Big Pimpin'The 78th Annual Academy Awards were presented live from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Hosted by Comedy Central star
Jon Stewart, the three-and-a-half hour telecast got off to a humorous start when the Emmy Award-winning host of 'The Daily Show' rolled out his monologue with light-hearted jokes about 'Transamerica' star
Felicity Huffman and previous Oscar winner
Angelina Jolie. While commenting on how popular remakes were this year, the funnyman noted "'Walk The Line' is 'Ray' with white people.”
Presenters included
Jennifer Anniston, Jessica Alba, Eric Bana, Meryl Streep, Keanu Reeves, Samuel L. Jackson, Lily Tomlin, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Garner, Sandra Bullock, Hillary Swank, George Clooney, Will Ferrell, and
Jennifer Lopez. Last year’s Best Supporting Actor winner
Morgan Freeman ('Million Dollar Baby') presented the award for Best Supporting Actress to
Rachel Weisz ("The Constant Gardener").
'Hustle & Flow' star
Terrence Howard, who was nominated for Best Actor, presented the award for Documentary Short Subject to
Corinne Marrinan and
Eric Simonson for 'A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of
Norman Corwin.'
Nearly two-and-a-half hours into the show, rapper/actor
Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, who appeared in both 'Crash' and 'Hustle & Flow,' introduced
Three 6 Mafia and
Taraji P. Henson, singing the Best Orginal Song winner, 'It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp' with a colorfully stylized set behind them. While some expletives were edited out of the profanity-laced track, Henson substituted a portion of her verse with "there's a whole lot of witches jumping ship."
Queen Latifah said of the lively set: "How did I manage not to be in that number?" The Cover Girl spokeswoman, nominated for an Oscar in 2003 for her turn in 'Chicago,' bellowed the verse for the winning song while presenting the Memphis-based rap collective with the award for Best Original Song. Group members jumped around on stage and fumbled with excitement while accepting their award. "We want to thank
Keith Young our choreographer. And the whole Sony Records,
Lisa Ellis, our moms, our whole families. Thank you, Jesus," members said. "And for giving us a chance, the Academy. We love the Academy. You know what I'm saying?
Gil Cates … Donnie Ienner. Once again our families. Ludacris. What's up? Going down. George Clooney, my favorite man, he showed me love when I first met him. We bringing the house. We out of here. Memphis, Tennessee!" Three 6 Mafia is the second rap act in the history of the Academy to win an Oscar for Best Orginal Song but the first to perform on the awards show. Eminem became the first hip hop artist to gain an Academy Award, (also for Best Original Song), when he won for 'Lose Yourself' from '8 Mile' in 2003.
Three 6 Mafia beat out competition from country music superstar
Dolly Parton, who sang ‘Travelin’ Thru’ from 'Transamerica' and
Kathleen "Bird" York (who performed 'In the Deep’ from 'Crash.')
"How come they’re the most excited people here tonight?" Stewart asked after the unorthodox acceptance speech. "They are thrilled. That’s how you accept an Oscar."
Previous Academy Award nominee
Will Smith ('Ali') presented the award for Best Foreign Film to
'Tsotsi.' The critically-acclaimed film’s director
Gavin Hood -- who helmed last year’s nominated 'Yesterday' -- gave an impassioned speech. “Viva Africa Viva,” he yelled, summoning the cameraman to pan to the two lead actors from the film,
Presley Chweneyagae and Terry
Pheto.
"Just for the people keeping score at home;
Martin Scorsese, Zero Oscars; Three 6 Mafia: One," joked Stewart.
"I know I’ll be at the after party for Three 6 Mafia," last year’s Best Actor winner
Jamie Foxx said before introducing the nominees for Best Actress.
Reese Witherspoon, who portrayed
June Carter Cash in 'Walk the Line,' shed tears while delivering her acceptance speech.
The
Paul Haggis directed racial drama 'Crash' added the coveted prize of Best Motion Picture, along with trophies for Best Screenplay and Film Editing. "I’m just glad to be a part of that," Ludacris said backstage. "Everybody’s stock just went up. It was a historical moment. My heart is still beating. My career is just beginning."
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