After months of build-up, countless red carpets and hours spent answering two big questions ("Do you have your acceptance speech prepared?" and "Who are you wearing?"), George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Octavia Spencer and the rest of this year's Oscar nominees packed into the venue formerly known as the Kodak Theatre Sunday evening to hear host Billy Crystal crack jokes -- and, of course, to find out who would take home the hardware at the 84th Academy Awards.
While The Artist and Hugo tied for the most statuettes with five wins apiece, the night truly belonged to the former. The mostly silent black-and-white film won for best actor (Jean Dujardin), best director (Michel Hazanavicius), best original score, best costume design and best picture -- the first silent film to take the Academy's top honor since Wings did so at the first Oscars ceremony back in 1929.
Merly Streep, meanwhile, won best actress for her spot-on portrayal of former British Prime Minister Maragaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. It was the third win for the actress -- whose 17 acting nominations are a record -- and her first victory since she won in 1983 for Sophie's Choice.
And The Help's Octavia Spencer and Beginners' Christopher Plummer continued their awards season dominance by taking home the best supporting actress and best supporting actor trophies, respectively.
Best Picture: The Artist
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Best Animated Feature Film: Rango
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation (Iran)
Best Original Score: The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Best Original Song: "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
Best Documentary Feature: Undefeated
Best Film Editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall
Best Cinematography: Hugo, Richard Richardson
Best Visual Effects: Hugo, Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann & Alex Henning
Best Sound Editing: Hugo, Philip Stockton & Eugene Gearty
Best Sound Mixing: Hugo, Tom Fleischman & John Midgley
Best Art Direction: Hugo, Dante Ferretti & Francesca Lo Schiavo
Best Costume Design: The Artist, Mark Bridges
Best Makeup: The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier & J. Roy Helland
Best Live-Action Short Film: The Shore
Best Documentary Short Film: Saving Face
Best Animated Short Film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore