'The Artist' Academy Awards 2012 Best Picture Winner

First Posted: 02/26/2012 11:39 pm Updated: 02/27/2012 12:03 pm

Quelle surprise! (Not!) "The Artist" nabbed the Best Picture Oscar, leaving everyone at the 84th annual Academy Awards speechless.

"I want to say very important things. I want to say hi to my kids and it's six in the morning in Paris, so 30 seconds," director Michel Hazanavicius said while accepting the award.

Since premiering at Cannes in 2011, the mostly-silent film has captured the hearts of film audiences (and Jack Russell terrier lovers) worldwide. "The Artist" follows the spiral decline of film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) during the advent of the talkies.

Silence has never been more golden than at 2012's Academy Awards; Dujardin and Hazanavicius both received trophies on Sunday.

"The Artist," which also the won the Golden Globe earlier this year, defeated fellow Best Picture nominees "Hugo," "Moneyball," "The Descendants," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "The Help," "Midnight in Paris," "The Tree of Life" and "War Horse."

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Quelle surprise! (Not!) "The Artist" nabbed the Best Picture Oscar, leaving everyone at the 84th annual Academy Awards speechless. "I want to say very important things. I want to say hi to my kids ...
Quelle surprise! (Not!) "The Artist" nabbed the Best Picture Oscar, leaving everyone at the 84th annual Academy Awards speechless. "I want to say very important things. I want to say hi to my kids ...
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Skunkman
old & decrepit
03:18 PM on 02/28/2012
Hi movie goers: I'm waiting for 'Talkies'. I hear Jolson is putting one out. (g)

Cheers,
Mike:
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
madcityy
02:57 PM on 02/27/2012
too quiet for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
02:10 PM on 02/27/2012
i feel i need to add some accuracy. the director did not say "I want to say very important things. I want to say hi to my kids and it's six in the morning in Paris, so 30 seconds.." He said "I want to say 2 very important things. I want to say hi to my kids and it's six in the morning in Paris, so [kids] in 30 seconds go to bed..." i hate to see incorrect information in a published article. that stuff's ok only in blogs
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
charlie v
08:15 AM on 02/27/2012
Have not seen The Artist. Is it hard to stay awake during this film if you are always tired. I didn't make it past Best Film Editing last night. Anyone seen the film and loved it?
12:15 AM on 02/27/2012
Great deserved success of "The Artist" ! .... and Uggie was on stage, little cutie)))
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
lendmeanear
12:15 AM on 02/27/2012
Why will I not be rushing out to see this film. It looks incredibly boring!!
12:32 AM on 02/27/2012
I loved this movie. I'm so glad it took "Best Picture." It didn't need over-the-top special effects. It wasn't an action film. It didn't have any social message. No computer-generated graphics. It was just a great movie with a lot of "heart" without being campy or schmaltzy.
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oceanofconsciousness
Equality for All
12:35 AM on 02/27/2012
Anything but. It's a lot of fun and very entertaining.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Nick Pirce
11:51 PM on 02/26/2012
The only two silent movies to win the Best Movie Oscar ever: Wings (1929) & The Artist (2011)
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Herbert Ragan
12:16 AM on 02/27/2012
And both deserved it.
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JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin
Where's Mr. Darcy?
12:59 AM on 02/27/2012
I still have to see Wings. It just came out on DVD and Bluray.