The 84th Annual Academy Awards

Meryl Streep

Michelle Williams

         The 84^th Annual Academy Awards premiered on Feb. 26, this year hosted by Billy Crystal. Crystal, who’s hosted the Oscars eight other times, sang a medley of songs about the Best Picture nominees to start the event. 

Once everyone had their moment on the red carpet, the winners were announced. “The Artist” became the first silent movie since 1927’s “Wings” to win Best Picture. The director, Michael Hazanavicius, won Best Director.

After seeing George Clooney’s face a numerous amount of times, the Best Actor nominee lost to his competitor Jean Dujardin from “The Artist.” Best Actress went to Meryl Streep for her act in “The Iron Lady.” 

During the event, the French circus Cirque du Soleil performed, introduced by Muppet presenters Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. 

Another presenter, actress Sandra Bullock, spoke German with a Chinese accent when she presented the winner for Best Foreign Language Film.

Previously on the red carpet, actor Sacha Baron Cohen, dressed in his costume from “The Dicatator,” spilled “ashes” from the urn he was holding on host Ryan Seacrest, who spent the rest of the evening cleaning his suit.

Regarding previous record holders, Walt Disney won the most Oscars with 26 wins; Meryl Streep receieved the most acting nominations with 17 wins; and the movies “Ben-Hur,” “Titanic,” and “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won the most Academy Awards in history, which was 11 each. 

Overall, this year’s Academy Awards was “one of the breeziest ceremonies in decades,” said the Cleveland Plain Dealer. 

As Crystal said, “Nothing can take the sting out of the world’s economic problems like watching millionaires present each other with golden statues.”