Eddie Murphy to host the Oscars

Comedian Eddie Murphy, whose movies range from "Beverly Hills Cop" to voicing the smart-mouthed donkey in "Shrek," has been picked to host the Academy Awards in February for the first time in his career.

Tuesday's announcement makes Oscar organizers appear as if they are aiming for laughs in 2012, after this year's performance by co-hosts, dramatic actors Anne Hathaway and James Franco, fell flat with critics and many viewers.

The hosting job pairs Murphy, who began performing stand-up comedy at age 15 before joining TV's "Saturday Night Live," with director Brett Ratner, another Oscar first-timer best known for action movies and comedies.

Alongside Ratner's Oscar co-producer Don Mischer, the pair bring a decidedly comic edge to the show that has tried to stay relevant among young and mainstream moviegoers as its major awards in recent years primarily have gone to dramas aimed mostly at older audiences.

In a statement, Murphy said he was honored to be joining the likes of Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg, among the many hosts of the show that next year will see its 84th edition.

"Eddie is a comedic genius, one of the greatest and most influential live performers ever," Ratner said in a statement.

"With his love of movies, history of crafting unforgettable characters and his iconic performances -- especially on stage -- I know he will bring excitement, spontaneity and tremendous heart to the show Don and I want to produce in February," he said.

The move is a distinct departure from recent years in which the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has focused on variety and elaborate song-and-dance numbers by hosts or co-hosts including Hathaway and Hugh Jackman.

For this past February's show, the producers were Mischer and Bruce Cohen, who helped bring dramas such as "American Beauty" and "Milk" to movie theaters. Last year, the producers included Adam Shankman, director of the musical "Hairspray."

By contrast, Ratner is the director of movies such as the "Rush Hour" cop series and comic book flick "X-Men: The Last Stand". He is well-known to have a knowledge and love of film history, which is why the Academy chose him and he, in turn, brought Murphy to Hollywood's biggest awards program.

"I'm looking forward to working with Brett and Don on creating a show that is enjoyable for both the fans at home and for the audience at the Kodak Theatre as we all come together to celebrate and recognize the great film contributions and collaborations from the past year," Murphy said.

Murphy, 50, made his feature film debut in 1982 with the buddy comedy "48 Hrs" and went on to star in the "Beverly Hills Cop," "The Nutty Professor" and "Shrek" franchises. All told, movies in which he has performed have earned more than $7 billion at global box offices, the Academy said. (Reuters)

2011 MTV Video Music Awards: The Show, The Winners

With another year's show come and gone, the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards offered up plenty of action while honoring the best in the music business.

The big winners at the Nokia Theatre LA Live show on Sunday night (August 28) included Katy Perry as Video of the Year honoree for "Firework" while Lady Gaga nabbed Best Female Video for "Born This Way" and Justin Bieber's "U Smile" took home the Moonman for Best Male Video.

Meanwhile, Britney Spears and the late Amy Winehouse received special tributes while performers included show opener Lady GaGa, as well as Beyonce Knowles, Bruno Mars, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Jay-Z with Kanye West, and Adele.

The complete list of winners from the 2011 MTV VMAs is as follows:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
WINNER: Katy Perry, "Firework"
Beastie Boys, "Make Some Noise"
Tyler, The Creator, "Yonkers"
Bruno Mars, "Grenade"

BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
Beyonce, "Run the World (Girls)"
Katy Perry, "Firework"
Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass"
WINNER: Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"

BEST MALE VIDEO
Cee Lo Green, "F--k You"
Eminem feat. Rihanna, "Love the Way You Lie"
Bruno Mars, "Grenade"
Kanye West feat. Rihanna & Kid Cudi, "All of the Lights"
WINNER: Justin Bieber, "U Smile"

BEST POP VIDEO
Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
Bruno Mars, "Grenade"
Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Nayer & Afrojack, "Give Me Everything"
Katy Perry, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"
WINNER: Britney Spears, "Till The World Ends"

BEST ROCK VIDEO
Mumford & Sons, "The Cave"
Cage The Elephant, "Shake Me Down"
Foster The People, "Pumped Up Kicks"
WINNER: Foo Fighters, "Walk"
The Black Keys, "Howlin' For You"

