EXTREMELY LATE !! Recap of the 2011 Academy Awards

The 83rd Annual Academy Awards this past Sunday was an entertaining escapade filled with satisfying surprises and expected moves. James Franco and Anne Hathaway, the two young gun hosts of the show, were on their A-game to lead the festivities and brought in some novel offbeat humor.

Many directors, actors, and filmgoers spent the night in downtown San Diego celebrating with each other at the San Diego Film Festival Oscar party. As the anticipation was relieved with each torn envelope, film lovers enjoyed each others' company at the W Hotel.

The Oscar results were satisfying, and the winners well-deserved. Bringing home a nice group of gold statuettes was The King’s Speech, clocking in with four wins.

Internationally-known graffiti artist and Exit Through the Gift Shop filmmaker Banksy—who may or may not have been in Imperial Beach and Oceanside recently—lost out in the Best Documentary Feature category to Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs with Inside Job.

Melissa Leo (The Fighter) was the favorite for Best Supporting Actress, and she had fierce competition but ended up with the award. Expressing complete shock, Leo was fighting back tears as she gave her acceptance speech. At one point, she was speechless, looked up in awe and said, “Golly, there’s people up there too?” Leo even dropped the F-bomb.

Christian Bale snatched Best Supporting Actor gold for his role as the crack-addicted, has-been boxer, Dicky Eklund in The Fighter. For the role, Bale transformed himself. Bale thanked many, including his daughter, as he said she "has taught me more than I can teach her.” He's had many other roles where he completely transformed into his character without getting recognition. Tonight he received a golden push to keep giving quality performances.

Natalie Portman took home the award for Best Actress for her riveting performance as Nina in Black Swan. She was ecstatic, accepting the award teary-eyed, as she took the time to mention the unsung heroes that assisted her in the role that she knocked out of the park.

For Best Actor, Colin Firth (The King's Speech) rightfully took home his well-deserved Academy Award. No surprises here and not too many people wanted one. Firth played the stuttering, shaky, yet compassionate King George VI to perfection.

Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) and David Fincher (The Social Network) were the top favorites for Best Director, but Hooper swept the award away tonight. Out of the many thanks he gave, he acknowledged his mother for influencing him to take on the task of directing the King’s Speech, and ended his time on stage saying, “The moral of the story is listen to your mother.”

The race for Best Picture was a close match between the two main heavyweights— The Social Network and The King's Speech—though there was no real lock in this category. Surprisingly, the winner was The King’s Speech, which lost the Best Motion Picture — Drama Golden Globe to The Social Network.

Major Categories:

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)

Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Best Director: Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)

Best Picture: The King's Speech

Best Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3

Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister (Inception)

Best Documentary Feature: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs (Inside Job)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler (The King's Speech)

Here's a recap video of the whole event: