OSCARS 2007!
It was a night to remember. There were several upsets, several surprises, and certainly some great entertainment. “Dreamgirls” was somewhat of an upset, having the most nominations (eight), and taking only two wins.
Perhaps the biggest (and most pleasant) surprise was “Pan’s Labyrinth” having three Oscar wins, but losing to the biggest lock: Best Foreign Film. But it was Martin Scorcese’s “The Departed” that came through in the end with the most wins, garnering Marty his first directing Oscar, and taking home three other awards including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing. Another very big surprise was “An Inconvenient Truth” not only taking home two Oscars, but beating out “Dreamgirls” in the Best Original Song category (ironically, “Dreamgirls” is a musical and had three of the five nominee slots in that category). The biggest surprise of the night, however, was that Alan Arkin took the award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for “Little Miss Sunshine,” beating out the seemingly unstoppable Eddie Murphy for his role in “Dreamgirls.”
Best Actress and Best Actor were no brainers. Dame Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker took the statuettes (even though Peter O’Toole should have had it instead of Whitaker), and Jennifer Hudson followed the trend as she won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for “Dreamgirls.” The two screenplay awards went to the powerhouse “The Departed” for adapted and the cute indie “Little Miss Sunshine” for original (but we all know that “Little Miss Sunshine” totally stole “Pan’s Labyrinth”s award)
In the end, almost everybody had something to smile about. Every Best Picture nominated film (“Babel”, “Letters from Iwo Jima”, “The Departed”, “The Queen,” and “Little Miss Sunshine”) won at least one award each. Host Ellen DeGeneres was radiant and truly entertaining, and the show moves swiftly and in a timely fashion.
The recap of the winners are as follows:
The Departed (4 wins)
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing
Pan’s Labyrinth (3 wins)
Best Art Direction, Best Make-up, Best Cinematography
Little Miss Sunshine (2 wins)
Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Alan Arkin)
Dreamgirls (2 wins)
Best Sound Mixing, Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jennifer Hudson)
An Inconvenient Truth (2 wins)
Best Documentary Feature, Best Original Song (“I Need to Wake Up”)
Babel (1 win)
Best Original Score
The Last King of Scotland (1 win)
Best Actor (Forest Whitaker)
Letters from Iwo Jima (1 win)
Best Sound Editing
The Queen (1 win)
Best Actress (Helen Mirren)
Marie Antoinette (1 win)
Best Costume Design
Happy Feet (1 win)
Best Animated Film
The Lives of Others (1 win)
Best Foreign Film (Germany)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (1 win)
Best Visual Effects
