Silent film 'The Artist' crowned with Oscar gold
HOLLYWOOD: Silent movie "The Artist" crowned its spectacular awards
season success by winning five Oscars including the Best Picture prize
at the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday.
The French-directed black-and-white film earned Oscars for best
director for Michel Hazanavicius and best actor for Jean Dujardin, who
played a silent movie era star whose career was torpedoed by the arrival
of the "talkies." "I love your country," Dujardin told the Hollywood
audience as he accepted his Oscar, the first for a French actor.
After thanking the film's cast and crew -- adding to "my wife, I love
you" -- he broke into French, using an expletive and then saying,
"Great! Thank you very much!" In Paris, President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed
the Oscar triumph as a sign of the "tremendous success of French cinema
and quality cinema." The movie's success was "witness to the exceptional
vitality of our cinema and the success of the government's policies to
support the excellence of this major French industry," he said.
Martin Scorsese's 3D adventure "Hugo" -- which had the most
nominations, with 11 compared to 10 for "The Artist" -- also garnered
five prizes, but all came in technical categories.
Meryl Streep won best actress for her powerful turn as former British
premier Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," earning a standing ovation
from the A-list Hollywood audience.
It was the third Oscar for the 62-year-old Streep and her first in
three decades, underscoring her status as the pre-eminent actress of her
generation.
"When they called my name, I had this feeling I could hear half of
America going, 'Oh no. Come on... Her, again?' You know. But, whatever!"
she said, rolling her eyes.
Octavia Spencer took the prize for best supporting actress for her
role as a black maid in the civil rights drama "The Help," receiving a
standing ovation for her powerhouse performance.
Veteran Canadian actor Christopher Plummer, 82, crowned a six-decade
acting career with a long-overdue Oscar, a best supporting actor trophy
for his role in "Beginners" as an ailing widower who embraces his
homosexuality.
AFP
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