The Edge of the Frame

Like I said, before: early and without warning. Well, the winners were a bit more dispersed and shared than I had imagined. “The Artist” and “The Descendants” were the leaders with two wins apiece, with the former taking down Best Picture. Scorsese made a somewhat surprising takedown of Best Director. I must say that this is the first time in my prognosticating career that I’m disappointed about my fourth favorite director receiving accolades.

George Clooney and Albert Brooks each earn their second wins of the season, respectively. Meanwhile, Michelle Williams and Octavia Spencer each grab the first of probably many, especially for the latter. Spencer’s performance is the very definition of a standout and I hope those honors keep rolling in for her.

The most notable mention here, I have to say, is “50/50” taking down another Best Original Screenplay award. At first, I thought it was just the NBR being the NBR. But for the film to keep beating out such heavy competition as “The Artist” and “Midnight in Paris” (I mean we’re talking about Woody Allen, here, for probably his most popular film since “Crimes and Misdemeanors”), it might be moving up in the field. It’s enough for it to slide into my current predictions and make me regret not catching it in theaters. We’ll see. The proverbial night is young.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Best Picture: “The Artist”

Best Director: Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”

Best Actor: George Clooney – “The Descendants”

Best Actress: Michelle Williams – “My Week with Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks – “Drive”

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer – “The Help”

Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Descendants”

Best Original Screenplay: “50/50”

Best Art Direction: “Hugo”

Best Cinematography: “The Tree of Life”

Best Score: “The Artist”

Best Animated Feature: “Rango”

Best Documentary Feature: “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”

Best Foreign Language Film: “The Skin I Live In”