BEST HIP HOP VIDEO
Lil Wayne feat. Cory Gunz, "6'7'"
Kanye West feat. Rihanna & Kid Cudi, "All of the Lights"
WINNER: Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass"
Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes, "Look at Me Now"
Lupe Fiasco, "The Show Goes On"

BEST NEW ARTIST
Foster the People
Wiz Khalifa
WINNER: Tyler, the Creator
Big Sean feat. Chris Brown
Kreayshawn

BEST COLLABORATION
Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Nayer & Afrojack, "Give Me Everything"
Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, "Look at Me Now"
Kanye West featuring Rihanna and Kid Cudi, "All of the Lights"
WINNER: Katy Perry Featuring Kanye West, "E.T."
Nicki Minaj featuring Drake, "Moment 4 Life"

BEST ART DIRECTION
WINNER: Adele, "Rolling In The Deep"
Katy Perry featuring Kanye West,"E.T."
Lady Gaga, "Judas"
Kanye West featuring Dwele, "Power"
Death Cab For Cutie, "You Are a Tourist"

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
WINNER: Beyoncé, "Run the World (Girls)"
Britney Spears, "Till the World Ends"
Lady Gaga, "Judas"
Bruno Mars, "The Lazy Song"
LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & Goon, "Rock Party Rock Anthem"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
WINNER: Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
30 Seconds to Mars, "Hurricane"
Eminem featuring Rihanna, "Love the Way You Lie"
Katy Perry, "Teenage Dream"
Beyoncé, "Run the World (Girls)"

BEST EDITING
Katy Perry featuring Kanye West, "E.T."
30 Seconds to Mars, "Hurricane"
WINNER: Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
Manchester Orchestra, "Simple Math"
Kanye West Featuring Rihanna and Kid Cudi, "All of the Lights"

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
WINNER: Katy Perry featuring Kanye West, "E.T."
Linkin Park, "Waiting For the End"
Manchester Orchestra, "Simple Math"
Kanye West featuring Dwele, "Power"
Chromeo, "Don't Turn the Lights On"

BEST VIDEO WITH A MESSAGE
WINNER: Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"
Eminem (featuring Rihanna), "Love the Way You Lie"
Katy Perry,"Firework"
Pink, "Fuckin' Perfect"
Rise Against, "Make It Stop (September's Children)"
Taylor Swift, "Mean"
Credit :Hollywood Gossip

Photo Credit: Getty Images

2011 ESPY Awards: The Show, The Winners

Honoring the best in sports over the past calendar year, the 2011 ESPY Awards took place at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday night (July 13).

Hosted by SNL funnyman Seth Meyers, the Dallas Mavericks emerged as the big winners of the night, as the NBA Champions took home Best Team accolades while Rick Carlisle was named Best Coach and Dirk Nowitzki garnered Best NBA Player and Best Male Athlete trophies.

With skier Lindsey Vonn being named Best Female Athlete, another big winner was Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, as he won Best MLB Player and Best Moment.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of star power on hand, as celebrity presenters included Justin Bieber, who was joined by girlfriend Selena Gomez, along with big names such as Justin Timberlake, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Kendra Wilkinson, Brooklyn Decker, Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds.

The complete list of winners from the 2011 ESPY Awards is as follows, and enjoy the pictures from the event below!

Best Male Athlete
Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR
Rafael Nadal, Tennis
WINNER: Dirk Nowitzki, NBA
Aaron Rodgers, NFL

Best Female Athlete
Kelly Clark, Snowboarding
Lauren Jackson, WNBA
Maya Moore, NCAA Basketball
WINNER: Lindsey Vonn, Skiing

Best Championship Performance
Tim Lincecum, 2010 MLB Postseason
WINNER: Tim Thomas, Stanley Cup Finals
Kemba Walker, Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament
Serena Williams, 2010 Wimbledon

Best Breakthrough Athlete
Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
Arian Foster, Houston Texans
WINNER: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Li Na, Tennis
Cam Newton, Auburn Tigers

Best Record-Breaking Performance
WINNER: Ray Allen, NBA three-point record
Rory McIlroy, U.S. Open
Derrick Rose, youngest player to win NBA MVP
UConn Women's Basketball, longest win streak

