Two hours into the Dolby Theatre ceremony, hosted nimbly by Ellen DeGeneres, Alfonso Cuaron's box-office hit and visual marvel had accrued five Oscars, winning for cinematography, editing, visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing. If the Mexican Cuaron wins best director, as he's expected to, he'll be the first Latino filmmaker to take the category.
As expected, Leto won for his acclaimed, gaunt performance as a theatrical transgender suffering from AIDS in the Texas drama. He thanked his mother, his date on the night.
"Thank you for teaching me to dream," said Leto. Later backstage, he passed around his Oscar to members of the press, urging them to "fondle" it. The actor, who had devoted himself in recent years to his rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, gravely vowed: "I will revel tonight."
Sunday's Oscars hung on a nail-biter of a finish, with the best picture race believed to be between the historical drama "12 Years a Slave," the 3-D space spectacle "Gravity" and the con-artist comedy "American Hustle." DeGeneres alluded to the options in her opening monologue.
"Possibility number one: '12 Years a Slave' wins best picture," she said. "Possibility number two: You're all racists."
Her opening went over well in Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre, which had far more mixed reactions to last year's "We Saw Your Boobs"-singing host, Seth MacFarlane. She chided Leto ("Boy, is he pretty") and mocked Jennifer Lawrence for falling on her way onto the red carpet, just as she did when she accepted the Oscar last year for "Silver Linings Playbook."
When Lawrence hit the carpet and waved to fans, she collapsed in a heap of laughter.
"If you win tonight, I think we should bring you the Oscar," said DeGeneres to Lawrence, nominated for her performance in "American Hustle."
Though the ceremony lacked a big opening number, it had a musical beat to it. To a standing ovation, Bono and U2 performed an acoustic version of "Ordinary Love," their Oscar-nominated song from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," a tune penned in tribute to the late South African leader Nelson Mandela. Singing his nominated "Happy" from "Despicable Me 2," Pharrell Williams had Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio dancing in the aisles. Pink was cheered for her rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," part of a 75th anniversary tribute to "The Wizard of Oz."
Best documentary went to the crowd-pleasing backup singer ode "20 Feet From Stardom." One of its stars, Darlene Love, accepted the award singing the gospel tune "His Eye Is on the Sparrow": "I sing because I'm happy/ I sing because I'm free."
