The gritty Iraq war drama won six trophies, with Kathryn Bigelow creating history by becoming the first woman director to win an Academy Award
The gritty Iraq war drama won six trophies, with Kathryn Bigelow creating history by becoming the first woman director to win an Academy Award
ADVERTISEMENT
The USD 16 million film about the travails of a US bomb disposal squad trounced James Cameron's Avatar to win the Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Editing, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing trophies. It was nominated in nine categories along with the sci-fi blockbuster.
Avatar, which was in a neck-and-neck race with The Hurt Locker, won three golden statuettes - for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Visual Effects.
"It is a moment of lifetime. I am so honoured to be sitting in this extraordinary company of powerful filmmakers, who have inspired me. I would not be standing here but for Boal (writer) and the extraordinary cast and the technicians. I would like to dedicate this award to the women and men in the military and pray that they come home safe," said the 58-year-old Bigelow.
Only three women have ever been nominated in the Best Director category in 80-year-old history of the Academy.
The 82nd Academy Awards, which was held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, had no surprises in the acting categories with favourites Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) and Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) winning the trophies for the Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.
Unlike last year, when Mumbai-based potboiler Slumdog Millionaire walked away with eight Oscars, including trophies for AR Rahman and Resul Pukutty, it was a blank for India this time. Kavi, a short Hindi film about modern day slavery in India, lost out to Danish film The New Tenants in the Short Film (Live Action) category.
Bridges, 60, who won his first Oscar for his portrayal of alcoholic country singer Bad Blake in Crazy Heart, beat off competition from Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney (Up In The Air), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Jeremy Renner The Hurt Locker and Colin Firth (A Single Man).
"I would like to thank my mom and dad for this. I remember my mom taking me to the showbiz parties and dad giving me acting lessons. I am an extension of them and this award is an honour to them," said Bridges, who then went on to thank his director, cast and the crew as well as his wife of 33-years.
Bullock, also a first timer, took home the trophy for the Best Actress for her role as Leigh Anne Touhy in The Blind Side, a film about a feisty Southern homemaker, who changes the life of a troubled African American teenager. The 45-year-old actress beat off competition from veteran actress like Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia, Dame Helen Mirren (The Last Station) and newcomers Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious).
"Did I really earn this or did I just wear you all down? I would like to thank the Academy for allowing me in the last month to have the most incredible ride with rooms full of artists...," said Bullock, dedicating her award to moms across the world.
Actress Mo'Nique, who plays abusive mother in Precious, gave an emotional speech after winning the Best Supporting Actress trophy. "I thank the Academy for proving that it can be about performance and not the politics," said Mo'Nique.
The award for Best Supporting Actor went to Austrian Christoph Waltz for his role as Jew-slaying Nazi in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.
Academy Awards 2010 winners
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Best Animated Feature Film: Up (Directed by Pete Docter)
Best Original Song: "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart)
Best Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
Best Animated Short Film: Logorama (Directed by Nicolas Schmerkin)
Best Documentary Short: Music by Prudence (Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett)
Best Live Action Short Film: The New Tenants (Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson)
Best Makeup: Star Trek (Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire)
Best Art Direction: Avatar (Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg u2013 Art Direction; Kim Sinclair u2013 Set Decoration)
Best Costume Design: The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell)
Best Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson)
Best Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett)
Best Cinematography: Avatar (Mauro Fiore)
Best Original Score: Up (Michael Giacchino)
Best Visual Effects: Avatar (Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones)
Best Documentary Feature: The Cove (Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens)
Best Film Editing: The Hurt Locker (Bob Murawski and Chris Innis)
Best Foreign Language Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) Argentina (Directed by Juan Jose Campanella)
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Best Film: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
