Speed co-stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock make an appearance to present the award for achievement in art direction. Nominated are: black-and-white Goodnight and Good Luck, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, King Kong, the stylish Memoirs of a Geisha and period piece Pride and Prejudice.

And the Oscar goes to... John Myhre for art direction and Gretchen Rau for set decoration in Memoirs of a Geisha. A visually exotic treat, Rob Marshall's literary adaptation receives its second award of the evening, the first being for costume.


Making a nod to cinema's ability to be "confrontational and passionate", Samuel L. Jackson takes to the stage for another clip compilation, this time including the likes of To Kill A Mockingbird. The observation is particularly relevant given this year's crop of films tackling issues such as racism (Crash), terrorism (Munich) and homophobia (Brokeback).

Academy President Sid Ganis addresses the audiences about the universal art of story-telling and extols the virtues of sharing the experience with strangers in a darkened cinema.

Salma Hayek takes over to present the award for best musical score, the hopefuls being Brokeback Mountain, The Constant Gardener, Memoirs of a Geisha, Munich and Pride and Prejudice.

After a mixture of the nominated scores being played by violinist Itzhak Perlman, Hayek presents the award to Argentinian composer Gustavo Santaolalla for Brokeback Mountain.