As expected with any awards ceremony, the Oscars featured a plethora of surprises in such major categories as Best Picture and Best Actress.
The greatest surprise of the evening was Ang Lee's victory for Best Director. The win was Lee's second after he picked up the honor back in 2006 for his film "Brokeback Mountain." Lee had won four precursor awards but had been shut out at the major ceremonies including the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, the Director's Guild, and Critics Choice. With Ben Affleck's exclusion, many expected Steven Spielberg to win.
Jennifer Lawrence's victory in the Best Actress was not as big a surprise but many felt that Emmanuelle Riva's BAFTA victory had secured Oscar for the 86-year old actress. Furthermore, Jessica Chastain was also viewed as a top choice due to her 18 precursor wins including the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards.
Another major surprise was the tie in Best Sound Editing category as it had only been the sixth time in Oscar history that a draw had taken place. The first instance of two victors was in 1932 when Fredrick March and Wallace Beery both won the Best Actor race. In 1949 "A Chance to Live" and "So Much for So Little" tied in the Documentary Short Subject race and in 1969 Barbra Streisand and Katherine Hepburn split the Best Actress Award. In 1986 the Documentary Feature film category witnessed a tie and the Short Film (Live Action) also showcased two winners in 1994.
"Lincoln's" victory in the Production Design category was a minor surprise despite the film beating out heavy favorites "Anna Karenina" and "Les Miserables."
The final surprise of the evening was the involvement of First Lady Michelle Obama in the awarding of the Best Picture. The appearance of Obama was completely unexpected as the First Lady has never handed out the best picture at the Academy awards.
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