Melissa Leo – BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Melissa Leo won the award for her role The Fighter, her first win! She said she was “shaking in my boots” on the stage, and thanked the usual suspects — managing to break down in tears and some intense emotion about a third of the way through her speech. Way to kick off the evening!
TOY STORY 3 – BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
No big surprise here: Another Pixar film takes the prize! Lee Unkrich accepted the prize, thanking the Academy and Pixar, of course. He thanked the world for embracing a movie about “talking toys,” and his Grandma. Aww.
Aaron Sorkin – BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Aaron Sorkin took home the Oscar for The Social Network. He definitely maxed out his speech time, thanking a whole lot of people before being ushered off the stage.
David Seidler “The King’s Speech” – BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The King’s Speech won its first award of the evening! Writer David Seidler came up to accept the award, starting off by getting laughs for saying, “The writer’s speech, this is terrifying,” after walking to the wrong spot on the stage. He said he’s the oldest person to win the award and hopes the record is broken “quickly and often.”
In A Better World – BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In a Better World became the first film from Denmark to win the prestigious prize. The film’s creator Susanne Bier came up and said, “Is this a real Oscar?”
Christian Bale – BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale took home his very first Oscar for his role in The Fighter. “What the hell am I doing here?” he said upon taking the mic. He said he wouldn’t drop the “eff bomb like Melissa” (his co-star), but he was pretty darn happy. He thanked his wife last, then broke down in tears. What a softie!