Best Upset
Blame over Zenyatta, Breeder's Cup
Fabricio Werdum stuns Fedor Emelianenko, MMA
Seahawks upset Saints, NFL Wild Card Playoffs
WINNER: VCU, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Best Game
Auburn beats Alabama, Iron Bowl
Butler upsets Pittsburgh, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
WINNER: Eagles rally to beat the Giants, NFL
Oklahoma City edges Memphis in triple-OT, NBA Playoffs

Best Moment
Fennville HS Basketball Team, High school basketball tournament run
WINNER: Roy Halladay Postseason No-Hitter, MLB
Trevor Bayne at Daytona 500, NASCAR

Best Team
Auburn Football
Boston Bruins
WINNER: Dallas Mavericks
Green Bay Packers
San Francisco Giants
Texas A&M Women's Basketball

Castrol Edge Performance Under Pressure Award
WINNER: Arian Foster, Houston Texans
DeAngelo Hall, Washington
Leon Washington, Seattle

Best Sports Movie
WINNER: The Fighter
Secretariat
Soul Surfer
Win Win

Best Coach/Manager
Jim Calhoun, Connecticut Basketball
WINNER: Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks
Gene Chizik, Auburn Football
Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers
Dom Starsia, Virginia Lacrosse

Best NFL Player
Tom Brady, New England
Arian Foster, Houston
Clay Matthews Jr., Green Bay
Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh
WINNER: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay

Best MLB Player
Jose Bautista, Toronto
WINNER: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia
Josh Hamilton, Texas
Felix Hernandez, Seattle
Joey Votto, Cincinnati

Best NHL Player
Corey Perry, Anaheim
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay
WINNER: Tim Thomas, Boston

Best Driver
Greg Anderson
John Force
Dario Franchitti
WINNER: Jimmie Johnson

Best NBA Player
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City
LeBron James, Miami
WINNER: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
Derrick Rose, Chicago

Best WNBA Player
Tamika Catchings, Indiana
Lauren Jackson, Seattle
Cappie Pondexter, New York
WINNER: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix

Best Fighter
Bernard Hopkins
Jon "Bones" Jones
Sergio Martinez
WINNER: Manny Pacquiao
George St. Pierre

Best Male Golfer
Luke Donald
Jim Furyk
Graeme McDowell
WINNER: Rory McIlroy
Charl Schwartzel

Best Female Golfer
Na Yeon Choi
WINNER: Cristie Kerr
Jiyai Shin
Yani Tseng

Best Male Tennis Player
Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer
WINNER: Rafael Nadal

Best Female Tennis Player
Kim Clijsters
Li Na
WINNER: Serena Williams
Caroline Wozniacki

Best Male College Athlete
WINNER: Jimmer Fredette, BYU Basketball
Andy Miele, Miami-Ohio Hockey
Cam Newton, Auburn Football
Rob Pannell, Cornell Lacrosse
Kemba Walker, Connecticut Basketball

Best Female College Athlete
Blair Brown, Penn State Volleyball
Dallas Escobedo, Arizona State Softball
Melissa Henderson, Notre Dame Soccer
Katinka Hosszu, USC Swimming
WINNER: Maya Moore, Connecticut Basketball

Best Male Action Sport Athlete
Tucker Hibbert, Snowmobiling
Travis Pastrana, Motocross
Kevin Rolland, Freestyle Skiing
Kelly Slater, Surfing
WINNER: Shaun White, Snowboarding

Best Female Action Sport Athlete
Sarah Burke, Freestyle Skier
Kelly Clark, Snowboarding
Ashley Fiolek, Motocross
WINNER: Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing

Best Jockey
Ramon Dominguez
Garrett Gomez
WINNER: John Velasquez

Best Male Athlete with a Disability
Chris Devlin-Young
WINNER: Anthony Robles
Aaron Scheidies
Jerome Singleton
Steve Wampler

Best Female Athlete with a Disability
Allison Jones
Tatyana McFadden
Alana Nichols
Melissa Stockwell
WINNER: Mallory Weggemann

Best Bowler
Chris Barnes
WINNER: Jason Belmonte
Mika Koivuniemi
Bill O'Neill

Best MLS Player
Edson Buddle, Los Angeles
WINNER: Landon Donovan, Los Angeles
David Ferreira, Dallas
Chris Wondolowski, San Jose

Best Track and Field Athlete
Allyson Felix
WINNER: Tyson Gay
David Oliver
 Credit

IIFA awards 2011 winners: 'Dabangg' bags six awards

TORONTO: Salman Khan starrer Dabangg ", last year's biggest hit, bagged six awards, including best female debut for Sonakshi Sinha , at the glittering 12th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards here Saturday night.

