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By Gemma Brosnan Dos Santos -Arts Editor The London Daily News
KATHRYN Bigelow has made history at this year’s Oscars becoming the first ever woman to receive the directing award as The Hurt Locker triumphed over Avatar with six awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
The Hurt Locker was always the financial underdog with a price-tag of just $15 million (£10 million), but the gripping, low budget Iraq war drama won out over James Cameron's sprawling science fiction epic which has become the biggest grossing film of all time, taking $2.5 billion (£1.5 billion) at the box office.
Both films had been nominated for nine awards, The Hurt Locker taking home six Oscars and Avatar just three.
The star-studded audience at the 82nd Academy Awards greeted Bigelow's win with loud cheers around the Kodak
Theatre in Hollywood, including ex-husband Cameron sitting directly behind her who rose to his feet and applauded rapturously as she won the Oscar for best director.
After taking to the stage Bigelow said: "There's no other way to describe it, it's the moment of a lifetime."
She dedicated the award to the women and men in the military “…who risk their lives on a daily basis in Iraq and
Afghanistan and around the world”.
Her drama focused on a squad of bomb defusing specialists exploring the emotional impact and strain of living life in a war zone.
After accepting the best director award Bigelow did not even have time to leave the stage before her win in the best picture category was announced.
The Hurt Locker had survived a series of recent controversies including one of the producers, Nicolas Chartier, being barred from the ceremony after sending an email urging people not to vote for Avatar.
Journalist Mark Boal, who wrote the film after being embedded with US soldiers in Iraq won an Oscar for best original screenplay and the drama also picked up Oscars for film editing, sound editing and mixing.
Avatar's 3D visual spectacular secured three Oscars in the technical categories - visual effects, cinematography and art direction.
Veteran Jeff Bridges earned his first Oscar win in five nominations for best actor playing a washed-up country singer in drama Crazy Heart. Holding his trophy high over his head he looked to the heavens and thanked his deceased parents.
In a surprise win Sandra Bullock, previously famous for her romantic comedies, was named best actress for The Blind Side, making her the first performer to win a Razzie and an Oscar in the same weekend.
In a true story she played a strong-willed mother who takes a homeless youth off the street and helps him to become an American Football star.
Accepting her award from Sean Penn, she said: "Did I really earn this or did I just wear you all down?" in an emotional, heartfelt speech during which she paid tribute to her fellow nominees including Meryl Streep and at one point struggled to fight back tears, praising the strength of mothers.
Bullock said: "I would like to thank what this film is about for me which are the mums that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from. Those mums and parents never get thanked."
The dark drama Precious won two Oscars including best supporting actress for Mo'Nique with Christoph Waltz won best supporting actor for his turn as a menacing, mass murdering Nazi officer in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, dedicating his award to the director.
Britain's best acting nominees and main Oscar hopefuls Colin Firth, Dame Helen Mirren and Carey Mulligan all went home empty-handed.
Oscar results:
Best Picture
*WINNER*
THE HURT LOCKER
RUNNERS-UP
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up In The Air
The Blind Side
District 9
A Serious Man
Up
An Education
Best Actress In A Leading Role
*WINNER*
SANDRA BULLOCK, THE BLIND SIDE
RUNNERS-UP
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Best Actor In A Leading Role
*WINNER*
JEFF BRIDGES, CRAZY HEART
RUNNERS-UP
George Clooney, Up In The Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Best Actress In A Supporting Role
*WINNER*
MO-NIQUE, PRECIOUS
*RUNNERS-UP*
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Best Actor In A Supporting Role
*WINNER*
CHRISTOPH WALTZ, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
RUNNERS-UP
Matt Damon, Invictus
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Best Animated Feature Film
*WINNER*
UP
RUNNERS-UP
The Secret of Kells
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Best Foreign Film
*WINNER*
EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS
RUNNERS-UP
The White Ribbon
A Prophet
Ajami
The Milk of Sorrow
Best Director
*WINNER*
KATHRYN BIGELOW,THE HURT LOCKER
RUNNERS-UP
James Cameron, Avatar
Jason Reitman, Up In The Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels, Precious
Best Original Screenplay
*WINNER*
THE HURT LOCKER
RUNNERS-UP
Up
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Best Adapted Screenplay
*WINNER*
PRECIOUS
RUNNERS-UP
District 9
An Education
In The Loop
Up In The Air
Art Direction
*WINNER*
AVATAR
RUNNERS-UP
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria
Cinematography
*WINNER*
AVATAR
RUNNERS-UP
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon
Costume Design
*WINNER*
THE YOUNG VICTORIA
RUNNERS-UP
Bright Star
Coco before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Documentary Feature
*WINNER*
THE COVE
RUNNERS-UP
Burma VJ
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Why Way Home
Documentary Short
*WINNER*
MUSIC BY PRUDENCE
RUNNERS-UP
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Rabbit a la Berlin
Film Editing
*WINNER*
THE HURT LOCKER
RUNNERS-UP
Avatar
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Makeup
*WINNER*
STAR TREK
RUNNERS-UP
Il Divo
The Young Victoria
Music (Original Score)
*WINNER*
UP
RUNNERS-UP
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Music (Original Song)
*WINNER*
CRAZY HEART, 'THE WEARY KIND'
RUNNERS-UP
The Princess and the Frog, 'Almost There'
The Princess and the Frog, 'Down in New Orleans'
Paris 36, 'Loin de Paname'
Nine, 'Take It All'
Short Film (Animated)
*WINNER*
LOGORAMA
RUNNERS-UP
French Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper
A Matter of Loaf and Death
Short Film (Live Action)
*WINNER*
THE NEW TENANTS
RUNNERS-UP
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
Sound Editing
*WINNER*
THE HURT LOCKER
RUNNERS-UP
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up
Sound Mixing
*WINNER*
THE HURT LOCKER
RUNNERS-UP
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Visual Effects
*WINNER*
AVATAR
RUNNERS-UP
District 9
Star Trek
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