Ben Affleck - Argo wins Best Picture Oscar

Argo wins Best Picture Oscar

'Argo' won the Best Picture award at Sunday's Oscars (24.02.13).

The movie's director and star Ben Affleck and his co-producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov received a standing ovation as they took to the stage to collect the night's biggest award for the movie, which is based on the true story about a CIA operative who helped to rescue six American embassy employees during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

The gong was presented by the US First Lady Michelle Obama via live satellite from the White House in Washington D.C.

Ben, 40, who controversially missed out on a Best Director nomination for the movie, sped through his acceptance speech and his voice cracked while he thanked his wife Jennifer Garner for ''working'' on their marriage.

He nervously quipped: ''It is work but it's the best kind of work and there is nobody else I would rather do that kind of work with.''

It was also a big night for 'Life of Pi' as it scooped four awards including Best Director for Ang Lee.

Meanwhile, 'Lincoln', which focuses on the 16th US President Abraham Lincoln's tumultuous final months in office - scooped three of the 12 awards it was nominated for, including a Best Actor Oscar for its star Daniel Day-Lewis.

The 55-year-old British actor, who lives in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, previously took home the award for his performances in 1989's 'My Left Foot' and in 2007's 'There Will Be Blood.'

Jennifer Lawrence, 22, won the Best Actress award for her performance as a depressed widow trying to rebuild her life in 'Silver Linings Playbook' and tripped on her way up to the podium.

She later admitted she celebrated with a shot of pure alcohol immediately after accepting the award.

'Les Miserables' actress Anne Hathaway won Best Supporting Actress and 'Django Unchained' star Christoph Watlz, was victorious in the Best Supporting Actor category.

Best Sound Editing saw both 'Zero Dark Thirty' and 'Skyfall' win, marking the first time there has been a tie at the Oscars since 1968, although it has happened six times previously.

The Disney flick 'Brave' won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Funnyman actor and screenwriter Seth MacFarlane presented the awards this year, while Dame Shirley Bassey, the cast of 'Les Miserables', Adele, Norah Jones and Barbara Streisand were just some of the people to perform.

2013 Academy Awards Winners List:

BEST PICTURE:

'Argo'

BEST ACTRESS:

Jennifer Lawrence - 'Silver Linings Playbook'

BEST ACTOR:

Daniel Day-Lewis - 'Lincoln'

BEST DIRECTOR:

Ang Lee - 'Life of Pi'

BEST ANIMATED SHORT:

'Paperman'

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:

'Inocente'

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT:

'Curfew' - Shawn Christiansen

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

'Django Unchained' - Quentin Tarantino

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

'Argo' - Chris Terrio

BEST SONG:

'SkyFall' - Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

'Life of Pi' - Mychael Danna

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Christoph Waltz - 'Django Unchained'

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

'Life of Pi'

BEST ANIMATED FILM:

'Brave'

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

'Searching for Sugar Man'

BEST SOUND MIXING:

'Les Miserables'

BEST SOUND EDITING:

'Zero Dark Thirty' and 'SkyFall'

BEST FILM EDITING:

'Argo'

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Anne Hathaway - 'Les Miserables'

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

'Amour'

BEST MAKE-UP:

Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell - 'Les Misérables' -

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

Jacqueline Durran - 'Anna Karenina'

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Claudio Miranda - 'Life of Pi'

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

'Argo'