Ranvir Singh won the award for best debut male award for his role in "Band Baaja Baaraat".

Accepting the award from veteran actor couple Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, the young actor said: "It is special to me as the award is presented by my idol. (But) it is just the beginning."

Presenting the award to Sonakshi Sinha, yesteryears' diva Hema Malini said: "I saw this girl and never thought she will become an actress.

A beaming Sonakshi said: "Toronto, itna pyar. Thanks for giving me the gift of IIFA. I will cherish it forever."

Mamta Sharma won the award for best female playback singer for her song "Munni Badnaam" in "Dabanng".

"I love you so much... Shah Rukh I love you much... Toronto I love you so much," said Mamta as Arshad Warsi handed her the award in the company of show co-hosts Boman Irani and Ritesh Deshmukh as well as Shah Rukh Khan.

The award for best male playback singer went to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain" from "Dabanng".

For best lyrics, the award went to Niranjan Iyengar for "Sajda" and "Noor-e-Khuda" in "My Name is Khan". The award was accepted by Karan Johar on his behalf.

For best music direction, the award went to Sajid-Wajid and Lalit Pandit for "Dabangg".

The award for best story went to Shibani Bathija for "My Name is Khan". It was presented by Brett Lee, Fardeen Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala .

The award for best screenplay went to Abhinav Kahsyap and Dileep Shukla for "Dabangg". Zeenat Aman, Prakash Mehra and Sant Singh Chatwal presented the award.

The award for best dialogue went to Vishal Bharadwaj for "Ishqiya".

Mallika Sherawat and Brian White - her co-star in a Hollywood movie - presented the award.

Sonu Sood received the award for best performance in a negative role for "Dabangg".

Dharmendra won an award for his half-century in Indian cinema, while the Outstanding Achievement Award went to Sharmila Tagore.

Handing Sharmila Tagore the award, Shabana Azmi said: "I am honoured to present this award to an actress for whom I have the highest regard - a path-breaker, achiever, a person who has been successful in every avatar she has chosen."

Sharmila Tagore said the award was "such a satisfying thing. It's fantastic. After Dharamji, it is a tough act to follow".

She recalled Dharmendra's large heartedness when he agreed to a change in schedule for the shooting of a film when she had to "rush to Calcutta for personal reasons as Tiger (her husband) was in the West Indies".

For the first time at the IIFA, Star Plus channel presented the Hottest Pair award to Anushka Sharma and Ranvir Singh for which 15 million votes were cast online.

"Anushka, you make me feel hot," said Ranvir accepting the award in her company.

The first Green IIFA Award by Panasonic went to actress Priyanka Chopra.

Ritiesh Deshmukh bagged the award for best performance in a comic role for the film "Housefull".

Irrfan Khan , whom Anil Kapoor lauded for his performances on the global stage, received the IIFA award for his international performances.

Liam Hemsworth caught leaving Oscar party with Ashley Tisdale

Actor Liam Hemsworth was spotted leaving an Oscars after-party with Ashely Tisdale, a former Disney star.

According to MailOnline, the 21-year-old Aussie and Tisdale, who rose to fame as Sharpay Evans in the 'High School Musical' franchise, went to the InStyle Oscar party separately but were seen leaving together at the end of the night, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The pair was seen chatting outside Boa Steakhouse in West Hollywood where they appeared to swap numbers before leaving together.

The former 'Neighbours' star seemed enthralled as he shared an intimate conversation with Tisdale and as the pair left the party he placed a protective hand onto her arm.

Hemsworth was in an on-off relationship with Cyrus after the pair met on set 'The Last Song' in 2009. They broke-up for a second time in November last year.

