CIA Iran drama wins on Oscar night Argo won the Oscar for best picture at the 85th Academy Awards on a night when no single film dominated the ceremony and Ang Lee scored a surprise victory in the directing category, winning for Life of Pi. Argo's win was a big victory for Ben Affleck, who directed, produced and starred in the film. He failed to be nominated in the directing category but in an emotional speech referred to a difficult few years in which his career hit rock bottom. Daniel Day-Lewis won his third Oscar for his performance as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. But the film won few other awards, with visual effects and cinematography going to Life of Pi, 20th Century Fox's adaptation of the Yann Martel novel. Jennifer Lawrence capped her Golden Globe win with an Oscar for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook, beating Jessica Chastain, the pre-awards favourite for her role in the Sony Pictures" controversial Zero Dark Thirty . The film wowed the critics but caused a political row in the US for its depiction of torture in the search for Osama bin Laden. The producers of the Oscars show went for a younger demographic, choosing the comedian and singer Seth MacFarlane - who drew gasps from the crowd with some off-colour jokes - to host. The producers also changed course from previous Oscars broadcasts: Michelle Obama presented the best picture award live from the White House - with Jack Nicholson handing over the award in Hollywood. But the show also harked back to Hollywood heritage with an emotional performance by Barbra Streisand - her first on an Oscars stage for more than 25 years. The evening had a musical theme, with live performances from Oscar-winning musicals, such as Chicago and DreamGirls. Adele won best song for Skyfall while Anne Hathaway won the best supporting actress award for her performance in Les Miserables. The best supporting actor award went to Christophe Waltz for Django Unchained . The film picked up another award for best original screenplay, won by Quentin Tarantino - a second Oscar to follow his 1994 win for Pulp Fiction.