, which was elevated by Catherine Zeta-Jones’ performance of “All That Jazz” from Chicago, Jennifer Hudson’s performance of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” from “Dreamgirls,” and the cast of “Les Miserables’” performance of “Suddenly” and “One Day More.”

MacFarlane also presented comical skits honoring the Academy Awards’ theme, but to critics’ mixed reviews. In a tweet on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, MacFarlane said he had fun hosting the Oscars, but that he would not do it again.

The event was the most watched ceremony since the 2004 Academy Awards, seen by 42.4 million viewers. Awards were given to the following:

Best Picture – “Argo” – Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney

Best Director – “Life of Pi”– Ang Lee

Best Actor – “Lincoln” – Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln

Best Actress – “Silver Linings Playbook” – Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell

Best Supporting Actor–
“Django Unchained”– Christoph Waltz as Dr. King Schultz

Best Supporting Actress – “Les Miserables” – Anne Hathaway as Fantine

Best Writing, Original Screenplay – “Django Unchained” – Quentin Tarantino

Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay – “Argo”– Chris Terrio

Best Animated Feature – “Brave”¬ – Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman

Best Foreign Language Film – “Amour” – Michael Haneke

Best Original Score – “Life of Pi”– Mychael Danna

Best Original Song – Skyfall – “Skyfall” by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

Best Sound Editing – “Skyfall” – Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers and – “Zero Dark Thirty” – Paul N. J. Ottosson.

Best Sound Mixing – “Les Miserables” – Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, and Simon Hayes

Best Production Design – “Lincoln” – Rick Carter and Jim Erickson

Best Cinematography – “Life of Pi” – Claudio Miranda

Best Makeup and Hairstyling – “Les Miserables”– Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

Best Costume Design – “Anna Karenina” – Jacqueline Durran

Best Film Editing – “Argo” – William Goldenberg

Best Visual Effects – “Life of Pi”¬ – Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer, and Donald R. Elliott

The tie between “Skyfall” and “Zero Dark Thirty” for best sound editing was only the sixth tie vote in the 85 year history of the Academy Awards, and each film was given an award in turn.

“Life of Pi” was the big winner with four awards. Argo and “Les Miserables’” both had three. Two awards were given to each “Django Unchained,” “Lincoln,” and “Skyfall.”

Controversy surrounded the Best Director category in the notable omission of Ben Affleck for “Argo.” The film’s Best Picture win marks the first time in 23 years that a film has won Best Picture without a nod to the director.

A strong favorite to win going in to the awards was Daniel Day-Lewis’ for Best Actor and was his third win in the same category, making him the first actor in the history of the Academy Awards to achieve this feat.

Adele’s “Skyfall” was the first James Bond theme song to win an Academy Award, despite three previous songs’ nominations. The evening included a tribute to 50 years of Bond, for which Dame Shirley Bassey sang “Goldfinger,” and of course Adele sang the winning song, “Skyfall.”

The “In Memoriam” segment was especially poignant this year, when Barbra Streisand performed “The Way We Were” in tribute to Marvin Hamlisch, who passed away in August 2012 who won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “The Way We Were” in 1973.

Another surprise of the evening was the presentation of the Best Picture award by First Lady Michelle Obama. With the aid of satellites and Jack Nicholson, Mrs. Obama announced the win for “Argo” from the White House in Washington, D.C. Her appearance received scathing criticism from various media outlets, but it was the Academy that approached her to present.

MacFarlane closed the show with Kristin Chenoweth singing Frank Sinatra’s song, “Here’s To The Losers,” which was edited lyrically in order to fit the night’s results.

The 85th Annual Academy Awards wrapped up a year in film, and now the public has another year to look forward to and make predictions for the 86th Annual Academy Awards in 2014.

Email Victoria at:
vkrukenkam@live.esu.edu