Addison Thomas Wong
The writers/directors/producers for No Country for Old Men, the screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s thriller novel, triumphed in all the categories they were nominated for, bringing home the gold for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
“There are too many people to thank for this,” said Ethan while accepting the Best Director honour. “We’re really thrilled to have received it, and we’re very thankful to all of you out there for letting us continue to play in our corner of the sandbox, so thank you very much.”
The Coens join a small group of filmmakers who’ve each brought home 3 Oscars in one night in the event’s 80-year history. The group includes Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the 
King in 2004) and James Cameron (Titanic in 1998). This is also the first time in 46 years that a duo is honoured in the Best Director category. The previous and only other time this happened was in 1962 when Robert Wiseand Jerome Robbins won for West Side Story.
Including their 3 wins this year, Joel and Ethan Coen have each received 4 Oscars in their careers as filmmakers. They previously won in 1997 in the Adapted Screenplay category for Fargo. Ethan was also nominated for Best Picture as the producer of the film while Joel was nominated for Best Director. Both lost in their respective categories, making their triumphs in the 2 categories this year their first.
No Country For Old Men also received the Best Supporting Actor for Spanish star, Javier Bardem, totaling its victories to 4, the most for any film this year.
“It’s a great honor for me to have this,” said Bardem during his acceptance speech.
The second-time nominee’s win (previous nomination was in 2001 for Best Actor for his lead role in Before Night Falls) was one of the highlights of the evening as he was honoured for what many consider one of the scariest performances in the history of cinema. Bardem played a serial killer in No Country For Old Men. He dedicated his award to his mother in Spanish and thanked his co-stars Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones, as well as the Coen Brothers.
“Thank you to the Coens for being crazy enough to think that I could do that and put one of the most horrible haircuts in history over my head.”
Europe dominated the acting categories this year. Alongside Bardem, Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis took home the Best Actor trophy for his turn as a scheming oilman in There Will Be Blood.
British Tilda Swinton beat hot favourites, Cate Blachett (I’m Not There), Ruby Dee (American Gangster) and Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) for the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Michael Clayton.
The French Marion Cotillard caused an upset for frontrunner Julie Christie (Away From Her) when she emerged the winner for Best Actress for her transformational role as the late French singer, Edith Piaf, in La Vie En Rose.
“Members of the Academy, thank you so, so much!” exclaimed the stunned Cotillard as she received her Oscar, which she dedicated to La Vie En Rose director, Olivier Dahan. “Thank you life, thank you love, and it is true, there is some angels in this city. Thank you so, so much!”
Aside from Lead Actress, La Vie En Rose also won the Oscar for Best Makeup.
Just as shocked as Cotillard was Swinton when she was announced as the winner for Best Supporting Actress.
The first-time nominee took some time to take the stage but delivered one of the most hilarious speeches of the evening.
“I have an American agent who is the spitting image of this,” said Swinton. “Really, truly the same shape head and, it has to be said, the buttocks… And I’m giving this to him because there’s no way I would be in America at all ever on a plane, if it wasn’t for him.”
Swinton also poked fun at her co-star, George Clooney, who was nominated in the Lead Actor category. “George Clooney, you know, the seriousness and the dedication to your art, seeing you climb into that rubber bat suit from Batman & Robin, the one with the nipples, every morning under your costume, on the set, off the set, hanging upside-down at lunch, you rock, man.”
Following closely behind No Country For Old Men with a total of 3 trophies was The Bourne Ultimatum, which scored in the Film Editing, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing categories.
Other winners of the evening include Juno’s Diablo Cody for Original Screenplay, Atonement’s Dario Marianelli for Original Score, Ratatouille for Best Animated Feature Film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age for Costume Design and Once’s “Falling Slowly” (written, composed and performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova) for Original Song.
Despite a mere 2-week preparation time for the event on organisers’ part, this year’s show brought about some of the most entertaining moments in Oscar history, from host Jon Stewart’s gut-wrenching witty jokes to Daniel Day-Lewis kneeling before presenter Dame Helen Mirren to be knighted while receiving his Best Actor Oscar as a tribute to Mirren’s Oscar-winning role last year as Queen Elizabeth I in The Queen.
Following is the list of winners for the 80th Annual Academy Awards:
Best Motion Picture of the Year
No Country for Old Men
Best Director
Joen Coen and Ethan Coen – “No Country for Old Men”
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis – “There Will Be Blood”
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Marion Cotillard – “La Vie En Rose”
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Javier Bardem – “No Country for Old Men”
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Tilda Swinton – “Michael Clayton”
Best Animated Feature Film
Ratatouille
Best Foreign Language Film
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Best Art Direction
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Cinematography
There Will Be Blood
Best Costume Design
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Best Makeup
La Vie En Rose
Best Original Score
Atonement
Best Original Song
Falling Slowly from “Once”
Best Sound Mixing
The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Sound Editing
The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Film Editing
The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Visual Effects
The Golden Compass
Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody – “Juno”
Best Adapted Screenplay
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – “No Country for Old Men”
The 80th Annual Academy Awards will take place at the Kodak Theatre on Feb 24 (Feb 25 morning, Singapore time) in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for excellence in motion pictures. The awards were first presented in 1928 and the awards celebrates its 80th anniversary this year.
For more information about the Academy Awards, visit www.oscar.com.