Newsletter
Sed ut perspiciatis unde.
Subscribe
.cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:'>>';font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}
.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}
.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}
.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:#004276;outline:medium none}
.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}
]]>
The 84th Academy Awards kicked off in typical Billy Crystal fashion. Before singing a tune about the nominees, the nine-time host put himself into the movies -- literally. He kissed George Clooney in a scene from "The Descendants," and Justin Bieber showed up in a spoof of "Midnight in Paris." Bieber said he was there to lower the demographic of the awards show -- specifically targeting the 18- to 24-year-olds.
In her not-so-native tongue, Sandra Bullock presented the award for best foreign language film. Because there were 1.2 billion people watching in China, she said, the academy asked that she present the award in Mandarin. However, she added, because her mother spoke German when she was growing up, her Chinese is infused with a slight German accent.
"The Help's" Octavia Spencer seemed genuinely surprised when she won the Academy Award for best supporting actress. She was so surprised, in fact, that she needed help getting up out of her seat. She walked on stage to a standing ovation, and thanked the Academy for putting her with the hottest guy in the room -- Oscar, of course.
Robert Downey Jr. and his film crew joined Gwyneth Paltrow on stage to present the award for best documentary feature. Downey said he was starring in a documentary film called "The Presenter." He explained, "Plural titles are out this year" -- sorry, Gwyneth. "Undefeated," a film with a singular title, won the award.
Chris Rock brought the laughs when he presented the award for best animated feature. No stranger to working on animated films, Rock said, "If you're a fat woman, you can play a skinny princess. If you're a white man, you can play an Arabian prince. And if you're a black man, you can play a donkey or a zebra." (Rock voiced a zebra in the "Madagascar" franchise and comedian Eddie Murphy voiced a donkey in the "Shrek" films.)
Announcing the award for visual effects, Emma Stone tried to make the most of her first experience as a presenter. But her co-presenter, Ben Stiller, wasn't having it. During their adorable bit, Stone suggested she sing a song, and asked Jonah Hill for a dance (he politely declined). An ambivalent Stiller, however, just told her not to try so hard. "The Help" actress promptly called Stiller out for dressing in full Avatar makeup in 2010, and for wearing a green bodysuit on stage in 2006.
During Christopher Plummer's acceptance speech (he won best supporting actor for his role in "Beginners"), he joked about his age. At 82, Plummer is the oldest actor to win an Academy Award. "You're only two years older than me, darling," he told his Oscar. "Where have you been all my life?" Billy Crystal even joked, "Next year, this will be called the Flomax Theatre."
Wearing matching white tuxedos, Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis took the stage playing cymbals. Galifianakis mispronounced his own name while introducing himself, while Ferrell dropped his cymbal trying to open the envelope for best original song. "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" took the award.
You can always count on the "Bridesmaids" cast for a good laugh. Playing off the drinking game that Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy shared at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Rose Byrne and McCarthy had to drink from mini vodka bottles (one of which came from McCarthy's cleavage) when someone yelled "Scorsese."
