Portman, Firth Win Big at 83rd Academy Awards

By Michael Lopez

The 83rd annual Academy Awards, held Sunday at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre, didn't yield many surprises, except perhaps for its ratings.

Anne Hathaway and James Franco received mixed reviews on their joint hosting duties — Hathaway delivered charming and charismatic performances, including a fantastic musical number, while Franco looked disinterested and perhaps even stoned. While the Academy likely chose the hosts to reach a younger demographic, viewership dropped by 7 percent from last year.

As predicted, The King’s Speech won the award for best picture and its star, Colin Firth, who already won a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for the role, took home his first Oscar for best actor.

"I have a feeling my career's just peaked," Firth said upon accepting the award. "I'm afraid I have to warn you that I'm experiencing stirrings somewhere in the upper abdominals which are threatening to form themselves into dance moves."

Natalie Portman, as expected, won the Oscar for best actress for her outstanding performance in Black Swan.

"Thank you so much," Portman said during her heartfelt acceptance speech. "This is insane, and I truly, sincerely wish that the prize tonight was to get to work with my fellow nominees. I'm so in awe of you," Natalie went on to say.

But the night had plenty of other memorable moments. Melissa Leo, who won the award for best supporting actress for her work in The Fighter, let the f-word fly during her acceptance speech. Her The Fighter co-star and best supporting actor winner Christian Bale brought some biting humor to his acceptance speech by assuring the audience,

"I'm not going to drop the F-bomb like [Melissa] did. I've done that plenty of times before."

Tom Hooper won for best director for The King’s Speech, The Social Network’s Aaron Sorkin won for best adapted screenplay, and Benicio Del Toro’s The Wolfman took home the award for best makeup.

Visit the  Academy Awards' official website for a complete list of this year’s winners.

What did you think of this year’s Academy Awards? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Academy Awards, Anne Hathaway, Awards Shows, Colin Firth, James Franco, Movies & CineMás, Natalie Portman, Oscars, The King's Speech