Colin Firth misses out at Oscars

by Andrew Willis

UAL graduate Colin Firth left the Oscars empty-handed last night despite being tipped for success for his role in A Single Man.

The CSM graduate was among a group of British stars that were expected to win. Firth plays an English professor in 1960 Los Angeles who struggles to cope after his partner’s death.

Despite critical acclaim for his role, the Best Actor award went to Jeff Bridges. Bridges plays a hard-living country singer in Crazy Heart. When asked about his predictions for the night, Firth said: “[Jeff Bridges] He has had it coming for a very long time , if I was a betting man I would put an awful lot on him”.

Victories for The Hurt Locker 

Tinseltown’s annual award ceremony turned into an American triumph. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win The Best Direcor Oscar. She picked up the award for her Iraq war drama, The Hurt Locker. The film won six awards. The Hurt Locker follows a small bomb disposal unit at the height of the conflict.

Bigelow’s low-budget indie film overshadowed the world’s most expensive film, leaving her ex-husband and director of Avatar James Cameron with only three art awards.

The awards were co-hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. The first dual hosts in 23 years, they were brought in to try and boost ratings, which fell to an all-time low two years ago.

The Winners are as follows:

• Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
• Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
• Best Actor: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
• Best Actress: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
• Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)
• Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique (Precious)
• Best Foreign Language Film: El Secreto de Sus Ojos – The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina)
• Best Original Screenplay: Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker)
• Best Animation: Up
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire)
• Best Art Direction: Avatar                   
• Best Cinematography: Avatar
• Best Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker
• Best Original Score: Up (Michael Giacchino)
• Best Costumes: The Young Victoria
• Best Documentary Short: Music by Prudence
• Best Film Editing: The Hurt Locker
• Best Make-Up: Star Trek
• Best Animated Short Film: Logorama
• Best Live Action Short Film: The New Tenants
• Best Visual Effects: Avatar