83rd Academy Awards

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83rd Academy Awards
Official poster promoting the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011.
Official poster
Date February 27, 2011
Site Kodak Theatre
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Host James Franco
Anne Hathaway[1]
Pre-show Tim Gunn
Maria Menounos
Robin Roberts
Krista Smith[2]
Producer Bruce Cohen
Don Mischer[3]
Director Don Mischer[3]
Highlights
Best Picture The King's Speech
Most awards Inception and The King's Speech (4)
Most nominations The King's Speech (12)
TV in the United States
Network ABC
Duration 3 hours, 16 minutes[4]
Ratings 37.9 million
21.2% (Nielsen ratings)[5]

The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. EST). During the ceremony, Academy Awards (commonly called the Oscars) were presented in 24 competitive categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer, with Mischer also serving as director.[6][7] Actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway co-hosted the ceremony, marking the first time for each.[8]

In related events, the Academy held its second annual Governors Awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center on November 13, 2010.[9] On February 12, 2011, in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Marisa Tomei.[10]

Inception and The King's Speech won four awards each, with the latter film winning Best Picture.[11][12][13] Other winners included The Social Network with three awards, Alice in Wonderland, The Fighter, and Toy Story 3, with two awards, and Black Swan, God of Love, In a Better World, Inside Job, The Lost Thing, Strangers No More, and The Wolfman with one. The telecast garnered almost 38 million viewers in the United States.

Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards were announced on January 25, 2011, at 5:38 a.m. PST at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Tom Sherak, president of the Academy, and actress Mo'Nique.[14] The King's Speech led the nominations with twelve, followed by True Grit with ten.[15][16]

The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on February 27, 2011.[17][18] Toy Story 3 became the third animated film to be nominated for Best Picture.[19][20] True Grit was the second film after 2002's Gangs of New York to lose all ten of its nominations.[21] By virtue of his nomination for Best Actor in 127 Hours, host James Franco became the first person since Paul Hogan, who was a co-host and a Best Original Screenplay nominee during the 59th ceremony in 1987, to host the ceremony while receiving a nomination in the same year.[22][23] He was also the first acting nominee since Michael Caine at the 45th ceremony in 1973 to achieve this distinction.[24] With Christian Bale and Melissa Leo's respective wins in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories, The Fighter became the first film since 1986's Hannah and Her Sisters to win both supporting acting categories.[25]

Awards

Photo of Colin Firth at the 2009 Venice Film Festival.
Colin Firth, Best Actor winner
Photo of Natalie Portman at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Natalie Portman, Best Actress winner
Photo of Christian Bale attending the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival.
Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actor winner
Photo of Melissa Leo attending the premiere of Whatever Works in 2009.
Melissa Leo, Best Supporting Actress winner
File:Aaron Sorkin at PaleyFest 2013.jpg
Aaron Sorkin, Best Adapted Screenplay winner
Photo of Lee Unkrich at the 2009 Venice Film Festival.
Lee Unkrich, Best Animated Feature winner
Photo of Susanne Bier standing in front of a grey wall in 2013.
Susanne Bier, Best Foreign Language Film winner
Photo of Charles Ferguson on April 19, 2012.
Charles Ferguson, Best Documentary Feature co-winner

Winners[26] are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double-dagger (double-dagger).

Honorary Academy Awards

The Academy held its Second Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 13, 2010, during which the following awards were presented.[27][28][29]

Academy Honorary Award

  • Kevin Brownlow — For the wise and devoted chronicling of the cinematic parade.
  • Jean-Luc Godard — For passion. For confrontation. For a new kind of cinema.
  • Eli Wallach — For a lifetime's worth of indelible screen characters.

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Films with multiple nominations and awards

Presenters and performers

The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.[30][31]

