Non-Mainstream Seduced Oscar

For a Hollywood award, Oscar wasn't too fond of Tinseltown last night. The Academy Awards were dominated by a crew of crack European actors—and a pair of maverick brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen, operating far from the Hollywood mainstream. It was a record year for the number of Oscars given to people outside Hollywood, with all four winning actors hailing from Europe, writes the Los Angeles Times.

Several of the lower profile awards, from best costume design to art direction, also went to non-Americans. It was perhaps inevitable. Overseas revenue now accounts for more than half a typical American movie's income. "Hollywood is built on Europeans!" triumphed best supporting actress Tilda Swinton, herself a good Scot. (More Oscars stories.)