Stewart, Pattinson kiss at pre-Oscars party

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson celebrated the Oscars by sharing a kiss at a pre-Oscar party.

Stewart and Pattinson were two of the many celebrities in attendance at a Friday night party at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, according to Us Weekly.

A witness said: "They definitely kissed a few times."
The witness went on to say that the Twilight couple enjoyed dancing to the music as well.
"They went nuts for 'Empire State of Mind'!" said the witness.
Other stars present included Scarlett Johansson, Halle Berry, Ryan Gosling and Natalie Portman.

Goldberg criticises Franco and Hathaway

Whoopi Goldberg has criticised James Franco and Anne Hathaway's Sunday night Oscar hosting presentation.

Speaking on Monday's episode of The View on ABC, Goldberg said that Franco and Hathaway failed to take charge of the awards show.

"You've got to get people who understand a live show," Goldberg said.

She added: "The first few minutes of that show is yours. You have to recognise two things. You have to recognise - like after Melissa Leo said [the f-word]... when things happen like that you have to be able to come and lift the audience out of their shock and move the show forward. I felt like last night there was no-one in charge."

The comedian continued: "I like James Franco a lot. I like Anne Hathaway a lot. But this is a show that, it's on you to keep it going. It's on you. You have to be able to surf in this show. And I didn't think they surfed as much as they could have."

Goldberg has hosted the Oscars four times.

How The King's Speech got an outside edge at the Oscars

The success of independent cinema at the Oscars is nothing new, but it's always a welcome sight. Sunday night's marginal triumph by The King's Speech over the studio's biggest heavy hitter, The Social Network, will have spread good cheer among the movie's many backers outside the studio system. The King's Speech is one of the moribund UK Film Council's last hurrahs, although there are quite a few forthcoming releases that will bear the stamp of the ill-fated funding body, such as Lynne Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin, Terence Davies's The Deep Blue Sea and Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights.

The UK Film Council was one of several key elements on the project, along with UK financiers Prescience and Aegis, UK distributor Momentum Pictures and Australian distributor Transmission, whose sister company See-Saw, run by Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, came on board to produce with Gareth Unwin's Bedlam Productions, which had been a longtime champion of the project. That's quite a list and I'm not even sure it's comprehensive, but it illustrates a truism in independent film financing: the tougher the sell, the greater the number of investors. No studio would have gone near this because the project lacked brand recognition, wasn't part of a franchise and didn't offer clear merchandising opportunities.

And then, of course, there is Harvey Weinstein, the Oscar impresario extraordinaire whose apparently resurgent company did such a bang-up job distributing The King's Speech in the US. The film launched modestly in a handful of theatres last December and climbed from 43 to 700 theatres over the Christmas weekend, rising steadily after that. Heading into the final weekend before the Oscar nominations on 25 January, the movie played in 1,680 theatres, and by the time it emerged as the frontrunner on 12 nominations it was in 2,557.

It went on to gross more than half of its current $114m (£70m) running total in the so-called Oscar corridor between the day of nominations and the show itself. That's the Oscar bump in action and you see it with another success story, Black Swan, which amassed roughly one-fifth of its $103m running total in the same period. Both will continue to prosper now that they have gongs to their name. The King's Speech will go out as a PG-13, too, after Weinstein cut a few expletives from the original R-rated version. Colin Firth disapproves and thinks the movie should be seen "as is", and I wholeheartedly agree. Alas the gatekeepers in the US believe audiences must be protected from the brutal spectrum of the English language, even though they are happy to expose under-13s to a disgraceful level of on-screen violence week-in, week-out.

For some years now a movie's prospects outside the US have played a key role in assembling the financing and distribution. Central to this is the international pre-sale, whereby a company licenses distribution rights to a forthcoming project in return for a portion of the budget. In this regard kudos is due to FilmNation, the New York-based company run by the vastly experienced former Weinstein lieutenant Glen Basner. FilmNation handled international sales on The King's Speech and ensured it ended up in safe hands outside the US. To date the movie has grossed more than $130m outside the US, bringing worldwide ticket sales to around $245m.

