A surprising thing happened at Sunday's Academy Awards presentation.
Coming on via satellite to assist Jack Nicholson present the Best Picture award was first lady Michelle Obama.
After being introduced by host Seth MacFarlane, Nicholson told a couple of jokes and then said, “Tonight it is my great pleasure to introduce live from the White House, the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.”
To great applause, a screen descended over the stage displaying the first lady dressed in perfect eveningwear.
“Thank you, Jack,” said Mrs. Obama, “and welcome to the White House everyone. I am so honored to help introduce this year’s nominees for Best Picture, and to help celebrate the movies that lift our spirits, broaden our minds, and transport us to places we have never imagined.”
“This has been an exciting year for movies,” she continued, “and I want to congratulate all the nominees on their tremendous work. These nine movies took us back in time and all around the world. They made us laugh, they made us weep, and they made us grip our armrests just a little tighter.”
“They taught us that love can endure against all odds and transform our lives in the most surprising ways, and they reminded us that we can overcome any obstacle if we dig deep enough and fight hard enough and find the courage to believe in ourselves,” the first lady said.
“These lessons apply to all of us no matter who we are or what we look like or where we come from or who we love, but they are especially important for our young people,” Mrs. Obama added. “Every day through engagement in the arts, our children learn to open their imaginations, to dream just a little bigger, and to strive every day to reach those dreams. And I want to thank all of you here tonight for being part of that vitally important work.”
With that, she turned it back over to Nicholson who said, “Well nobody’s going to mess around with that, are they?”
Nicholson then presented the nine nominees, and handed it back to Mrs. Obama to announce the winner.
“And now for the moment we have all been waiting for,” she said taking the envelope from an unidentified gentleman. “And the Oscar goes to ‘Argo.’ Congratulations.”
