And what are the talking points?
Ang Lee's win for Best Director capped a disappointing evening for Lincoln which managed only two wins from its twelve nominations.
Jennifer Lawrence tripped taking the stage to accept Best Actress while Daniel Day-Lewis delivered a great comedy moment with his speech for Best Actor.
The musicals theme worked well, with every song delivered well and with class. The introductions of each of the Best Picture nominees on the other hand were bland and drawn out. The same had to be said for a lot of the hosts.
Seth MacFarlane got lots of laughs, and probably gave the Ricky Gervais style hosting performance that we all expected. Though he pushed the line, that's far better than not getting near it or being way too cool for it (in other words, it's always better than Franco).
No Australian wins out of our five nominations, however they all looked good and Hugh and Rusty were both excellent in the
Les Miserables
performance.
The surprising live cross to the White House in order that Michelle Obama could announce the Best Picture winner. She had the envelope and all. Certainly a well kept secret that one. Whether it was a good idea in the first place, is something else. Will it resonate with America or be seen as a shameless act of self-promotion?
And of course a tied Oscar! Only the third one in history.
The biggest excitement is surely
Lincoln
though, and the strange absence of Affleck, Bigelow and Hooper from the Best Director ballot now looks like it may have worked against Spielberg.