Winner: Melissa Leo is the winner of Best Supporting Actress for her work on The FighterDavid Seidler wins best original screenplay for his work on The King's Speech
Helena Bonham Carter missed out on the best supporting actress Oscar tonight as Melissa Leo won for her work on The Fighter.
The actress kept her disappointment in check as she applauded Leo, alongside fellow nominee, 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld.
Leo's gong was presented to her by 94-year-old screen legend Kirk Douglas, who happily eked out his moment in the spotlight, having never won himself.
'You pinch me?' Leo asked him, not sure if she was dreaming.
Leo, nominated for a second time, had shook as she took to the stage, before accidentally blurting out a swear word.
'Oh wow, really truly wow,' she gasped. 'I know there's a lot of real lovely people who've said a lot of nice things to me for several months but I'm just shaking in my boots right now.'
The Social Network took its first Oscar for best adapted screenplay - handed to Aaron Sorkin for his adaptation of the book The Accidental Billionaire by Ben Mezrich.
The King's Speech was also an early winner, for best original screenplay, going to David Seidler for his work on The King's Speech.
He dedicated his award to 'all the stutterers around the world,' and thanked 'Her Majesty The Queen for not putting me in the Tower for using the F word.'
The first award, for art direction, was presented by Tom Hanks to Robert Stromberg (production design) and Karen O'Hara (set decoration) for their work on the 3D movie Alice in Wonderland.
anks, a double winner himself, also presented the Oscar for costume design to Colleen Atwood, for her work on the Tim Burton directed movie.
The winner for best animated short film was The Lost Thing, while the animated film Oscar was awarded to the considerably bigger budget Toy Story 3.
The King's Speech, dramatizing British ruler George VI's struggle to vanquish a crippling stammer, leads the 83rd annual Oscars with 12 nominations and is favoured to win best picture.
Yet The Social Network, chronicling Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's legal battles over the spoils of his creation, remains a serious candidate.
Sunday's show opened with co-hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco inserted into a montage scenes from best-picture nominees, built as a series of dream sequences a la Oscar contender Inception.
Anne Hathaway and James Franco got the Oscars off to a start by joking about the criticism over their appointment as hosts.
'You look so lovely and so hip,' Anne told James. 'You look very appealing to a younger demographic as well, ' he replied.
There was also some comic relief from the audience as Franco's grandmother shouted out: 'I just saw Marky Mark.'
She was of course referring to Mark Wahlberg, nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Fighter.
The actor has made every effort to distance himself from his cheesy past as an 80s pop star.
Oscars 2011: Melissa Leo
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source: dailymail