Presenters

Name(s) Role
Tom Kane[32] Announcer for the 83rd Academy Awards
Tom Hanks Presenter of the awards for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography
Kirk Douglas Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actress
Mila Kunis
Justin Timberlake
Presenters of the awards for Best Animated Short Film and Best Animated Feature
Javier Bardem
Josh Brolin
Presenters of the awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay
Russell Brand
Helen Mirren
Presenters of the award for Best Foreign Language Film
Reese Witherspoon Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actor
Tom Sherak (AMPAS President)
Anne Sweeney (Disney–ABC Television Group President)
Special Presentation acknowledging the renewal of a television distribution contract between ABC and AMPAS
Nicole Kidman
Hugh Jackman
Introducers of a medley of past film scores and presenters of the award for Best Original Score
Matthew McConaughey
Scarlett Johansson
Presenters of the awards for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing
Marisa Tomei Presenter of the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement
Cate Blanchett Presented the awards for Best Makeup and Best Costume Design
Kevin Spacey Introducer of the performance of Best Song nominees "We Belong Together" and "I See the Light"
Jake Gyllenhaal
Amy Adams
Presenters of the awards for Best Documentary (Short Subject) and Best Live Action Short Film
Oprah Winfrey Presenter of the award for Best Documentary Feature
Billy Crystal Introducer of a digital projection of previous host Bob Hope at the 25th Academy Awards
Bob Hope (archive footage/digital projection) Introducer of presenters Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law
Robert Downey, Jr.
Jude Law
Presenters of the awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing
Jennifer Hudson Introducer of the performance of Best Song nominees "If I Rise" and "Coming Home" and presenter of the award for Best Original Song
Halle Berry Presenter of the Lena Horne tribute
Kathryn Bigelow
Hilary Swank
Presenters of the award for Best Director
Annette Bening Presenter of the Academy Honorary Awards and Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Jeff Bridges Presenter of the award for Best Actress
Sandra Bullock Presenter of the award for Best Actor
Steven Spielberg Presenter of the award for Best Picture

Performers

Name(s) Role Performed
William Ross Musical Arranger
Conductor
Orchestral
Anne Hathaway Performer "On My Own" from Les Misérables
Randy Newman Performer "We Belong Together'" from Toy Story 3
Zachary Levi
Alan Menken
Mandy Moore
Performers "I See the Light" from Tangled
A. R. Rahman
Florence Welch
Performers "If I Rise" from 127 Hours
Gwyneth Paltrow Performer "Coming Home" from Country Strong
Celine Dion Performer "Smile" during the annual In Memoriam tribute
PS22 Chorus Performers "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz during the closing segment

Ceremony information

Photo of Anne Hathaway attending the 81st Academy Awards in 2009.
James Franco (left), and Anne Hathaway (right) co-hosted the 83rd Academy Awards.

In June 2010, the AMPAS hired Oscar-winning producer Bruce Cohen and veteran television producer Don Mischer to oversee production of the telecast.[33] "I'm absolutely ecstatic that Bruce and Don have accepted my invitation to produce and direct the 83rd Academy Awards telecast," remarked Academy president Tom Sherak. "Their work in producing the Academy's inaugural Governors Awards was exceptional and I am confident they will bring their creative vision and extraordinary talent to produce/direct a most memorable Oscar show."[34] Opting for younger faces for the ceremony, Cohen and Mischer hired actor James Franco, and actress Anne Hathaway as co-hosts of the 2011 ceremony.[35] "James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons — fresh, exciting and multi-talented. We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world on February 27," said Cohen and Mischer regarding their selections to host the gala. "We are completely thrilled that James and Anne will be joining forces with our brilliant creative team to do just that."[36] Franco and Hathaway became the first male-female duo to co-host the awards show since comedian Jerry Lewis and actress Celeste Holm presided over the 29th ceremony in 1957.[23][37] At age 28, Hathaway was also the youngest person to host an Oscar ceremony.[38]

Furthermore, AMPAS announced that this year's ceremony was "the most interactive awards show in history". The Academy revamped their official website oscar.com to include lists of all the nominees and winners, as well as film trailers and exclusive video content produced by both AMPAS and Oscar telecaster ABC.[39] Also, via the Academy's Twitter and Facebook pages, people could post questions for any actor or celebrity attending the festivities to answer. One of the four Oscar pre-show co-hosts would then pose selected questions to both nominees and attendees alike.[39] For a fee of US$4.99, users had online access to two dozen video streams that would take them from the red carpet, through the ceremony and on to the post-telecast Governors Ball. Several of the cameras utilized 360-degree views that viewers could direct.[40]

Several other people participated in the production of the ceremony. William Ross served as musical director and conductor for the ceremony.[41] Production designer Steve Bass built a new stage design for the ceremony.[42] Entertainment Weekly columnist and TV personality Dave Karger greeted guests entering the red carpet.[43] Designer Marc Friedland designed a new envelope heralding the winner of each category made from a high-gloss iridescent metallic gold paper stock, with red-lacquered lining that featured the Oscar statuette stamped in satin gold leaf.[44][45] During the run-up to the ceremony, television personality Chris Harrison hosted "Road to the Oscars", a weekly behind-the-scenes video blog.[46] PS22 Chorus children's choir performed "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz at the end of the ceremony.[47]

