Hollywood prepares to award film's highest honours on Oscar night
Final preparations are underway at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood for tonight's glittering Oscars ceremony. Comedian Billy Crystal will reprise his role as host.
The film expected to make the biggest splash at tonight’s Oscars is fittingly a love letter to Hollywood.
'The Artist', mainly shot in black and white and with little or no dialogue, is a tribute to the silent era of cinema that was lost forever with the arrival of the talkies.
It has won 10 nominations at the Oscars and made stars out of the two actors at its heart, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, but it also benefits from a strong supporting cast including Malcolm McDowell, John Goodman, James Cromwell and Uggie the dog.
The Jack Russell terrier was even the subject of an online campaign asking the Oscars to recognise him with a special award.
Goodman, who found fame as Dan Conner in the sitcom 'Roseanne', said The Artist’s success comes down to “simple great filmmaking”.
He said: “It’s a great way to tell a story. You really can’t take your eyes off it.”
The critics have agreed, naming it best film at the Baftas where it picked up seven awards and giving it gongs for best musical or comedy and best actor in a musical or comedy for Dujardin at the Golden Globes.
'The Artist' also won best picture and three other prizes at the Spirit Awards honouring independent film.
The film won for best director for Michel Hazanavicius and lead actor for Jean Dujardin as a silent-era star whose career crumbles as talking pictures take over in the 1920s. It earned the cinematography prize also.
