Silicon Valley Tech Dominates Oscar

ILM, Autodesk, fill Pixar void

"Rango."  "Hugo."  "Harry Potter."  "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."

As the names on the envelopes were announced, you could feel the ripples not only in Los Angeles, but also back here in Silicon Valley.  Companies like Autodesk and ILM, basking in the glory that used to be only Hollywood's.  Now, hardly a movie is made without Silicon Valley technology being involved.

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This was, strangely, an Oscar without a Pixar representative.  Although it made money, this year's Pixar entrant, "Cars 2," was not a critical success, and was ignored by The Academy.  All the more opportunity, though, for DreamWorks ("Puss in Boots," "Kung Fu Panda 2") and ILM, with "Rango."

Also, we're happy to report that the duo we interviewed two days before the Oscars - literally on their way to LA - won big.  "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore," from tiny Moonbot studios, won best short animated feature.  This is the film that comes with an app you can flip through - very cool technology that will undoubtedly get a larger audience starting now.

Autodesk, especially, positioned itself as the go-to company for special effects this year.  The San Rafael firm had a virtual hand in just about every film that had an effect.  The company is known for its 3D design and entertainment software.  Today, it's getting Oscar love. 

Scott loves special effects.  He’s on Twitter:  @scottbudman

And speaking of Twitter - one of the post-Oscar items that is tending today is the fact that best actor winner Jean Dujardin dropped an F-bomb in French during his acceptance speech.

 Apparently, the TV censors responsible for bleeping the 84th Academy Awards do not speak French.

During an interview backstage Dujardin fesses up: 

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