Oscars 2010

Her victory was made that little bit sweeter after she beat her ex-husband James Cameron in the process. Much was made of the battle between Bigelow's 'The Hurt Locker' and James Cameron's $300 million record breaking sci-fi hit 'Avatar'. Like his characters in the movie Cameron must be feeling a touch of the blues this morning after Bigelow's film scooped six major awards including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing and Mixing.

While the Hurt Locker scooped six major awards Cameron's Avatar only managed three low-key awards those included Art Direction, Cinematography and Visual Effects (the last award not surprising given the scale and budget of Avatar compared to the rest).

Bigelow said of her resounding victory: 'This really is, there is no way to describe it. It's the moment of a lifetime'.

Bigelow also dedicated her award to 'the people who risk their lives on a daily basis in Iraq and Afghanistan.... may they come home safe'.

Bigelow was the third of Cameron's wives between 1989-1991 but the situation between them at the ceremony was very amicable and nothing like the rivalry played upon in certain areas of the press. After her Best Director victory Cameron turned to her as if to strangle her before hugging his ex wife and giving congratulations.

There was an air of inevitability surrounding Bigelow's victory early in the award ceremony as the $11 million Hurt Locker scooped Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing, a signifier that perhaps Cameron was in for a disappointing night.

The Hurt Locker, a drama about a US bomb disposal unit in Iraq did not fare so well in the box office and only went to DVD in the UK in the last couple of months, but it caught on with the members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Producer of The Hurt Locker Nicholas Chartrier was a notable absentee from the award ceremony, he was banned by the organisers for sending an e-mail to voters in the ceremony telling them not to vote for Avatar. Despite this voters may have awarded the major awards to Bigelow's team because of a perceived arrogance by the 55 year old Cameron. He made a public statement before the award ceremony saying that it would be ok for Bigelow, 58, to win the award for Best Director but that he should be given Best Picture to honour his friends that had worked on the sci-fi smash hit.

Among the other highlights was the race for the Best Actress award. Meryl Streep was nominated for a record 16th time but again failed to win her first award since 1982, with the award going instead to American actress Sandra Bullock for her role in The Blind Side, an American Football drama. She said of winning the award: 'Did I really earn this, or did I just wear you all down?' Bullock, wearing a stunning silver gown praised her fellow nominees: 'Gabby I love you so much. You are exquisite. You are beyond words to me. Carey your grace and your talent and your beauty makes me sick. Helen I feel like we are family through family and I don't have the words to express what I think of you. And Meryl, you know what I think of you and you are such a good kisser'.

In contrast to her Oscar success Bullock was the recipient of something all together different prior to the glitz and glamour of the Oscar ceremony. She also won Worst Actress at the pre-Oscars (Golden Raspberry Awards) for her other role in 2009 'All About Steve'. She proved she was a good sport by attending and amusingly addressed the crowd saying thanks to the voters for 'ruining her career'.

Other notable victors at the 82nd Academy Award included Jeff Bridges as Best Actor for his role in the film 'Crazy Heart'. There was also a Best Supporting Actor award for Christoph Waltz for his role as the prattling, ruthless Jew hunter Hans Landa in the World War II saga Inglorious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino.

The Best Supporting Actress award went to Mo'Nique for her role as an abusive parent in the film 'Precious'. The smash hit animation 'UP' with a massive $176 million budget won two awards for Best Animated Film Feature, and Best Music (Original Score). The Best Foreign Language Film went to 'The Secret in Their Eyes' a superb Argentinean detective drama about a detectives obsession with a rape and murder case of a young woman in Buenos Aries.

Click link below to watch full 2010 Oscar highlights

http://www.oscars.org/video/watch/82aa_opening.html