And the Oscar goes to…

Last night the 75th Anniversary Academy Awards show was full of surprises and a few new records. For the second time, host Steve Martin kept the laughs coming all night long. When commenting on the one star who was being snubbed from Chicago‘s cast of nominees, Martin joked, “Welcome to my world Richard Gere.” The show also proved that Oscar is always looking for new faces, as four first-time winners walked away with performance gold.

Adrien Brody won his first Best Actor Oscar for his role in The Pianist. Brody beat out four veterans, all of whom had been winners in previous years – some more than once. The 29-year-old newcomer bested some of the biggest names in Hollywood: Nicolas Cage, Daniel Day-Lewis, two-time winner Michael Caine, and three-time winner Jack Nicholson. Brody received his award from last year’s Best Actress winner Halle Berry in one of the best moments of the evening. In exchange for the statuette, Brody laid on her one of the biggest kisses Oscar has ever seen. “When you get the opportunity,” Brody commented, “you gotta go for it.”

Adrien Brody was one of the night’s best stories. He set a new record by being the youngest ever to win a Best Actor award, an honor previously held by Richard Dreyfuss (The Goodbye Girl, 1977). For Brody, finding the right words was a struggle. When the orchestra finally started playing after his allotted 45 seconds were up, the actor commanded them to stop and let him finish speaking. This was the same tactic Julia Roberts used during her four-minute-long acceptance rant in 2001.

According to the L.A. Times, Gil Cates, the show’s producer, has set strict rules concerning acceptance speeches. Pulling out a sheet of paper is forbidden and thanking five people is OK but the orchestra will be cued if a sixth name is uttered.

“These are harsh measures but necessary,” Cates told the nominees. “The list of names means nothing to 99.9 percent of the audience.”

The other major awards were handed out to more recognizable stars. Nicole Kidman won for Best Actress in The Hours, saying she hoped her mother and daughter were proud of her. Chris Cooper thanked his wife for all of her support after receiving his award for Best Supporting Actor in Adaptation.

As nine-month pregnant Catherine Zeta-Jones was receiving her award for Best Supporting Actress in Chicago, Kathy Bates was visibly disappointed. When asked where she would keep her award Zeta-Jones replied, “It’s going between my husband’s two awards, but a little further up.”

One of the biggest surprises of the night was the award for Best Director. Martin Scorsese was the heavy favorite, but left disappointed. The award was given to Roman Polanski for The Pianist. Polanski, who directed the 1974 classic i>, was not in attendance to accept the award because he is not allowed in the United States. Polanski fled from America in 1978 to avoid prison, after his conviction for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.

The big winner of the night was Chicago, taking home a total of six Oscars, including Best Picture. The film was nominated 13 times over the course of the evening tying Mary Poppins‘ record for a musical.

Several other categories were record-breaking as well. Meryl Streep set a new record by receiving her 13th nomination for Adaptation, passing Katherine Hepburn as the most nominated performer.

Jack Nicholson broke his own record as the most nominated male actor by receiving his 12th nomination for his performance in About Schmidt.

Julianne Moore became the ninth person to receive dual nominations for performing. She was nominated for Best Actress in Far From Heaven and Best Supporting Actress in The Hours.

Actor in a leading roleAdrien Brody The Pianist

Actor in a supporting roleChris Cooper Adaptation

Actress in a leading roleNicole Kidman The Hours

Actress in a supporting roleCatherine Zeta-Jones Chicago

Best pictureChicagoMartin Richards

Animated feature filmSpirited AwayHayao Miyazaki

DirectingThe PianistRoman Polanski

Documentary featureBowling for ColumbineMichael Moore and Michael Donovan

Foreign language filmNowhere in AfricaGermanyDirected by Caroline Link

Music (score)FridaElliot Goldenthal

Music (song)8 Mile“Lose Yourself”Music by Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto; Lyrics by Eminem

Short film (animated)The Chubbchubbs!Eric Armstrong