Box office performance of nominated films

For the second consecutive year, the field of major nominees included at least one blockbuster at the American and Canadian box offices. However, only three of the nominees had grossed over $100 million before the nominations were announced, compared with five from the previous year.[48] The combined gross of the ten Best Picture nominees when the Oscars were announced was $1.2 billion, the second-highest ever behind 2009. The average gross was $119.3 million.[49]

Two of the ten Best Picture nominees were among the top ten releases in box office during the nominations. At the time of the announcement of nominations on January 25, Toy Story 3 was the highest-grossing film among the Best Picture nominees with $414.9 million in domestic box office receipts.[50] The only other top ten box office hit to receive a nomination was Inception which earned $292.5 million. Among the remaining eight nominees, True Grit was the next-highest-grossing film with $137.9 million followed by The Social Network ($95.4  million), Black Swan $83.2 million, The Fighter ($72.6 million), The King's Speech ($57.3 million), The Kids Are All Right ($20.8 million), 127 Hours ($11.2 million), and finally Winter's Bone ($6.2 million).[50]

Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 55 nominations went to 15 films on the list. Only Toy Story 3 (1st), Inception (5th), How to Train Your Dragon (9th), True Grit (17th), The Social Network (29th), The Town (32nd), Black Swan (38th), and The Fighter (45th) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, Best Picture or Animated Feature.[51] The other top-50 box office hits that earned nominations were Alice in Wonderland (2nd), Iron Man 2 (3rd), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 (6th), Tangled (10th), Tron: Legacy (12th), Salt (21st), and Unstoppable (39th).[51]

Critical reviews

The show received a negative reception from most media publications. Film critic Roger Ebert said, "Despite the many worthy nominated films, the Oscarcast was painfully dull, slow, witless, and hosted by the ill-matched James Franco and Anne Hathaway. She might have made a delightful foil for another partner, but Franco had a deer-in-the-headlights manner and read his lines robotically." He went on to praise the winners of the night, but he ended his review with the words, "Dead. In. The. Water."[52] Television critic Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "In what could go down as one of the worst Oscar telecasts in history, a bad and risky idea — letting two actors host — played out in spectacularly unwatchable fashion on the biggest of all nights for the film world." He also added, "These Oscars were a bore-fest that seemed to drag on relentlessly but listlessly."[53] Gail Pennington of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that the ceremony "felt a little like a bad night on Saturday Night Live — awkward, slow and not particularly entertaining." Regarding the hosts, she quipped that Hathaway "at least tried", but she remarked, "Franco seemed half asleep, or possibly stoned."[54]

Some media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Entertainment Weekly television critic Ken Tucker stated that the show was "Funny, poised, relaxed, and smart, Anne Hathaway and James Franco made for marvelous Oscar hosts. Their combination of respect and informality struck the right tone for the night, a happily surprising production that had its share of fine moments both planned and ad-libbed." On the overall aspect of the ceremony, they concluded "all in all, it was a fun, briskly paced night."[55] Mary McNamara from the Los Angeles Times commented, "The two seemed to be following the directive to "first do no harm," as if they knew they couldn't score as big as Jimmy Fallon did with the Emmy Awards, but were determined to avoid becoming morning show fodder like Ricky Gervais was after this year's Golden Globes. The result was a show that moved along, with a few draggy bits and high notes, like precisely what it was: a very long and fancy awards show." Her review further said "Overall, the evening had an oddly business-like feel, a mind-numbing evenness that was exacerbated by the relentless predictability of the winners, and the fact that none of the acting winners were played off no matter how long their "thank-yous" went."[56]

Ratings and reception

The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 37.9 million people over its length, which was a 9% decrease from the previous year's ceremony.[57][58] An estimated 71.3 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards.[59] The show also drew lower Nielsen ratings compared to the two previous ceremonies, with 21.2% of households watching over a 33 share.[5] In addition, the program scored an 11.8 rating over a 30 share among the 18–49 demographic, which was a 12 percent decrease over last year's demographic numbers.[60][61]

In Memoriam

The In Memoriam tribute, which featured Celine Dion performing the Charlie Chaplin song "Smile", paid tribute to the following individuals.[30][62]

At the end of the montage, Halle Berry paid special tribute to Horne and introduced a film clip of her singing the titular song from the film Stormy Weather.[63]

See also

References

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External links

Official sites
News resources
Analysis
Other resources