The Oscars 2011

Although it was a pretty predictable outcome from the Oscars it was still a good night for the UK with The King's Speech picking up 4 awards and Christian Bale winning best supporting actor for The Fighter. The King's Speech won the most coveted award of the evening; best motion picture as well as best original screenplay, best director and best actor for Colin Firth's portrayal of King George VI. The night was particularly special for the King's Speech; the small budget, independent movie was a labour of love and had a hard fight to get it made with Film 4 and BBC Films both refusing funding. The recently axed UK Film Council put up a large part of the finance, along with London-based Momentum Pictures and Harvey Weinstein's Weinstein film company. Oscar night was definitely proof that it was worth the fight as noted by Academy Awards host James Franco "The King's Speech has now become part of Oscar history".

Although the night belonged to the British film, I was pleased to see my favourite films from last year, Inception and the Social Network, gain some recognition. Inception took away 4 awards for Best Cinematography, Visual effects, Sound editing and Sound mixing. Social Network was awarded 3 Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, Original Score and Film Editing. Natalie Portman picked up Black Swan's only award of the evening for her role as Nina Sayers in the film, giving a tearful acceptance speech but as she's heavily pregnant she can be excused!

Gwyneth Paltrow continued her string of award ceremony performances, this time performing 'Coming Home', the nominated song from her upcoming film Country Song. On the red carpet she revealed that she's in talks to sign a record deal and spoke of her wish to collaborate with close friend, Jay-z. Fingers crossed that pairing comes into fruition!
Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine performed the Oscar nominated 'If I Rise' from James Franco's movie 127 hours. The original version of the track that appears in the movie is performed by Dido but as she couldn't make the awards, Florence stepped in. Mandy Moore also provided entertainment on the night, she was joined by Tangled costar Zachary Levi to sing their nominated track 'I See the Light'.

See all the winners below:

Best Picture- The King's Speech
Best Director- Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Best Actor- Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Actress- Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor- Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress- Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Foreign Language Film- In a Better World, Denmark
Best Original Screenplay- David Seidler, The King's Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay- Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Animation- Toy Story 3
Best Art Direction- Alice in Wonderland
Best Cinematography- Inception
Best Sound Mixing- Inception
Best Sound Editing- Inception
Best Original Song- Toy Story 3, We Belong Together by Randy Newman
Best Original Score- The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Best Costume Design- Alice in Wonderland
Best Documentary Feature- Inside Job
Best Documentary Short- Strangers No More
Best Film Editing- The Social Network
Best Animated Short Film- The Lost Thing
Best Live Action Short Film- God of Love
Best Visual Effects- Inception
Best Makeup- The Wolfman

Keeping a watch out,