Congratulations to Fox Searchlight's three Oscar® winners Sunday night!

Alan Arkin Wins the Oscar® for Best Supporting Actor

Alan faced stiff competition in his supporting actor category -- perhaps most of all from Eddie Murphy (DREAMGIRLS) who many considered a shoe-in. But Alan clinched it for his performance as "Grandpa" in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. The 73 year-old -- we all marvel at how great he looks for his age -- mounted the stage, gave a heartfelt speech which he partly read, and choked up a little toward the end.

Alan's low-key, gruff style makes this an especially fun win. (He's sooo not polished Hollywood -- and we love it.)

And it's a lovely thing when someone who's led such a long and admirable career finally gets their due.

Alan's competitors:

Jackie Earle Haley,“Little Children”
Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"
Eddie Murphy,“Dreamgirls”
Mark Wahlberg, “The Departed”

Forest Whitaker Wins the Best Actor Oscar®

Forest finished out his grand collection of awards for his performance as Idi Amin in THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND with a big bang -- the Oscar® for Best Actor!

Onstage he spoke passionately about acting, in his characteristic soft voice, and based on the audience members' faces he held them spellbound for every second of it.

Forest's competitors:

Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
Peter O’Toole, “Venus”
Will Smith,“The Pursuit of Happyness”

LITTLE MISS Wins Best Original Screenplay Oscar®

Michael Arndt, the screenwriter for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, won the Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay.

As he walked to the stage the announcer said Michael had quit his job as assistant to Matthew Broderick to write the LMS script. Wow. A little inspiration for all you struggling writers out there who aren't currently working your own dream jobs...

The last thing he did in his acceptance speech was talk about a 600-mile journey by van across the United States with a broken clutch -- and that it made for some of the best moments he's ever had with his family, who he thanked.

Michael's competitors:

Guillermo Arriaga, “Babel”
Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, “Letters From Iwo Jima”
Guillermo del Toro, “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Peter Morgan, “The Queen”