The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the

Kodak Theatre The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Comedian

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...

hosted the show for the second time, having previously presided over the 78th ceremony held in 2006. On February 9, at the

Beverly Wilshire Hotel The Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, commonly known as the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, is a historic luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, it was completed in 1928. It has ...

in Beverly Hills, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Jessica Alba. '' No Country for Old Men'' won four awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included ''

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'' with three awards, ''

La Vie en Rose "La Vie en rose" (; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the US in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard ...

'' and '' There Will Be Blood'' with two, and '' Atonement'', '' The Counterfeiters'', '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'', '' Freeheld'', '' The Golden Compass'', '' Juno'', '' Michael Clayton'', ''

Le Mozart des Pickpockets ''Le Mozart des pickpockets'' (also known as ''The Mozart of Pickpockets'') is a 2006 French short film. Written and directed by Philippe Pollet-Villard, it won the 2007 Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. It was the only French submission i ...

'', ''

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'', '' Peter & the Wolf'', '' Ratatouille'', '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', and '' Taxi to the Dark Side'' with one. The telecast garnered 31 million viewers, making it the least watched Oscar broadcast since 1974, when Nielsen began keeping records of viewership.

Winners and nominees

The nominations were announced on January 22, 2008, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

by Sid Ganis, president of the Academy, and actress Kathy Bates. '' No Country for Old Men'' and '' There Will Be Blood'' tied for the most nominations with eight each. The winners were announced during the award ceremony of February 24, 2008. Best Director winners Joel and Ethan Coen became the second pair of directors to win the award for the same film. Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise first accomplished this feat for co-directing 1961's '' West Side Story''. This was also the second time in Oscar history (the first being 1964's

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) that none of the four acting winners was American. Daniel Day-Lewis became the eighth person to win Best Actor twice. Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard was the fifth person to win for a non-English speaking performance and the second person to do so in the aforementioned category, after

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

who won for 1961's '' Two Women''.

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...

became the eleventh performer to receive double acting nominations in the same year. By virtue of her nomination for her role as the title character in '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'', she also was the first actress and fifth performer overall to be nominated for portraying the same character in two different films (she previously earned a nomination for playing Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1998's '' Elizabeth''). At age 82, Best Supporting Actor nominee Hal Holbrook was at the time, the oldest male acting nominee in Oscar history until Christopher Plummer was nominated for '' All the Money in the World'' in the 90th Academy Awards. Robert F. Boyle became the oldest recipient of the Academy Honorary award at the age of 98.

Awards

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Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ().

Academy Honorary Award

* Robert F. Boyle In recognition of one of cinema's great careers in art direction.

Films with multiple nominations and awards

The following 21 films received multiple nominations: The following four films received multiple awards:

Presenters and performers

The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.

Presenters

Performers

Ceremony information

In September 2007, the Academy hired Gil Cates to oversee production of the telecast for a record 14th time. Ganis explained his decision to hire Cates as producer stating, "He's so talented...so creative and inventive, and so enormously passionate about the Oscars. All of that will again translate into a night that people can't wait to experience." Immediately, Cates selected actor, comedian, and talk-show host

as host of the 2008 ceremony. "Jon was a terrific host for the 78th Awards," Cates said about Stewart in a press release. "He is smart, quick, funny, loves movies and is a great guy. What else could one ask for?" Furthermore, the

2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike From November 5, 2007, to February 12, 2008, all 12,000 film and television screenwriters of the American labor unions Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) went on strike. The Writers Guild of America ...

affected the telecast and its surrounding events. Over a month after the labor dispute began, the striking Writers Guild of America (WGA) denied a waiver requested by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in connection with film clips and excerpts from previous award ceremonies to be shown at the 2008 awards. The material could have been used, as the denial only affected the conditions under which the clips are shown. Previously, the 60th ceremony held in 1988 occurred 37 days after that year's writers strike began. At the time, material was already completed in anticipation for the strike, and actors were in full attendance of the ceremony. In anticipation that the strike would continue through Oscar night, AMPAS developed a Plan B show that would not have included actors accepting their awards. It would have included the musical numbers, but would have relied heavily on historic film clips, emphasizing the 80th anniversary of the awards. However, both the WGA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) reached an agreement effectively ending the strike on February 12, 2008, and the ceremony proceeded under its normal format.

