Coens' 'No Country for Old Men' wins 4 Oscars; Lemont native also scores

No surprise.

Oscar front-runner "No Country For Old Men" racked up Academy Awards for best picture as well as best director and supporting actor.

The evening's big surprise? "La Vie En Rose" star Marion Cotillard took the best actress statuette observers predicted would go to Julie Christie, expected to win for the poignant Alzheimer's drama "Away From Her."

The 80th Academy Awards show Sunday night also contained a pleasant non-surprise -- Benet Academy graduate Diablo Cody of Lemont the original screenplay Oscar for her comical, heartfelt script to "Juno."

More Coverage Links Red hot night on the Oscars' carpet [02/24/08] Video Celebs Celebrate Once-threatened Oscars

"I want to thank my family for loving me for exactly who I am!" Cody said, reflecting the theme in her story of a 16-year-old unwed mother (nominee Ellen Page) who discovers what true love really means.

The evening's pleasant surprise came in the supporting actress category when the supremely talented British actress Tilda Swinton won the Oscar for her role as a perspiring, aspiring corporate attorney with the conscience of a human shark in "Michael Clayton."

As expected by Oscar prognosticators, Daniel Day-Lewis picked up a statuette for this over-the-top role as an obsessive oil baron in P.T. Anderson's "There Will Be Blood." Day-Lewis previously won for his role in "My Left Foot."

Javier Bardem won supporting actor as a killer with a really bad haircut in the Coen brothers' bleak crime tale "No Country For Old Men." The Coens, Joel and Ethan, also won the Oscar for adapted screenplay, as anticipated.

Actually, Ethan Coen gave the show its greatest piece of irony by offering up the briefest and least interesting acceptance speech of the night.

"We, uh, thank you very much," he said.

Man, where's Emma Thompson when you need her?

Returning host Jon Stewart eased everyone into the show with smooth confidence, never sounding forced or desperate. He made the obligatory cracks only when they worked and provided oil for the machinery of the show to work, even though it tended to slow down during the final hour.

Stewart set the consistent tone of the show with a mix of shout-outs to celebrities and a touch of political humor. He noted that the movie "Away From Her" was all about a woman who forgets her husband.

"Hillary Clinton called it the feel-good movie of the year!" Stewart quipped.

The GOP didn't escape comment. Stewart noted that Oscar turns 80 this year and "that automatically makes him the front-runner for the Republican nomination."

Stewart also acknowledged newcomer Cody in the audience, noting that she worked as an exotic dancer before she turned into an Oscar-nominated writer.

"I hope you're enjoying the pay cut!" he said.

The awards show's producer dodged a bullet when the lengthy writers' strike ended two weeks ago in just enough time for the regular show to go on.

If the evening had a moment of unguarded sincerity, it belonged to Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, winners of the best song for "Falling Slowly" from the musical "Once." They also starred in the movie, made for less than $100,000 in about three weeks with two digital cameras.

"Make art. Make art!" Hansard said.

"That guy is so arrogant!" Stewart quipped to laughter. Later, Stewart brought Irglova back to the stage to have her say something, since the orchestra cut her off before.

"Hope is what connects us all!" she said.

And the winner is ...

Complete list of winners at the 80th annual Academy Awards, presented Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles:

Best Motion Picture: "No Country for Old Men."

Lead Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood."

Lead Actress: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose."

Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men."

Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton."

Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men."

Foreign Language Film: "The Counterfeiters," Austria.

Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men."

Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, "Juno."

Animated Feature Film: "Ratatouille."

Art Direction: "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street."

Cinematography: "There Will Be Blood."

Sound Mixing: "The Bourne Ultimatum."

Sound Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum."

Original Score: "Atonement," Dario Marianelli.

Original Song: "Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.

Costume: "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."

Documentary Feature: "Taxi to the Dark Side."

Documentary Short Subject: "Freeheld."

Film Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum."

Makeup: "La Vie en Rose."

Animated Short Film: "Peter the Wolf."

Live Action Short Film: "Le Mozart des Pickpockets ('The Mozart of Pickpockets')."

Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass."