Golden night for "Argo" at the Oscars!

Hello, everybody. Not even a Best Director snub for Ben Affleck couldn't stop "Argo" from winning big at the 85th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, with Film Editing, Adapted Screenplay, and the ultimate consolation prize: Best Picture of 2012. This is not only Affleck's second win, but producer George Clooney's as well.

"Life of Pi" took the most haul with four: Visual Effects, Cinematography, Original Score, and Director for Ang Lee (his second).

As expected, Daniel Day-Lewis makes history as a three-time Best Actor winner thanks to his role in "Lincoln", while the odds were in Jennifer Lawrence's favor as she picks up Best Actress for "Silver Linings Playbook"...but not before she stumbled on the way to the stage (at 22, she's now the second youngest winner behind Marlee Matlin)! 

Christoph Waltz claims his second Supporting Actor for "Django Unchained" (which also got Original Screenplay for Quentin Tarantino), and of course, Supporting Actress went to Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables." Consider that payback for her wooden hosting stint two years ago with James Franco. By the way...I was 4 out of 6 in my picks this year.

Its star Emmanuelle Riva may have been denied quite a birthday present by upsetting Lawrence (and thus becoming the oldest Oscar winner ever at 86), but "Amour" did pick up Foreign Language Film. Adele added Best Song for "Skyfall" to go along with her several Grammys, "Brave" received Animated Feature Film, and in a tie...Sound Editing go to Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty.

For the first 17 minutes of the 3 1/2 hour extravaganza, host Seth McFarlane turned the Oscars into the mini-Tonys with a little help from William Shatner, who from the future warned McFarlane about his emceeing performance. From there, it started with a pre-taped production number that featured Seth singing "We Saw Your Boobs." Hey, tell that to Halle Berry and Kate Winslet, who bared theirs and won Oscars.

The highlights of the show: Barbra Streisand's tribute to Marvin Hamlisch that capped off the In Memoriam segment, the 50th anniversary of James Bond with Adele and Shirley Bassey performing "Skyfall" and "Goldfinger" respectively, and First Lady Michelle Obama from the White House co-presenting Best Picture to "Argo" with Jack Nicholson.

As for the fashion highlights: Anne Hathaway decided to substitute Prada for Valentino, while Armani was the choice for Naomi Watts, Jessica Chastain, and Quvenzhane Wallis. Jennifer Lawrence was the bell of the ball in Dior (who also dressed Charlize Theron), Valentino had Jennifer Aniston, and Halle Berry looked cougarlicious in Versace. As for the men, the fashion accessory for Clooney, Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, and Bradley Cooper? Beards!

Far and away, the best-dressed was far and away from Hollywood with the First Lady in silver Naeem Khan (who also did Stacy Keibler). As for Helena Bonham Carter? Since the Oscars almost ended at midnight, I guess her gown might've been turned back into a potato sack.

Daniel Day-Lewis now holds the distinction of being the first actor to win three Best Actor Oscars. For Anne Hathaway, what a difference two years have made; last time, she had the unfortunate task of hosting the show with James Franco to pitiful ratings, though she held her ground nonetheless. Her Supporting Actress prize proved to be quite the redemption.

And of course, you've got the young lady from Louisville, Kentucky who started her long journey on the TBS comedy "The Bil Engvall Show" as a teenager. Though she never took acting classes, she would educate herself along the way to "Winter's Bone" that put her on the map.

2012 was quite a banner year with "X-Men: First Class" and the "The Hunger Games" upgrading her to superstar status. A sequel to the latter is on the way, and you can bet it will say on the trailer and poster: "Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence"!

Just like the Grammys a few weeks ago, Oscar spread its wealth all around for the 85th time. But in the end, it was the two Sexiest Men Alive in Ben Affleck and George Clooney that ruled the night and for the former, it was sweet revenge. So long and stay strong.

(RATINGS UPDATE: This year's Oscarcast brought in its best ratings since 2010 with 40.3 million viewers tuning in)

Hello, everybody. I'll get to my Oscar preview in a jiffy, but we begin with another Oscar.

If O.J. Simpson had the Trial of the 20th Century, then Oscar Pistorius' may be the Trial of the 21st Century. On Friday, the South African athlete who inspired the world last summer at the Olympics was released on 1 million rand bail ($113,000) as his reputation was put to the test over the shooting death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.

The bail hearing lasted four days, and Pistorius said in a sworn statement that he accidentally killed Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last week, thinking she was an intruder in his Pretoria home. But prosecutors begged to differ, saying that a loud argument between the two led to the murder. Due to the seriousness of the charge, Pistorius would've faced the harshest bail requirements in South Africa, more harsh than here in the States.

Just like O.J., Pistorius' reputation and image may have been tarnished for the long haul. Will the Blade Runner get back on track? It all depends on his fate stemming from the criminal trial yet to come.

Back here in the States, the Justice Department also on Friday joined the fraud lawsuit against an already disgraced athlete: Lance Armstrong, as the former seven-time Tour de France champion has defrauded his sponsor, the U.S. Postal Service, by concealing his use of banned substances and performance-enhancing drugs.

For the USPS, it was another black eye as the other week, they announced they were going to discontinue mail service on Saturday effective in August. I guess the two bits of news proved to be bad delivery.

And now we segue from Oscar and Lance to the Oscars: The 85th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, as host/Best Song nominee Seth MacFarlane plans to pull no punches by perking up the usually stodgy but still prestigious ceremony as it celebrates its 60th anniversary on television.

Ratings have been up and down in the last few years, and the Oscars have tried everything in their power with surprise presenters (2009), director Hamish Hamilton and "And the winner is..." replacing "And the Oscar goes to..." (2010; thankfully, Hamilton would be shown the door), infusing some youth in hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway (the latter which I'll get to, 2011), and even bringing back Billy Crystal as host (2012). The cost for ad time has even jumped to $1.7 million for a 30-second spot, as the Oscars are attempting to rival the Super Bowl in that. 

Two advertisers know the power of the year's two most-watched television events very well: Apple and Coca-Cola. Apple used Super Bowl XVIII in 1984 to show their famous Macintosh commercial, and the first commercial for the iPad debuted during the 2010 Oscars. Diet Coke is generally seen on the Oscarcast, while the flagship Coke product is reserved for the Super Bowl.

But now let's get on this year's awards: "Lincoln" leads the way with 12 nominations, but not even a Director snub for Ben Affleck couldn't stop "Argo" from collecting major honors along the way and is already the heavy favorite to take Best Picture. But if not either the two, it could be "Amour" (also up for Foreign Language Film), "Beasts of the Southern Wild", "Django Unchained", "Les Miserables", "Life of Pi", "Silver Linings Playbook", or "Zero Dark Thirty" in an upset.

Supporting Actor may be about Christoph Waltz vs. Tommy Lee Jones, as both of them or Alan Arkin want to make it two. Then again, you have two-time winner Robert De Niro (gunning for his first Oscar since 1980) and 2005 Best Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. Anne Hathaway is a guaranteed lock for Supporting Actress, but then there's two-timer Sally Field, 1997 Best Actress Helen Hunt, and returnees Amy Adams and Jacki Weaver.

For Best Actor, it could be all about Daniel Day-Lewis; he has won that in 1990 and 2007. Denzel Washington also wants to make it three overall, but there's a snowball's chance in hell he, Bradley Cooper, 1999 Oscars host Hugh Jackman, or Joaquin Phoenix could take the stage. 

And then there's Best Actress. When the nominations came out, Jessica Chastain appeared to be the early favorite...that is, until Jennifer Lawrence steamrolled her with Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild honors. But Emmanuelle Riva's BAFTA win tested Jennifer's nerve just a bit, therefore tightening the race as Riva -- or maybe 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis -- wants to make Oscar history. In other words, Academy voters may wish Emmanuelle a very happy birthday their way on Sunday; she turns 86. Oh, and Naomi Watts is in there as well, but who cares?

Whose names will be engraved on that 8.5 lb. symbol of cinematic excellence after Sunday night? I already did a few of the lesser-known categories on Thursday, so here are the ones that really matter:

Supporting Actor: At first, it was going to be a duel between Tommy Lee Jones and Christoph Waltz, but come on! They already own that prize, and as we've found out last year with Meryl Streep, over three decades should be good enough for Robert De Niro as well.

Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (duh!)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (double duh!)

Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva may be a veteran who's been in the game longer than the other nominees, but let's face it: Her BAFTA won't guarantee her the Oscar that quick. When it comes right down to it, she has had a stellar year with "The Hunger Games" and a sequel on the way, plus her performance in "Silver Linings Playbook" has already drawn praise all around. So it's easy to say that we can't wait for Jean Dujardin to open the envelope and say Jennifer Lawrence's name!

Director: Steven Spielberg ("Lincoln")

Best Picture: "Argo"

We'll see how I fare on Sunday night when the richest prizes in entertainment will be handed out. Follow me on Twitter @jonathanallen as I'll be live tweeting the Oscars; a full recap will follow on Monday's blog. So long and stay strong.

Hello, everybody. We'll get to the Grammys in a bit, but first up...

For the first time in over 600 years, Pope Benedict XVI announced on Monday that he's turning in his resignation papers on February 28. It was a bombshell move no one saw coming, and it's up to the already troubled Catholic Church to find a new leader by Easter.

At age 85, Benedict felt that at his age, he couldn't have enough muster to carry on his life duties unlike the other pontiffs, though he was the oldest elected in 2005 after John Paul II.

I'm not Catholic myself, but this news has stunned all kinds of religions and as we've seen almost eight years ago, choosing a successor will be very tough as the cardinals will once again go into conclave mode.

Now...the 55th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, and since there was no big winner, it was all about spreading the wealth this time around. Mumford and Sons' "Babel" picked up Album of the Year, while Record of the Year and Pop Duo/Group Performance went to Goyte for "Somebody That I Used to Know." Fun. got Best New Artist and Song of the Year ("We Are Young"), and then there were the usual suspects: Kelly Clarkson (Pop Vocal Album, "Stronger"), Adele (Pop Solo Performance), Carrie Underwood (Country Solo Performance), and Beyonce (Traditional R&B Performance, "Love On Top"). 

Among the many pre-telecast winners: Jimmy Fallon (Comedy Album, "Blow Your Pants Off"), Jay-Z and Kanye West (Rap Performance, N----s in Paris), and Janis Ian (Spoken Word Album, "Society's Child: My Autobiography")

The big story prior to the show was that dress code CBS issued out to everybody stating no excessive cleavage or anything see-through, but Katy Perry and Kelly Rowland were like, "What dress code?!" But the one who dared to bare was Jennifer Lopez as she pulled an Angelina Jolie and showed some leg, which is why she was the standout. As for Adele? She may have cleaned house last year, but her gown this year didn't sweep us off our feet.

And last but not least...since they happened first due to the time zone difference, the EE British Academy Film Awards were in London also on Sunday. Daniel Day-Lewis and Anne Hathaway are both one away from completing the quadfecta with Oscar gold, and Jennifer Lawrence was poised to join them.

Instead, Best Actress went to Emmanuelle Riva, putting Lawrence's chances at that big prize in jeopardy. Even though she's a veteran, Riva is pretty much unknown to most of us...so was Marion Cotillard, until she won five years ago. And also, "Silver Linings Playbook" has a baseball theme to it, which explains Riva's win.

Emmanuelle at 85 may become the oldest Oscar winner in history (surpassing last year's Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer), but that one BAFTA won't get her the Oscar that quick. Lawrence has been filling up her trophy case with awards left and right, which is a sure sign that in less than two weeks on the 24th, we could be hearing Jean Dujardin say these words: "And the Oscar goes to...Jennifer Lawrence in 'Silver Linings Playbook'!!!" So long and stay strong.

The Ravens "black out" San Francisco!

Hello, everybody. Not even a blackout a few seconds into the second half of Super Bowl XLVII could stop the Baltimore Ravens from deflating the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in what was also known as the "Harbaugh Bowl" between brothers John and Jim in a sibling rivalry watched by 108.4 million people. That number fell short from out-rating last year's Super Bowl, though it is one game away from knocking the "M*A*S*H" finale out of the top five most-watched television programs of all time. Joe Flacco was MVP while Ray Lewis closed out his career with his team's second hoisting of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Ravens appeared to have had a huge advantage, but then moments after they were ahead 28-6 with 13:22 left in the third quarter...lights out in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as New Orleans hosted their tenth Super Bowl. For 34 minutes everything went into a complete halt; it was like last year's Daytona 500. According to officials, an "abnormality" triggered the shutdown, though it was not known who was responsible for the power outage (Beyonce, perhaps, which I'll get to in a moment?). 

That proved to be a good thing for San Francisco, as that power surge would help the 49ers surge ahead of the Ravens after full power restored, thanks to a 31-yard touchdown from Michael Crabtree followed by Frank Gore's 6-yard run then a 32-yard punt return from Ted Ginn Jr. But what won the game for Baltimore? A failed two-point conversion by San Francisco and then 38-yard field goal by Justin Tucker.

Among the celebrities in attendance was fellow Baltimoreian Stacy Keibler, who once upon a time before WWE and George Clooney, used to be a Ravens cheerleader. Jennifer Hudson with the Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus sang "America The Beautiful" followed by Alicia Keys doing the national anthem. But that was the pre-game festivities. Halftime of course belonged to Beyonce after the flack she got for singing to a pre-recorded track at President Barack Obama's second inauguration two weeks ago, and with that touted Destiny's Child reunion with Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland, she didn't disappoint.

And then, of course, you have the millions of dollars of hard work paid off 30 seconds (or one minute) at a time. Since there was a plethora to choose from, I've decided to count down my top five favorite commercials from Super Bowl XLVII:

5. Audi's "Prom" (proving that the car was more important than the girl after all)

4. Taco Bell's "Viva Young" (Betty White and her geriatric prank show, see what you did?!)

3. Samsung's "Next Big Thing" with Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd (probably the biggest "F you!" to Apple)

2. Toyota's "Wish Granted" with Kaley Cuoco (suddenly, Sheldon from "Big Bang Theory" has been masturbating furiously while screaming out "PENNNNNYYYY!!!!")

And these two are my #1 favorites from the big game; both of them touched heartstrings though one of them topped "USA Today's" Ad Meter:

1. Budweiser's Clydesdales "Brotherhood" and Ram Trucks' "God Made A Farmer" 

(the horses were back after a few years' absence, while Chrysler outdid themselves again with the calming dulcet tones of the late Paul Harvey)

All the hoopla surrounding Kate Upton's Mercedes-Benz commercial proved to be a disappointment, while Go Daddy I think wore out their welcome even with Bar Refaeli.

I also enjoyed Volkswagen's "Get In. Get Happy", though it failed to hit the mark as opposed to last year. And Tide's "Miracle Stain"? It probably would've a miracle if Joe Montana himself appeared in it.

Now let me clear up one other thing: Sure, the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup is older than the Super Bowl (the 100th game, won by Toronto, was seen on the NBC Sports Network stateside), but let's face it: Even though it is brought out onto the field by a couple Mounties, the winning team only gets to keep it temporarily. The Vince Lombardi Trophy, on the other hand? It is carried out by an NFL Hall of Famer, lets the teammates touch it while it makes its way to the stage, and they keep it permanently!!! So in the case of Baltimore, they may have won their one and only Grey Cup in 1995 (during the CFL's short-lived U.S. expansion), but their two Lombardis are theirs for all times.

Also, it is made every year by R.S. Owens and Company of Chicago; soon, they'll be hard at work making one other thing that's also for keeps: The Oscars; those babies will be handed out less than three weeks from now. So long and stay strong.