Box office performance of nominated films

Continuing a trend in recent years, the field of major nominees favored independent, low-budget films over blockbusters. The combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees when the Oscars were announced was $217 million; the average gross per film was $43.3 million. None of the five Best Picture nominees was among the top ten releases in box office during the nominations. When the nominations were announced on January 22, ''Juno'' was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $87.1 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by ''No Country for Old Men'' ($48.9 million), ''Michael Clayton'' ($39.4 million), ''Atonement'' ($32.7 million), and finally ''There Will Be Blood'' ($8.7 million). Out of the top 50 grossing movies of the year (prior to announcement), 29 nominations went to 12 films on the list. Only ''Ratatouille'' (9th), ''American Gangster'' (18th), ''Juno'' (31st), ''Charlie Wilson's War'' (39th), and ''Surf's Up'' (41st) received nominations for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, directing, acting, or screenwriting. The other top-50 box office hits that earned nominations were ''Transformers'' (3rd), ''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' (4th), ''The Bourne Ultimatum'' (7th), ''Enchanted'' (20th), ''Norbit'' (29th), ''The Golden Compass'' (37th), and ''3:10 to Yuma'' (45th).

Critical reviews

The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Some media outlets were more critical of the show. '' The Washington Post'' television critic Tom Shales quipped that the ceremony was "Overstocked with clips from movies -- from this year's nominees and from Oscar winners going back to

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-- that it was like a TV show with the hiccups." Columnist James Poniewozik of '' Time'' commented that Stewart was "an Oscar host–sometimes a funny one, but a pretty conventional one, whose routine was loaded up with kiss-up softballs about how hot Colin Farrell is, what range

has and what a tomcat Jack Nicholson is." Of the show itself, he wrote, "What we got instead was a show that half the time seemed like the show the Academy would have put on if there had been a strike, chockful of montages. The other half of the time, it was an typical-to-dull Oscars." Columnist Robert Bianco of '' USA Today'' said, "Has it ever felt like more of a padded bore than it did Sunday night? If so, blame the writers' strike, which left the producers with only a few weeks to prepare for the ABC broadcast and persuaded them to lean less on the host and more on old clips." He also observed that numerous film montages seemed to diminish Stewart's job as host. The majority of other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Television critic Matthew Gilbert of the '' Boston Globe'' gave an average critique of the ceremony but praised Stewart writing that "It was good to see Jon Stewart being Jon Stewart. He is shaping up to be a dependable Oscar host for the post-Billy Crystal years. He's not musical, but he's versatile enough to swing smoothly between jokes about politics, Hollywood, new media, and, most importantly, hair." '' Variety'' columnist Brian Lowry lauded Stewart's performance noting that he "earned his keep by maintaining a playful, irreverent tone throughout the night, whether it was jesting about Cate Blanchett's versatility or watching '' Lawrence of Arabia'' on an iPhone screen."

Frazier Moore Hamilton Frazier Moore, Jr. (born April 4, 1951), known as Frazier Moore, is an American journalist. For a quarter-century he was a television reporter/critic for The Associated Press, retiring from that job in December 2017. He is the author of ' ...

from the Associated Press commended Stewart's improvement from his first hosting stint commenting, "He proved equal to the challenge posed by Oscarcast's quick turnaround. His crash-deadline material worked. And even when it didn't, he was genial, relaxed, and seemed utterly at home." In addition, he quipped that although there was a lack of surprise amongst the winners, he marveled "The evening was plenty elegant. The stage setting was handsome. The orchestra sounded full and lush. Everyone behaved."

