Hollywood - It captured the zeitgeist by telling the story of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, but The Social Network failed to win any major gongs on Sunday in a disappointing Oscars showing.
The movie, nominated for eight Oscars, did carry away three - best adapted screenplay, original score and film editing - but lost out to slow-burning British historical drama The King's Speech for the major honours.
The blockbuster Internet flick, which has already made nearly $100m in the United States, didn't fare quite as badly as True Grit, which scored a round zero out of 10 nominations.
Good sport
Expectations weren't as high though for the Western remake and The Social Network had flattered to deceive by trouncing its royal-themed rival and taking best picture at last month's Oscars warm-up, the Golden Globes.
King's Speech won best film, director, actor and original screenplay, leaving the creators of The Social Network, and Jesse Eisenberg, critically acclaimed for his socially awkward portrayal of Zuckerberg, to lick their wounds.
The portrait the film offers of Zuckerberg is hardly flattering and relations between those behind The Social Network and the real Facebook founder were initially assumed to be chilly, at best.
But over the months they appear to have worked out that the movie could be mutually beneficial.
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin paid tribute to Zuckerberg at the Oscars ceremony, saying: "I think he's been an awfully good sport about this. I don't know if any of us want to have a movie made about when we were 19.”
Other losers
The other big losers on Oscars night were True Grit, a remake of the classic John Wayne Western which had the second most nominations after 12 for The King's Speech but left empty-handed.
127 Hours, about a mountain climber who becomes trapped under a boulder and has to cut off his own arm to survive, also failed to score despite harbouring six nominations.
Lesbian parenting movie The Kids Are All Right, starring Annette Bening, managed none from four, as did Winter's Bone, the harrowing tale of an unflinching mountain girl trying to track down her drug-dealing father.
The movie, nominated for eight Oscars, did carry away three - best adapted screenplay, original score and film editing - but lost out to slow-burning British historical drama The King's Speech for the major honours.
The blockbuster Internet flick, which has already made nearly $100m in the United States, didn't fare quite as badly as True Grit, which scored a round zero out of 10 nominations.
Good sport
Expectations weren't as high though for the Western remake and The Social Network had flattered to deceive by trouncing its royal-themed rival and taking best picture at last month's Oscars warm-up, the Golden Globes.
King's Speech won best film, director, actor and original screenplay, leaving the creators of The Social Network, and Jesse Eisenberg, critically acclaimed for his socially awkward portrayal of Zuckerberg, to lick their wounds.
The portrait the film offers of Zuckerberg is hardly flattering and relations between those behind The Social Network and the real Facebook founder were initially assumed to be chilly, at best.
But over the months they appear to have worked out that the movie could be mutually beneficial.
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin paid tribute to Zuckerberg at the Oscars ceremony, saying: "I think he's been an awfully good sport about this. I don't know if any of us want to have a movie made about when we were 19.”
Other losers
The other big losers on Oscars night were True Grit, a remake of the classic John Wayne Western which had the second most nominations after 12 for The King's Speech but left empty-handed.
127 Hours, about a mountain climber who becomes trapped under a boulder and has to cut off his own arm to survive, also failed to score despite harbouring six nominations.
Lesbian parenting movie The Kids Are All Right, starring Annette Bening, managed none from four, as did Winter's Bone, the harrowing tale of an unflinching mountain girl trying to track down her drug-dealing father.