Black Swan had a pretty tortuous route to the big screen, too, but when Fox Searchlight came on board as financing partner it knew a good thing and held on to worldwide distribution rights. It's been Hollywood's leading title in the international market for the past few weeks and so far has racked up $123m overseas and $226m worldwide.

These are astonishing and rare numbers for specialty film, but what's so gratifying is that because both movies got made for a price and were expertly released in the US and overseas, they're profitable. The rumour doing the rounds at the recent Berlin film festival was that Weinstein is plotting a sequel to The King's Speech called The Windsors at War. Harvey and his cohorts are keeping mum about that right now as they focus on this year's movies, which include Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in the Oscar hopeful My Week With Marilyn.

Credit : The Guardian UK

Actress Melissa Leo's true grit leads to Oscar

As the supremely competent Detective Kay Howard on "Homicide: Life on the Street," Ms. Leo famously refused to make herself look glamorous. She told Terry Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air" that she didn't use makeup on the show because her male colleagues didn't.

When she was unceremoniously dumped from "Homicide" at the end of its fifth season, Ms. Leo said collateral damage from her then-messy personal life and the flinty realness of her Kay Howard character marked her as damaged goods on a show belatedly striving for higher ratings.

Unable to find a steady network gig after "Homicide," Ms. Leo entered what she described to Ms. Gross as a career dry spell. She reprised her role as Kay Howard in "Homicide: The Movie" in 2000, but by then she had set her eye on the big screen, where the perception of being a "gritty gal" didn't work against her.

Ms. Leo had a series of small roles in small movies, the most memorable in "21 Grams" (2003) until her star turn as an impoverished trailer park mom turned illegal alien smuggler in "Frozen River" (2008).

Ms. Leo got her first taste of major industry respect that year when she was nominated for more than a dozen awards, including the Oscar for best actress in "Frozen River."

"Homicide" creator David Simon took a second look at the actress NBC fired in 1997 and hired her to play ACLU lawyer Toni Bernette in HBO's post-Katrina drama, "Treme."

When Ms. Leo signed on to play Alice Ward, the mother of boxers Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and Dicky Eklund (Christopher Bale), she became the spark that ignited "The Fighter" whenever she was on screen. Despite being only a decade older than Mr. Wahlberg, Ms. Leo learned enough from observing the real Alice Ward to make her role as his mother work.

On Sunday, Ms. Leo capped an extraordinary year by winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Fighter."

Having cleaned up more than half the regional critics' honors already, she was, justifiably, the front-runner. Still, hearing her name called on Hollywood's most prestigious night was not the kind of industry respect Ms. Leo was used to.

A self-promotional Oscar campaign in which she took out trade ads had landed her in hot water a few weeks ago. There was some talk that an industry backlash might deny her the coveted award.

Perhaps Ms. Leo was more relieved that the pessimists were wrong about her chances than she was surprised at her win when she uttered the first televised f-bomb in the history of the Oscars during her acceptance speech.

The censors caught it in time, but the happy outburst landed her a spot in Oscars infamy alongside the streaker who interrupted David Niven's speech during the 1974 broadcast.

Calculated or not, Ms. Leo's exuberance provided an otherwise dull show with one of its few genuinely interesting moments.

My affection for Ms. Leo began when I visited the set of "Homicide" in 1996. I interviewed the entire cast, but my time with the actress was particularly memorable.

Unlike the character she played, Ms. Leo had a wicked sense of humor. She was also far more attractive and articulate in person than her laconic character on TV.

Hours after our interview, our paths crossed again on the sound stage. That's when she insisted on taking me to where the cast and crew hung out for lunch. She escorted me around the set like an old friend instead of a nosy fan pretending to be a journalist.

When Colin Firth, 50, won his own Oscar for best actor Sunday, he quipped, "I have a feeling my career just peaked."

Ms. Leo, also 50, probably isn't giving much thought to the "curse" said to befall actresses trying to find meaty roles after they land an Oscar. She has been fortunate enough to never have been a pretty ingenue waiting for the phone to ring, so her hustling will never end.

Instead of peaking, Melissa Leo is just getting started.


Credit : Pittsburgh Post Gazette

2011 Academy Awards " The Winners "

With another year's ceremony having come and gone, the 2011 Academy Awards announced the big winners during a glitzy ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday night (February 27).

