Actor Jack Nicholson, left, presents the the award for best picture to producer/director Ben Affleck for “Argo” during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
LOS ANGELES — Ben Affleck’s Iran rescue thriller “Argo” has won best picture from the Academy Awards.
It’s the first best picture winner not to be nominated for best director since 1989’s “Driving Miss Daisy.” But despite the omission of Affleck — or perhaps buoyed by it — “Argo” emerged as the Oscar favorite, winning top honors from the directors, producers, screen actors and writers guilds.
Affleck and fellow producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov accepted the award Sunday night.
Among the other eight nominees, Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” was perceived as the biggest competition to “Argo.” The other nominees were “Life of Pi,” ”Silver Linings Playbook,” ”Zero Dark Thirty,” ”Les Miserables,” ”Amour,” ”Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Django Unchained.”
The complete list of the 85th annual Academy Award winners announced Sunday in Los Angeles:
1. Best Picture: “Argo.”
2. Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln.”
3. Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook.”
4. Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained.”
5. Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables.”
6. Directing: Ang Lee, “Life of Pi.”
7. Foreign Language Film: “Amour.”
8. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, “Argo.”
9. Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained.”
10. Animated Feature Film: “Brave.”
11. Production Design: “Lincoln.”
12. Cinematography: “Life of Pi.”
13. Sound Mixing: “Les Miserables.”
14. Sound Editing (tie): “Skyfall,” ”Zero Dark Thirty.”
15. Original Score: “Life of Pi,” Mychael Danna.
16. Original Song: “Skyfall” from “Skyfall,” Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth.
17. Costume: “Anna Karenina.”
18. Documentary Feature: “Searching for Sugar Man.”
19. Documentary (short subject): “Inocente.”
20. Film Editing: “Argo.”
21. Makeup and Hairstyling: “Les Miserables.”
22. Animated Short Film: “Paperman.”
23. Live Action Short Film: “Curfew.”
24. Visual Effects: “Life of Pi.”
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Oscar winners previously presented this season:
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Jeffrey Katzenberg
Honorary Award: Hal Needham
Honorary Award: D.A. Pennebaker
Honorary Award: George Stevens Jr.
Award of Merit: Cooke Optics