And there's no one there to hear it... You know the rest of that saying. This year's Oscars, hosted for the second year running by Jon Stewart, now holds the dubious title of being the least watched Academy Awards broadcast since they began keeping records. 32 million viewers, the lowest number since 1974 and less than watched the premiere of American Idol, tuned in to see No Country for Old Men take home four Oscars and a batch of foreign actors nab top acting honors.

Last year, 40 million watched Martin Scorsese receive the very first Oscar of his long, critically acclaimed career for The Departed. This year's movies didn't seem to generate the same passionate support as did Scorsese's quest for his first Academy Award. The batch of films nominated, with the exception of Juno, may have been too dark and grim for occasional moviegoers. Also, the writers strike may have dampened audiences' enthusiasm for award shows in general. Whatever the cause, the 80th Annual Academy Awards' failure to capture the attention of television viewers may hurt the final box office numbers of the nominated films and may spell an end to Stewart's hosting gig.

It's over and you know what? The ceremony itself seemed to fly by this year thanks in large part to the lack of paired celebs presenting. When it's just one person out there on the stage reading off lines, things go by a whole lot quicker.

No Country for Old Men wound up the night's big winner, which was pretty much what was expected to happen. In fact, I think there may have been just two surprises in the more publicized categories. Not to in anyway knock her performance, but Tilda Swinton wasn't favored to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Swinton deserved the nomination and the win; she just simply wasn't who people expected to be walking off with the Oscar this year. I wouldn't call Marion Cotillard's win a major surprise as she had momentum on her side, but it most definitely wasn't a given.

Checking my own scorecard, I did get my Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor picks right. I missed with my Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress predictions but, you know, 5 out of 7 isn't bad so I'll accept that and try harder next year.

As for the Awards themselves, with very few exceptions the acceptance speeches won't stick with viewers overnight. The Once songwriters spoke earnestly from the heart (you've got to love the fact host Jon Stewart brought one of them back out after the Oscars broke for a commercial just so she could say her speech). Equally as impressive (now that I've had a chance to finally hear it) was Bardem's speech as he accepted his Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Diablo Cody was obviously very shaken up by her win for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor Daniel Day-Lewis always delivers a moving speech. First-time nominee and Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard also came across as sincere and geniunely surprised to be up on the stage. On the flip side of the coin, the Coen Brothers wound up three-time winners, but their speeches won't ever earn them any awards.

Full List of Nominees and Winners

Denzel Washington had the chance to greet the Coen Brothers as they took to the stage one more time (their third trip of the night) to accept the Best Picture Oscar for No Country for Old Men. Producer Scott Rudin joined them and did a much better job with his speech than either of the Coens. Rudin said it was an honor to make Cormac McCarthy's book into a movie. He then thanked Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Javier Bardem, Miramax, Sydney Pollack, and his partner. Interesting tidbit for those not watching at home: the camera kept focusing on Frances McDormand who was about 100 times more emotional than her husband, Joel Coen.

Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese (The Departed) said to trust him that the award of Best Director will mean a lot to the recipient. If anyone should know about waiting for an Oscar, it's Scorsese. Although it at first seemed No Country for Old Men's directors Joel and Ethan Coen didn't have much to say as they accepted the Academy Award for Best Director, they wound up delivering a decent speech (but not jubilant or emotional). It was almost a letdown after all the hype leading up to this year's Oscars.

As we near the end of this year's Oscars, The Queen aka Helen Mirren blazed onto the stage in a vibrant red dress to tick off the Best Actor nominees. While listing the attributes of the characters portrayed by the Oscar nominees, the word cojones even sounded dignified coming out of Mirren's mouth.

And the Oscar goes to the man who was favored to win - Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood. This is his second Oscar and fourth nomination. Taking the stage, Day-Lewis knelt before Mirren and said it was the closest he'd ever come to knighthood. Day-Lewis said There Will Be Blood sprang "like a golden sapling out of the mad, beautiful head of Paul Thomas Anderson." He also acknowledged his co-stars, his wife (who he called beautiful and open-minded), and said thank you to everyone who deserves it. He finished up by thanking his children.

The star of the upcoming Indiana Jones film, Harrison Ford, was very sedate as he read off the nominees for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. Oh yeah, another personal favorite gets to take home the little golden guy. Diablo Cody won the first time out for her original screenplay of Juno. She thanked all the writers, said she worships her fellow nominees, and the cast. Cody laughed as she thanked the Academy and then thanked director Jason Reitman saying she's in awe of his talent. She broke down as she thanked her family for loving her exactly the way she is. As she made her way off stage, Cody was visible shaken.

Tom Hanks stayed on stage to name the Best Documentary Film winner which was the Taxi to the Dark Side team. Alex Gibney thanked all documentary filmmakers and said his wife was hoping he'd make a romantic comedy but, after Guantanamo, that wasn't possible. Gibney's father was a Navy interrogator who urged him to do the film because he doesn't like what's happening now. "Let's hope we can turn this country around, move away from the dark side and back to the light," said Gibney.

Tom Hanks (an Oscar fav) talked about the men and women who haven't been home in a while and then introduced a batch of military personnel who did the job of reading off the nominees for Best Documentary Short Subject. Oscar winner Freeheld's filmmakers Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth were very emotional as they described the importance of their project. They also thanked their families, their supporters, and everyone who was on their side while they were making the 38-minute film.

Amy Adams (an Oscar nominee in 2005 for Junebug) presented the Best Original Score Oscar (I'm crossing my fingers for Atonement as I type this). And the Oscar goes to my pick - Atonement. If only I'd been as lucky at handicapping the Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress winners. Dario Marianelli said he's a very lucky man to be part of a very fantastic group of people. He said it's a very moving film and he's honored to have been included in making it. Marianelli also said thanks to his girls, his family, and his parents for passing on a strong love of music. He then proceeded to walk off the wrong side of the stage.

Two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry, Million Dollar Baby) introduced the segment of the Oscar broadcast that honors those who passed away the previous year. The audience held their applause, for the most part, with a sprinkling here and there. The montage ended with Heath Ledger who passed away on January 22, 2008 from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills and painkillers. Fade to black...