Kathryn Bigelow makes Oscar history as war drama triumphs

“The Hurt Locker” also took home the top prize, best picture, and four awards in other categories. “Avatar,” the 3D smash directed by Bigelow’s ex-husband, James Cameron, ended up with three awards, all in technical categories.

The acting races finished as expected and all four honorees took home the first statuettes of their careers. Jeff Bridges won for his lead role as a drunken country singer who gets a shot at redemption in “Crazy Heart.” Sandra Bullock got the gold for playing a suburban mom who guides a homeless black teen to football stardom in “The Blind Side.”

In the supporting field, the prizes went to Austrian actor Christoph Waltz for the Nazi revenge fantasy “Inglourious Basterds,” and stand-up comic Mo’Nique for the dark urban drama “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

Geoffrey Fletcher became the first African-American to win the writing prize, for his work on “Precious.” The prize had been expected to go to “Up in the Air,” a six-time nominee that was snubbed.

Bittersweet victory

In voting for “The Hurt Locker,” Hollywood insiders clearly showed a preference for a relatively obscure movie that suffered a similar commercial fate as other films revolving around the Iraq War. With North American ticket sales of about $15 million -- about half of what “Avatar” earned in its first day -- “The Hurt Locker” is one of the least-commercial best-picture Oscar winners ever.

The film, based on a story by journalist Mark Boal, follows an American bomb-disposal squad in Iraq. Boal won an Oscar for his original screenplay, and was also a producer, along with Bigelow, Greg Shapiro and French financier Nicolas Chartier. The best-picture win was a bittersweet moment for Chartier, who was banned from the ceremony last week after breaking Oscar campaign rules by sending out an e-mail to voters.

Bigelow, 58, shot the film in the Jordanian desert in the middle of summer almost three years ago on a shoestring budget of $15 million. It marked her first movie since the costly 2002 submarine flop “K19: The Widowmaker.”

Only three other women had ever been nominated for the directing Oscar, most recently Sofia Coppola for “Lost in Translation” in 2004. As Bigelow left the stage clutching her statuette, the orchestra played Helen Reddy’s feminist anthem “I Am Woman.” But the shy horse-lover has bristled at the “female filmmaker” tag, and her works are often showcases for strong male roles.

Even Cameron had predicted he would lose the directing race to Bigelow, with whom he has remained on good terms after the couple split in the early 1990s. But he had hoped to repeat the best-picture success he had 12 years ago with “Titanic.”

The race for the top Oscar thus pitted two ex-lovers against each other, with each claiming their film was the underdog: “The Hurt Locker” for obvious commercial reasons, and “Avatar” because sentiment largely seemed stacked against it.

Even though “Avatar” has made history with $2.6 billion in worldwide ticket sales and showcased Cameron’s bold moviemaking skills, Oscar voters traditionally ignore science-fiction. “Avatar” also lost some major races to “The Hurt Locker.”

Another new consideration this time saw organizers double the best picture field to 10 for the first time since 1943. The move was designed to bring more crowd-pleasing blockbusters and thereby arrest the event’s steadily declining ratings. The voting rules accordingly changed for best picture, with a preferential system that favored consensus choices over more-divisive contenders.

All the acting winners were first-time nominees, except for Bridges. The 60-year-old scion of a Hollywood acting family had been nominated four times previously, dating back to 1972. “Crazy Heart” also won the Oscar for best song.

Bullock, 45, ran a close race with Meryl Streep for “Julie & Julia.” It’s now been 27 years since 16-time nominee Streep won her second Oscar.

Waltz, 53, who played a Nazi with a twinkle in his eye, becomes the first actor to win an Oscar for a film directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Mo’Nique’s role as a abusive mother was a departure for the 42-year-old comedienne. But she has said she got into character after recalling the sexual abuse she suffered as a youngster.

The three-and-a-half-hour ceremony, hosted at the Kodak Theatre by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, drew real-time brickbats from bloggers. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote, “I don’t remember when I’ve seen a less exciting Oscarcast.”

 The absence of Farrah Fawcett from the traditional “in memoriam” segment of the Academy Awards broadcast Sunday was causing some to scratch their heads. Fawcett, who died in June at the age of 62, was notably left out of the tribute, which was accompanied by James Taylor singing The Beatles’ “In My Life.” Fawcett was predominantly a TV actress and starred in “Charlie’s Angels” and numerous made-for-TV movies. But she also appeared in theatrically released films, including 1976’s “Logan’s Run,” 1986’s “Extremities,” 1997’s “The Apostle” and 2000’s “Dr. T and the Women.” There are often quibbles with the selections for the Oscar memoriam, but Fawcett’s credits -- and her notoriety -- would seem to qualify her for the tribute. The montage also included Michael Jackson, whose predominant medium certainly wasn’t theatrically released movies. Film critic Roger Ebert was among those who questioned Fawcett’s absence on Twitter. Ebert called it a “major fail” and wrote, “They have a whole lot of ‘splaining to do.” 

