& Octavia Spencer cried as she accepted the best supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of a Mississippi maid in the civil-rights-era movie "The Help."&

"I'm sorry, I'm freaking out," Spencer said Sunday night as the allotted time for her acceptance speech ended.

Spencer's win was not a surprise to many Oscar watchers since she also won best supporting actress at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild awards.

The Oscar for best foreign language film was awarded to Iran's "A Separation."

"At this time, many Iranians all over the world are watching us and I imagine them to be very happy," director Asghar Farhadi said as he accepted.

"The Iron Lady," in which Meryl Streep portrayed former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, won the best make-up Oscar.

Billy Crystal returned to the Oscar stage to host Hollywood's biggest night for a ninth time Sunday, opening with a comedic video that included Justin Bieber and Tom Cruise.

"I'm here to get you the 18-to-24 demographic," the teenage Bieber told Crystal.

Crystal belted out a new version of his usual opening song, "It's a Wonderful Night for Oscar," with lyrical references to each best picture nominee.

Martin Scorsese's 3-D film "Hugo" won four Oscars in the first hour of the show, including for best cinematography, best art direction, best sounding edit and best sound mixing. Scorsese's "Hugo" was nominated 11 times, but none of its actors were nominated.

"Hugo" is also in the running for best picture, along with the black-and-white silent film "The Artist."

"The Artist," which was given the Oscar for best costume design in the show's first hour, was nominated in 10 categories and led in pre-show media buzz for the best picture award.

But "The Help," nominated four times, was bolstered in the best picture competition when it dominated the Screen Actors Guild awards two weeks ago.

Other best picture nominees include Brad Pitt's "Moneyball," contending for six awards; Steven Spielberg's "War Horse," nominated in six categories; George Clooney's "The Descendants," up for five; Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," up for four Oscars; "The Tree of Life" with three; and "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," competing in two categories.

While Pitt and Clooney are nominated for best actor, French actor Jean Dujardin, who spoke only two words in "The Artist," appeared to be the favorite after his wins at the Golden Globes and at the SAG awards.

The other best actor nominees are Demián Bichir for "A Better Life" and Gary Oldman for "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."

The Oscar best actress race includes Viola Davis, whose portrayal of a civil rights-era maid in "The Help" earned the SAG's best actress trophy, and Meryl Streep, who won the drama film best actress Golden Globe for her role as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady."

Michelle Williams, who played Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn," is also considered a best actress contender after winning the comedy film best actress Golden Globe last month.

Other best actress nominees include Glenn Close, who played a woman passing as a 19th-century man in "Albert Nobbs," and Rooney Mara for her title role in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

Christopher Plummer, who won best supporting actor at the Golden Globe and SAG Awards for his role as an aging gay man in "Beginners," leads the race for the supporting actor Oscar.

Other best supporting actor nominees include "Moneyball" co-star Jonah Hill, Nick Nolte in "Warrior," Kenneth Branagh in "My Week With Marilyn" and Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."

The best director competition includes Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist."

Woody Allen is up for best director and original screenplay Oscars for his film about a time-traveling American writer, "Midnight in Paris." He won the Golden Globe for best screenplay. His film is also nominated for best art direction.

Other best director contenders include Alexander Payne for "The Descendants," which carried home the best drama film at the Golden Globes, and Terrence Malick for "The Tree of Life."

The animated feature film category is proof that Golden Globe wins don't make for an automatic Oscar nominee. Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin" won at the Globes last month, but it was not among the five films nominated for an Academy Award.

The Oscar nominees in that category include "A Cat in Paris," "Chico & Rita," "Kung Fu Panda 2," "Puss in Boots" and "Rango." Only the latter two were nominated for Golden Globes.

The 84th annual Academy Awards was televised live Sunday night from the Hollywood & Highland Center, formerly Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. The Kodak name was taken off the theater after a bankruptcy court ruling last week.

Crystal jokingly referred to it as the "beautiful Chapter 11 theater."

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