The 81st Annual Academy Awards went off without a hitch this year, and benefitted from production design & staging that, on several occasions, reflected the categories for the awards being presented—an obvious but effective choice we haven't seen in previous ceremonies.
Hugh Jackman proved an able host, deftly blending comedy with a song & dance routine with top hat and cane. Thanks to his Broadway experience, Jackman demonstrated that he's as comfortable walking in the shoes of Gene Kelly as he is wielding the retractable claws of Wolverine.
Still, the ceremony was simplified this year to reverse years of declining TV ratings. A record low 32 million people tuned in last year. This year’s viewing figures will be announced Monday. Advertisers such as General Motors and L’Oreal withdrew their support, ostensibly due to the current recession and unfavorable television demographics (the average US viewer is 49), though these reasons sound suspect, and in GM's case, their precarious financial situation is more likely to blame.
As to the winners themselves, there were few surprises this year. Slumdog Millionaire was the Academy Awards champion, wrapping up its rags-to-riches story by taking home not only the Best Picture Academy Award, but also Best Director for Danny Boyle, along with awards for adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing, and both music Oscars for score and song.
The other top winners: Kate Winslet, Best Actress for the Holocaust-themed drama The Reader; Sean Penn, Best Actor for the title role of Milk; and Penelope Cruz, Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
In a move that many anticipated — and hoped for — the Academy chose to honor Heath Ledger as Best Supporting Actor for his demented reinvention of the Joker in Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight, becoming only the second actor ever to win an Oscar posthumously. (The previous posthumous Oscar recipient was Peter Finch, who won Best Actor for 1976's Network two months after his death.)
Ledger's Oscar for the Warner Bros. blockbuster was accepted by Ledger's parents and sister on behalf of the actor's 3-year-old daughter, Matilda. "I have to say this is ever so humbling, just being amongst such wonderful people in such a wonderful industry," said his father, Kim Ledger. "We'd like to thank the academy for recognizing our son's amazing work, Warner Bros., and Christopher Nolan in particular for allowing Heath the creative license to develop and explore this crazy Joker character."
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