Taking home the top prize of Best Picture at the Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosted event was "The King's Speech," which ended up winning a total of four Oscar trophies.

As for the actor/actress categories, the Academy bestowed Best Actress honors upon Natalie Portman for her work in "Black Swan" while Colin Firth landed Best Actor accolades for his role in "The King's Speech".

The complete list of 2011 Academy Awards winners is as follows:

Best Picture
"Black Swan," Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
"The Fighter" David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
"Inception," Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
"The Kids Are All Right," Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
WINNER: "The King's Speech," Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
"127 Hours," Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
"The Social Network," Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán, Producers
"Toy Story 3" Darla K. Anderson, Producer
"True Grit" Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges in "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network"
WINNER: Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"
James Franco in "127 Hours"

Actor in a Supporting Role
WINNER: Christian Bale in "The Fighter"
John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"
Jeremy Renner in "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right"
Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech"

Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone"
WINNER: Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine"

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"
WINNER: Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom"

Animated Feature Film
"How to Train Your Dragon" Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
"The Illusionist" Sylvain Chomet
WINNER: "Toy Story 3" Lee Unkrich

Art Direction
WINNER: "Alice in Wonderland"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"True Grit"

Cinematography
"Black Swan," Matthew Libatique
WINNER: "Inception," Wally Pfister
"The King's Speech," Danny Cohen
"The Social Network," Jeff Cronenweth
"True Grit," Roger Deakins

Costume Design
WINNER: "Alice in Wonderland," Colleen Atwood
"I Am Love," Antonella Cannarozzi
"The King's Speech," Jenny Beavan
"The Tempest," Sandy Powell
"True Grit" Mary Zophres

Directing
"Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky
"The Fighter," David O. Russell
WINNER: "The King's Speech," Tom Hooper
"The Social Network," David Fincher
"True Grit," Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Documentary (Feature)
"Exit through the Gift Shop," Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
"Gasland," Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
WINNER: "Inside Job," Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Restrepo," Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
"Waste Land," Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)
"Killing in the Name"
"Poster Girl"
WINNER: "Strangers No More"
"Sun Come Up"
"The Warriors of Qiugang"

Film Editing
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"The King's Speech"
"127 Hours"
WINNER: "The Social Network"

Foreign Language Film
"Biutiful," Mexico
"Dogtooth," Greece
WINNER: "In a Better World," Denmark
"Incendies," Canada
"Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)," Algeria

Makeup
"Barney's Version," Adrien Morot
"The Way Back," Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
WINNER: "The Wolfman," Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)
"How to Train Your Dragon," John Powell
"Inception," Hans Zimmer
"The King's Speech," Alexandre Desplat
"127 Hours," A.R. Rahman
WINNER: "The Social Network," Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Music (Original Song)
"Coming Home" from "Country Strong," Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
"I See the Light" from "Tangled," Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
"If I Rise" from "127 Hours," Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
WINNER: "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3," Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Short Film (Animated)
"Day & Night," Teddy Newton
"The Gruffalo," Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
"Let's Pollute," Geefwee Boedoe
WINNER: "The Lost Thing," Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
"Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)" Bastien Dubois

Short Film (Live Action)
"The Confession," Tanel Toom
"The Crush," Michael Creagh
WINNER: "God of Love," Luke Matheny
"Na Wewe," Ivan Goldschmidt
"Wish 143," Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Sound Editing
WINNER: "Inception," Richard King
"Toy Story 3," Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
"Tron: Legacy," Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
"True Grit," Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
"Unstoppable," Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Mixing
WINNER: "Inception," Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
"The King's Speech," Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
"Salt," Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
"The Social Network," Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
"True Grit," Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Visual Effects
"Alice in Wonderland," Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
"Hereafter," Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
WINNER: "Inception," Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
"Iron Man 2," Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"127 Hours," Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
WINNER: "The Social Network," Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
"Toy Story 3," Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
"True Grit," Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"Winter's Bone," Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Another Year," Written by Mike Leigh
"The Fighter," Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
"Inception," Written by Christopher Nolan
"The Kids Are All Right," Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
WINNER: "The King's Speech," Screenplay by David Seidler