The big story of the 2013 Oscars, of course, is how the underdog Argo ultimately the initially dyed-in-the-wool favourite Lincoln passed. When Sunday night Ben Affleck took the statuette for best film, he did so not as director but as producer.
It was not even nominated for the Oscar for best director, and that is rare for a film to receive the Oscar for 'Best Picture'. It is not implausible that the lack of that nomination in early January stirred up so much attention and reaction that as a result Argo began to gain more and more sympathy. When it subsequently won best film at the Golden Globes, this was already an obvious omen.
By the way, those Golden Globes were a good predictor for the Oscars this year. Even at the Oscars for best actor (Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln), best supporting actors (Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables, Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained), best animation (Brave) and best non-English-language film (Amour), the Oscar ceremony followed suit at the Golden Globes.
No, very surprising this Oscar party was not in the end, as even Argo is always still a safe bet. This thriller about the 1979 rescue operation of Americans held hostage in Iran is almost as patriotic as Lincoln and misses the controversial sides that Zero Dark Thirty (also patriotic and even more topical) probably made it too hot a potato. This phenomenal film ultimately had to make do with a with Skyfall to share consolation Oscar for sound editing.
A tiny Dutch success is Erik-Jan de Boer's contribution to the visual effects of the Oscar-winning film for this Life of Pi. Indeed, this digital tiger is unsurpassed.
For complete results, see http://oscar.go.com/nominees
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