84th Academy Awards

The 84th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2011 in the United States and took place on February 26, 2012, at the Hollywood and Highland Center Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Brian Grazer and Don Mischer, with Mischer also serving as director. Actor Billy Crystal hosted the show for the ninth time. He first presided over the 62nd ceremony held in 1990 and had last hosted the 76th ceremony held in 2004.

On June 14, 2011, academy president Tom Sherak announced at a press conference that, in an attempt to further revitalize interest surrounding the awards, the 2012 ceremony would feature between five and ten Best Picture nominees depending on voting results, as opposed to a set number of nominees. In related events, the academy held its third annual Governors Awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center on November 12, 2011. On February 11, 2012, in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Milla Jovovich.

The Artist won five awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Hugo with five awards, The Iron Lady with two awards, and Beginners, The Descendants, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, Midnight in Paris, The Muppets, Rango, Saving Face, A Separation, The Shore, and Undefeated with one. The telecast garnered more than 39 million viewers in the United States.

Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 84th Academy Awards were announced on January 24, 2012, at 5:38 a.m. PST (13:38 UTC) at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Tom Sherak, president of the academy, and the actress Jennifer Lawrence. Hugo led all nominees with eleven nominations; The Artist came in second with ten.

The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on February 26, 2012. The Artist was the second silent feature to win Best Picture. The 1927 film Wings was the first such film to achieve this distinction at the inaugural awards ceremony in 1929. Moreover, it was also the first black-and-white feature to win Best Picture since 1993's Schindler's List. Best Actor winner Jean Dujardin became the first French male actor to win an Academy Award. With her latest win for Best Actress, Meryl Streep became the fifth performer to win at least three acting Oscars.

Awards

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ().

The Artist – Thomas Langmann, producer The Descendants – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, producers Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – Scott Rudin, producer The Help – Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, and Michael Barnathan, producers Hugo – Graham King and Martin Scorsese, producers Midnight in Paris – Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, producers Moneyball – Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, and Brad Pitt, producers The Tree of Life – Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, producers War Horse – Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, producers | valign="top" width="50%" |

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist Alexander Payne – The Descendants Martin Scorsese – Hugo Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life Jean Dujardin – The Artist as George Valentin Demián Bichir – A Better Life as Carlos Galindo George Clooney – The Descendants as Matthew "Matt" King Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as George Smiley Brad Pitt – Moneyball as Billy Beane Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady as Margaret Thatcher Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs as Albert Nobbs Viola Davis – The Help as Aibileen Clark Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Lisbeth Salander Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn as Marilyn Monroe Christopher Plummer – Beginners as Hal Fields Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn as Laurence Olivier Jonah Hill – Moneyball as Peter Brand Nick Nolte – Warrior as Paddy Conlon Max von Sydow – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as The Renter Octavia Spencer – The Help as Minny Jackson Bérénice Bejo – The Artist as Peppy Miller Jessica Chastain – The Help as Celia Foote Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids as Megan Price Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs as Hubert Page Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius Bridesmaids – Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig Margin Call – J. C. Chandor A Separation – Asghar Farhadi The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash; Hugo – John Logan; The Ides of March – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon; Moneyball – Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Bridget O'Connor (posthumous nomination) and Peter Straughan; Rango – Directed by Gore Verbinski A Cat in Paris – Directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli Chico and Rita – Directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal Kung Fu Panda 2 – Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson Puss in Boots – Directed by Chris Miller A Separation (Iran) in Persian – Directed by Asghar Farhadi Bullhead (Belgium) in Dutch and French – Directed by Michaël R. Roskam Footnote (Israel) in Hebrew – Directed by Joseph Cedar In Darkness (Poland) in Polish – Directed by Agnieszka Holland Monsieur Lazhar (Canada) in French – Directed by Philippe Falardeau Undefeated – TJ Martin, Daniel Lindsay, and Rich Middlemas Hell and Back Again – Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front – Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory – Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky Pina – Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel Saving Face – Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement – Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin (posthumous nomination) God Is the Bigger Elvis – Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson Incident in New Baghdad – James Spione The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom – Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen The Shore – Terry George and Oorlagh George Pentecost – Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane Raju – Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren Time Freak – Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey Tuba Atlantic – Hallvar Witzø (nomination revoked) The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore – William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg La Luna – Enrico Casarosa A Morning Stroll – Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe Sunday (Dimanche) – Patrick Doyon Wild Life – Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby The Artist – Ludovic Bource The Adventures of Tintin – John Williams Hugo – Howard Shore Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Alberto Iglesias War Horse – John Williams "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets – Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie "Real in Rio" from Rio – Music by Sérgio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; Lyrics by Siedah Garrett Hugo – Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty Drive – Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Ren Klyce Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl War Horse – Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom Hugo – Tom Fleischman and John Midgley The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, and Bo Persson Moneyball – Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco, and Ed Novick Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, and Peter J. Devlin War Horse – Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, and Stuart Wilson Hugo – Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo The Artist – Art Direction: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – Art Direction: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan Midnight in Paris – Art Direction: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil War Horse – Art Direction: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales Hugo – Robert Richardson The Artist – Guillaume Schiffman The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Jeff Cronenweth The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki War Horse – Janusz Kamiński The Iron Lady – Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland Albert Nobbs – Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston, and Matthew W. Mungle Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, and Lisa Tomblin The Artist – Mark Bridges Anonymous – Lisy Christl Hugo – Sandy Powell Jane Eyre – Michael O'Connor W.E. – Arianne Phillips The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall The Artist – Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius The Descendants – Kevin Tent Hugo – Thelma Schoonmaker Moneyball – Christopher Tellefsen Hugo – Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, and Alex Henning Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, and John Richardson Real Steel – Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor, and Swen Gillberg Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, and Daniel Barrett Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew E. Butler, and John Frazier

Governors Awards The academy held its 3rd Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 12, 2011, during which the following awards were presented:

Honorary Awards

To James Earl Jones for his legacy of consistent excellence and uncommon versatility. To Dick Smith for his unparalleled mastery of texture, shade, form and illusion.

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Oprah Winfrey

Films with multiple nominations and awards

The following 18 films received multiple nominations: Nominations Film 11 Hugo 10 The Artist 6 Moneyball War Horse 5 The Descendants The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 4 The Help Midnight in Paris 3 Albert Nobbs Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Transformers: Dark of the Moon The Tree of Life 2 Bridesmaids Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close The Iron Lady My Week with Marilyn A Separation

The following three films received multiple awards: Awards Film 5 The Artist Hugo 2 The Iron Lady

Presenters and performers The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.

Presenters