Ratings and reception

The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 32 million people over its length, which was a 21% decrease from the previous year's ceremony. An estimated 64 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. The show also earned lower Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 18.7% of households watching over a 29 share. In addition, it garnered a lower 18–49 demo rating with a 10.7 rating over a 26 share among viewers in that demographic. Many media outlets pointed out that the Writers Guild strike and the niche popularity amongst the field of major nominees contributed to the low ratings. It earned the lowest viewership for an Academy Award telecast since figures were compiled beginning with the 46th ceremony in 1974. In July 2008, the ceremony presentation received nine nominations at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards. Two months later, the ceremony won two of those nominations for Outstanding Art Direction (Roy Christopher and Joe Celli) and Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program (Louis J. Horvitz).

''In Memoriam''

The annual ''In Memoriam'' tribute, presented by actress Hilary Swank, honored the following people: * Roscoe Lee Browne - Actor * Barry Nelson - Actor *

Kitty Carlisle Hart Kitty Carlisle Hart (born Catherine Conn; September 3, 1910 – April 17, 2007) was an American actress, singer, and spokeswoman for the arts. She was the leading lady of the Marx Brothers movie '' A Night at the Opera'' (1935) and was a regular ...

- Actress, TV personality * Betty Hutton - Actress *

Calvin Lockhart Calvin Lockhart (born Bert McClossy Cooper; October 18, 1934March 29, 2007) was a Bahamian–American stage and film actor. Lockhart was perhaps best known for his roles as Reverend Deke O'Malley in the 1970 film ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' and ...

- Actor * Jane Wyman - Actress * Melville Shavelson – Writer * Curtis Harrington – Director *

Jack Valenti Jack Joseph Valenti (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007) was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also the longtime president of the Motion Picture Association ...

– Executive * Michael Kidd – Dancer *

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

– Director * Delbert Mann – Director * Monty Westmore – Makeup artist * Peter T. Hanford – Sound * Bud Ekins – Stuntman * Bernard Gordon – Writer * Dabbs Greer - Actor *

Jean-Claude Brialy Jean-Claude Brialy (30 March 1933 – 30 May 2007) was a French actor and film director. Early life Brialy was born in Aumale (now Sour El-Ghozlane), French Algeria, where his father was stationed with the French Army. Brialy moved to mainland ...

- Actor * Harold Michelson – Art director * Laraine Day - Actress * Jean-Pierre Cassel - Actor * Lois Maxwell - Actress * Laszlo Kovacs – Cinematographer * Robert Clark – Director * George Jenkins – Art director * Johnny Grant – Executive *

Frank Rosenfelt Frank E. Rosenfelt (November 15, 1921 – August 2, 2007) was an American Studio executive, executive who served as CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio under MGM owner Kirk Kerkorian from 1972 until 1982. Additionally, Rosenfelt spearheaded ...

– Executive *

Martin Manulis Martin Ellyot Manulis (May 30, 1915 – September 28, 2007) was an American television, film, and theatre producer. Manulis was best known for his work in the 1950s producing the CBS Television programs ''Suspense'', '' Studio One Summer Theatre' ...

– Producer *

Donfeld Donfeld (born Donald Lee Feld; July 3, 1934 – February 3, 2007) was a four-time Oscar-nominated American costume designer known for his work on films such as '' Spaceballs'', ''Prizzi's Honor'' and ''The Great Race''. In addition, he made the ...

– Costume designer * Ousmane Sembène – Director * Freddy Fields – Agent * Robert Lantz – Agent * Ray Kurtzman – Executive * Miyoshi Umeki - Singer, actress *

Suzanne Pleshette Suzanne Pleshette (January 31, 1937 – January 19, 2008) was an American theatre, film, television, and voice actress. Pleshette started her career in the theatre and began appearing in films in the late 1950s and later appeared in prominent ...

- Actress *

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

- Actress * Peter Ellenshaw – Visual effects *

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– Film editor * Freddie Francis – Cinematographer *

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– Director *

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

– Music * William Tuttle – Makeup * Heath Ledger - Actor