2012 Oscar winners – Meryl Streep and “The Artist”

Immediately after the winners accept their statues on the stage of the Kodak Theatre, they are whisked backstage to face the hoards of press who are waiting to hear their every word. This year’s press room was full of laughter, tears, and some heartfelt words from Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Meryl Streep displayed her characteristic charm after winning her third Academy Award for her depiction of Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.” When asked if she had become worried that she wouldn’t win another Oscar, Streep wasn’t coy in her response. “No. I have everything I’ve ever dreamed of in my life.” She added: “I don’t take anything for granted, that’s for sure.”
Streep also took the time to praise her longtime friend and collaborator, makeup artist Roy Helland, who also won for his work on “The Iron Lady”. “It’s very unusual in that branch that they give it to somebody who’s just trying to transform people. And so I was really, really proud for him.”
“The Artist” took home many of the top prizes of the night, and director Michel Hazanavicius was praised for taking a creative risk with the film. Backstage, however, he downplayed the film’s greater significance. “Usually, it’s not one movie that can help to change things. If 10 movies or 20 movies in the same year are very different in a way, that can change a little bit.”
“Hugo” won big in the night’s more visual categories, and the winners continually attributed the film’s success to it’s acclaimed director. As sound editor Eugene Gearty put it backstage: “When you work for Martin Scorsese, there’s always a chance you’re going to be nominated for an Oscar.”
Winners for Best Documentary Feature for “Undefeated” TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas thanked the subjects of their film, making sure to emphasize what they had wanted to say in their acceptance speech before the music cut them off prematurely. “We could not thank the community of North Memphis enough. We should not be the ones standing up here. Their trust in us in telling their story is what enabled our success.”

2012 Oscar winners - Meryl Streep and "The Artist"
Oscar 2012.

Meryl Streep has won an Oscar for Actress in a Leading Role for “The Iron Lady,” marking her third Academy Award win and record 17th nomination.
Streep (62) beat nominees Glenn Close of “Albert Nobbs,” Rooney Mara of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” Viola Davis of “The Help” and Michelle Williams of “My Week With Marilyn.” The winners of the 2012 Academy Awards were named at a Los Angeles ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 26.
“Oh my God” – Streep said in her acceptance speech. “Oh, come on! Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you. When they called my name I had this feeling I can hear half of America going, ‘Oh no, oh come on, why her, again? But whatever.”
She thanked her husband, Don, first, saying: “Everything I value most in our lives, you’ve given me.”
She then thanked all of her friends in the entertainment industry.
“I look out here and see my life before my eyes. My old friends, my new friends. This is such a great honro buu the thing that counts the most with me is the friends and the love and the sheer joy we have shared making movies together. Thank you, all of you, departed and here, in this inexplicably wonderful career. Thank you.”
“The Iron Lady” is based on the nickname and political life of Margaret Thatcher – a 86-year-old Conservative leader and Britain’s first and only female prime minister. In January, Streep won a Golden Globe for her role and uttered an expletive during her speech.
Streep had put on a British accent to play the part. She also put on an accent for her previous Oscar-winning role as a Polish mother and survivor of a Nazi concentration camp in the 1982 film “Sophie’s Choice.” She won her first Academy Award in 1980, for the film “Kramer vs. Kramer.”
“The Iron Lady” was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup.

After months of build-up, countless red carpets and hours spent answering two big questions. “Do you have your acceptance speech prepared?” and “Who are you wearing?”, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Octavia Spencer and the rest of this year’s Oscar nominees packed into the venue formerly known as the Kodak Theatre Sunday evening to hear host Billy Crystal crack jokes – and, of course, to find out who would take home the hardware at the 84th Academy Awards.
While The Artist and Hugo tied for the most statuettes with five wins apiece, the night truly belonged to the former. The mostly silent black-and-white film won for best actor (Jean Dujardin), best director (Michel Hazanavicius), best original score, best costume design and best picture – the first silent film to take the Academy’s top honor since Wings did so at the first Oscars ceremony back in 1929.
Merly Streep, meanwhile, won best actress for her spot-on portrayal of former British Prime Minister Maragaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. It was the third win for the actress – whose 17 acting nominations are a record – and her first victory since she won in 1983 for Sophie’s Choice.
And The Help’s Octavia Spencer and Beginners’ Christopher Plummer continued their awards season dominance by taking home the best supporting actress and best supporting actor trophies, respectively.
Here’s the full list of this year’s big Oscar winners -
Best Picture: The Artist
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Best Animated Feature Film: Rango
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation (Iran)
Best Original Score: The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Best Original Song: “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
Best Documentary Feature: Undefeated
Best Film Editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall
Best Cinematography: Hugo, Richard Richardson
Best Visual Effects: Hugo, Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann & Alex Henning
Best Sound Editing: Hugo, Philip Stockton & Eugene Gearty
Best Sound Mixing: Hugo, Tom Fleischman & John Midgley
Best Art Direction: Hugo, Dante Ferretti & Francesca Lo Schiavo
Best Costume Design: The Artist, Mark Bridges
Best Makeup: The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier & J. Roy Helland
Best Live-Action Short Film: The Shore
Best Documentary Short Film: Saving Face
Best Animated Short Film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Comments are closed.