Editor's Note: Head to our Moneyball stream for winners in all six categories.
The 2012 Academy Awards are coming down the home stretch as the final three big awards for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Picture are handed out. Natalie Portman presented the Best Actor Oscar to Jean Dujardin for his work in "The Artist." He beat out a field of heavyweights, which included Brad Pitt for "Moneyball," Demián Bichir for "A Better Life," George Clooney for "The Descendants" and Gary Oldman for "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."
Brad Pitt put together a strong performance as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane. He could have reasonably won the award just for how well he took over Beane's individual mannerisms. Instead, he had to battle with a strong field with "The Artist" cleaning up on the evening.
"Moneyball" is up for six awards Sunday evening. It lost out on awards for Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screen Play. It is also nominated for Best Picture. It is the first baseball movie since "Field of Dreams" to be nominated for Best Picture. "Moneyball" is the first sports movie in some time to achieve such critical acclaim. Although it has come up short in many of the awards ceremonies, it really does fit the often cliched "it's an honor to just be nominated."