 There are many reasons why George Clooney is one of the most popular stars in Hollywood: the crinkles around his eyes when he smiles, his soothing voice and his deep brown eyes. But he’s also one of the most generous celebrities on the Oscars red carpet. He bounded across the red ropes Sunday to the bleachers with a pen in hand, ready to shake hands and sign autographs. The fans leaped out of their seats to get a glimpse of him, pressing toward the carpet that ran into the Kodak Theatre. After he signed a woman’s security badge, she held it up in the air triumphantly and fans cheered for her.

 Now Ryan Seacrest knows: Meryl Streep is watching. After noting that Seacrest predicted Sandra Bullock would win the Oscar for best actress, Streep went nose-to-nose Sunday with the E! red carpet host. “I was watching you earlier,” Streep said with mock gravity on her way into the ceremony at the Kodak Theatre. The actress, who was nominated also for best actress for her performance in “Julie & Julia,” chastised Seacrest for “cheerleading a little,” but added: “That’s all right.” Seacrest, a little stricken, responded: “I knew you were going to come and you were going to crush me.” Then Streep, referring to Bullock, gave in: “I’m in love with her, as is everyone in America. I kind of have been pulling for all the young gals.” Streep’s nomination was her 16th. She won for “Kramer vs. Kramer” in 1980 and “Sophie’s Choice” in 1983.

 Sandra Bullock moved serenely down the red carpet at Sunday’s Oscars, smiling and joking with media jammed in behind a hedge. “It’s been a crazy two months and I think we’re all just happy to be here. I’ve been with these people, I feel like, more than I have with my husband,” she said, looking over her shoulder at hubby Jesse James. The best-actress nominee for “The Blind Side” won a Razzie on Saturday for worst actress in the romantic comedy flop “All About Steve.” Bullock was the rare A-list star who attended the awards that spoof the Oscars. “I got no sleep and that’s why I’m tired today, but it’s making me relaxed,” she said.

 In a throwback to more competitive days, Academy Award presenters rehearsed the line “and the winner is ...” instead of the blander “and the Oscar goes to ...” for Sunday’s show. The last time the language was used officially was for the 60th Academy Awards in 1988, when “The Last Emperor” won for best picture. The following year, show producer Allan Carr changed the wording, although some presenters ignored the new guidelines. “His goal was to make it not seem as competitive,” said Lucia Schultz, the motion picture academy’s librarian. Although academy staff would not confirm the change before Sunday’s telecast, presenters have been using the phrasing all week. At rehearsals on Saturday, Tom Hanks noticed the change and said, “You’re breaking the mold here guys.” During his rehearsal, he joked around saying, “The Saturday Oscar goes to...,” and “the winner of the fake Oscar is...” 

 The Oscars were a little bit country this year. “Crazy Heart,” which stars Jeff Bridges as an aging country music star, was the most obvious presence on the red carpet at Sunday’s ceremony. Bridges was nominated for best actor, Maggie Gyllenhaal was nominated for best-supporting actress and the song “The Weary Kind” by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett was up for best song. But Tim McGraw, co-star of the best-picture nominee “The Blind Side” was also in attendance with his wife, Faith Hill. McGraw plays the husband of Sandra Bullock’s character in the film. Miley Cyrus was also at the Kodak Theatre to present an award. Los Angeles AP

The independent Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker” was the big winner at the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday. Following is a complete list of Oscar winners:

 BEST PICTURE “The Hurt Locker”

 BEST ACTOR Jeff Bridges for “Crazy Heart”

 BEST ACTRESS Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”

 DIRECTOR Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker”

 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM “El Secreto de Sus Ojos”

(The Secret in Their Eyes) -- Argentina

 SUPPORTING ACTOR Christoph Waltz for “Inglourious Basterds”

 SUPPORTING ACTRESS Mo’Nique for “Precious:

Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

 ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Mark Boal for “The Hurt Locker”

 ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Geoffrey Fletcher for

 “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

 ANIMATED FEATURE “Up” by Pete Docter

 ANIMATED SHORT FILM “Logorama” by Nicolas Schmerkin

 ART DIRECTION Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg for art direction and Kim Sinclair for set decoration on “Avatar”

 COSTUME DESIGN Sandy Powell for “The Young Victoria”

 MAKEUP Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow for “Star Trek”

 CINEMATOGRAPHY Mauro Fiore for “Avatar”

 LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM “The New Tenants” by Joachim

     Back and Tivi Magnusson

 DOCUMENTARY FEATURE “The Cove” by Louie Psihoyos

    and Fisher Stevens

 DOCUMENTARY SHORT “Music by Prudence” by Roger Ross Williams

    and Elinor Burkett

 VISUAL EFFECTS Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham

    and Andrew R. Jones for “Avatar”

 SOUND EDITING Paul N.J. Ottosson for “The Hurt Locker”

 SOUND MIXING Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett for “The Hurt Locker”

 FILM EDITING Bob Murawski and Chris Innis for “The Hurt Locker”

 ORIGINAL SCORE Michael Giacchino for “Up”

 ORIGINAL SONG “The Weary Kind” from “Crazy Heart,”

music and lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett