85th Academy Awards

For the second straight year, the movie business fell for itself. "Argo" - in which a Hollywood producer and makeup artist help engineer the rescue of six Americans from Iran - won the top prize at the 85th Academy Awards, one year after the silent film story "The Artist" took the best picture Oscar. "I never thought I'd be back here. And I am," producer-director Ben Affleck said in accepting the best picture trophy Sunday night, 15 years after he won an original screenplay Oscar for "Good Will Hunting" and then saw his career fall into a tailspin that included "Gigli" and "Daredevil.

The producers of the 85th Academy Awards promised that Sunday night's ceremony wouldn't be an awards show with entertainment but an entertaining show with awards. The anchor of the strategy was less host Seth MacFarlane and more an assortment of show numbers, many saluting movie musicals. FULL COVERAGE: Oscars 2013 |   Quotes   | Winners  While the performances weren't as memorably awful as Debbie Allen's interpretive dance numbers from Oscars past, reviewers were divided over who killed it and who simply died.

In a case of history repeating itself, Ang Lee nabbed the directing Oscar for his film "Life of Pi" at the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday, beating Steven Spielberg as he did back in 2006 when the two were last nominated. Back then, Lee's work on "Brokeback Mountain" bested Spielberg's drama "Munich. " This time, Lee beat him for his work on "Lincoln. "  Lee, 59, also bested Austrian Michael Haneke ("Amour"), Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild") and David O. Russell ("Silver Linings Playbook")

He made fun of women's breasts. He dressed up as "The Flying Nun" and hit on Sally Field. There were jokes about Adele's weight, Salma Hayek's accent, the Chris Brown-Rihanna domestic violence case and people who are gay. Seth MacFarlane even trotted out William Shatner as "Star Trek's" Captain Kirk in his opening monologue at the 85th Academy Awards. Oscars Fashion: Best dressed | Worst dressed | Hairstyles | Accessories The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hired the 39-year-old creator of "Family Guy" and "Ted" to add a little zing to the Oscars, whose ratings have been declining and whose audience is growing old fast.

After months of conjecture and campaigning, the Academy Award nominations are set to take place  this morning at the academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. "Lincoln," "Argo," "Zero Dark Thirty,"  "Les Miserables,"  "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Life of Pi" have been the awards season darlings, but the academy could spice things up with nods for "Django Unchained," "Skyfall" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild. " See our full list of predictions here . Whatever the Oscar voters choose, the nominations mark the start of the final leg of the awards season race.

Pixar's "Brave," which tells the tale of a spirited Scottish princess who accidentally unleashes an ancient curse on her kingdom and then has to undo the damage, won the Academy Award for animated feature film on Sunday. Co-directors Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman accepted the award, which marked the first Oscar win for both filmmakers. (Andrews was previously nominated for animated short for 2005's "One Man Band. ") A computer-animated 3-D adventure, "Brave" features the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson and Julie Walters.

" Les Misérables” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” are among the seven films that have been shortlisted in the Oscar race for best makeup and hairstyling, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Saturday. The five other films in contention are “Hitchcock,” “Lincoln,” “Looper,” “Men in Black 3” and “Snow White and the Huntsman. " On Jan. 5, members of the academy's Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films.

Kristen Stewart showed up at the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday hobbling along on crutches, telling folks on the red carpet only " I'm an idiot " when asked why she was using the orthopedic aids. She posed for pics on the carpet unassisted, however, and similarly hopped along with Daniel Radcliffe to present the production design Oscar to "Lincoln," but was photographed using the crutches again as she left the ceremony. Her makeup artist, Beau Nelson, had more of the story for People . Kristen "cut the ball of her foot, quite severely, on glass two days ago," he said.

The 85th Academy Awards take place Sunday night beginning at 5 p.m. Pacific, but you can make a full day of Oscars TV viewing. Oscar coverage begins Sunday morning and builds up to red carpet arrivals, interviews and more. The ceremony itself airs live at 5:30 p.m. Pacific on ABC. You also can join us on latimes.com for live coverage of the red carpet and ceremony, including video commentary during commercial breaks from film critic Kenneth Turan and writer Robin Abcarian.

The nominations for the 2013 Academy Awards will be announced Thursday morning at precisely 5:38 a.m. and 30 seconds (yes, it's that precise). You can watch Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone announce the Oscar nominations live above. The event at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills will contain a bit of Oscar trivia in its own right, in that MacFarlane will become only the second telecast host to also announce the nominations. The first, Charlton Heston, did so in 1972. Unlike past years when front-runners were synonymous with obscurity, strong box-office performers such as "Argo," "Lincoln," “Les Misérables” and “Life of Pi” are poised for best picture nominations at the 85th Academy Awards.

No one expected the men walking the red carpet at the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday night to display the same level of colorful plumage as the women, but there were a few fellows who managed to tackle the tux on their own terms and looked dapper as all get out in the process. Daniel Day-Lewis, who took home the lead actor Oscar, did so wearing a custom-made, navy blue, Domenico Vacca tuxedo with a shawl collar in grosgrain. It was just a subtle-enough shift to signal that Mr. Day-Lewis wasn't going settle for blending in with his black-clad brethren.

Sunday night's 85th Academy Awards style was, as Times fashion critic Booth Moore pointed out , all about extremes. While Moore was referring to the complete red carpet looks -- the gowns, the jewels and the like -- one might have come to the same conclusion even if the awards had only been broadcast from the neck up, thanks to the wildly divergent hairstyles. PHOTOS: Oscars 2013 best dressed on the red carpet Most noticeable was the full, luxurious head of hair tossed over -- and cascading down -- one shoulder.

The tonal dissonance of 85th Academy Awards had much to do with its treatment of women. Even as Seth MacFarlane's humor inflamed feminists, many of the musical numbers celebrated the strength and power of female performers and pride of place was saved for one powerful woman -- First Lady Michelle Obama. MacFarlane touts himself as an equal-opportunity offender, and the show did include racial jokes, barbs at Jews and even a Nazi gag. Yet much of his humor was tied to insulting women.

Well, that didn't work. Despite the valiant efforts of Adele, Barbra Streisand and a surprisingly witty Daniel Day-Lewis, not to mention a last-minute surprise appearance by First Lady Michelle Obama as co-presenter of the best picture award, touted as the first Oscar telecast with a theme - a tribute to musical Hollywood - was long, self-indulgent and dull even by the show's time-honored dull-defining standards. And we had such hopes. The choice of Seth MacFarlane as host of the 85th Academy Awards offered the tantalizing possibility of a new sort of telecast - sharp, peppy, with more than a little bite.

For the second straight year, the movie business fell for itself. "Argo" - in which a Hollywood producer and makeup artist help engineer the rescue of six Americans from Iran - won the top prize at the 85th Academy Awards, one year after the silent film story "The Artist" took the best picture Oscar. "I never thought I'd be back here. And I am," producer-director Ben Affleck said in accepting the best picture trophy Sunday night, 15 years after he won an original screenplay Oscar for "Good Will Hunting" and then saw his career fall into a tailspin that included "Gigli" and "Daredevil.

Kristen Stewart showed up at the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday hobbling along on crutches, telling folks on the red carpet only " I'm an idiot " when asked why she was using the orthopedic aids. She posed for pics on the carpet unassisted, however, and similarly hopped along with Daniel Radcliffe to present the production design Oscar to "Lincoln," but was photographed using the crutches again as she left the ceremony. Her makeup artist, Beau Nelson, had more of the story for People . Kristen "cut the ball of her foot, quite severely, on glass two days ago," he said.

When it came to designing this year's Oscar sets, Derek McLane didn't have to look far for inspiration. McLane, a Tony Award-winning set designer who has crafted the scenery for such Broadway shows as "33 Variations," "I Am My Own Wife," "The Heiress" and the upcoming "Breakfast at Tiffany's," stole an idea from his own New York apartment - an installation of 35 industrial lamps on a wall, each in its own cubbyhole, backed by an antique mirror....

For the 85th Academy Awards, The Times presents a new facet of our comprehensive Oscars coverage: live video commentary from film critic Kenneth Turan and staff writer Robin Abcarian while the show unfolds. Immediately before the broadcast and during the commercial breaks, the two will shed light and share their opinions on what's happened and what's yet to come, live from our newsroom in downtown L.A.  In Turan, viewers have a critic who's not completely sold on the idea of best picture favorite "Argo" winning the top prize.

For the 85th Academy Awards, The Times presents a new facet of our comprehensive Oscars coverage: live video commentary from film critic Kenneth Turan and staff writer Robin Abcarian while the show unfolds. Immediately before the broadcast and during the commercial breaks, the two will shed light and share their opinions on what's happened and what's yet to come, live from our newsroom in downtown L.A.  In Turan, viewers have a critic who's not completely sold on the idea of best picture favorite "Argo" winning the top prize.

The 85th Academy Awards are hours away, but social media is abuzz with winner projections, potential Oscar snubs and fashion faux pas. For film buffs and casual onlookers following the awards on a second screen, you can get access from the scene on Oscar night by following live tweets from the Los Angeles Times film writers below. Or you could follow Oscar host Seth MacFarlane's dad Ron MacFarlane . The choice is yours. FULL COVERAGE: Oscars 2013 | Top nominees Despite leading the nominations, Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" biopic starring Daniel Day-Lewis has failed to deliver wins in the biggest categories this award season, save for Day-Lewis' acting honors at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards and Tommy Lee Jones' win for supporting actor at the SAG Awards.