Melissa Leo's Unscripted Moment at the Academy Awards

The Oscars didn't really hold my attention Sunday night and sadly, after I got distracted,they still went on and on.

Before the first commercial, however, I was glad to hear winning cinematographer Wally Pfister thank his "union crew" on the film "Inception." As my husband is a member of the screenwriters' guild, I was also glad to see, for the two winners in his professional category, that the Academy got it exactly right.

David Seidler won a statuette for his original screenplay of "The Kings Speech" and Aaron Sorkin won for his screenplay for "The Social Network," adapted from another medium, in this case the book "Accidental Billionaires" by non-fiction writer Ben Mezrich. Speaking of adaptation, though Sorkin warmly included Mezrich in his acceptance speech, I noticed he did not mention the deposition transcripts and exhibits collected for two lawsuits which, quoted verbatim, accounted for many pages of Sorkin's screenplay. (He did, however, graciously acknowledge his researcher.)

Not only were both screenwriters' words for the big screen profoundly rendered, but each of the first time Oscar winners did a pretty satisfying job saying precisely the right thing in his acceptance speech. As people whose job is to put words into actors' mouths, they are both, not surprisingly, good with words.

Seventy-three-year old Seidler, who, after conquering his own speech disability as a young man, wrote a moving human story about George VI's stutter, began his thank you to the Academy by noting that he was the oldest person to ever win this honor and was perhaps, "a late bloomer." (I could not help wondering if Seidler, like so many other older scribes had filed for damages in the Hollywood age discrimination lawsuit that recently settled for $70 million.) The new Oscar winner went on to charmingly credit those still struggling with debilitating stammers.

But another award winner last night, whose words were unfortunately not as reliably pitch perfect, was Melissa Leo. Early in the 3 hour plus 83^rd Academy Awards ceremony (as soon as the formalities of designer dresses and opening skits were dispensed with), out doddered a very seasoned Kirk Douglas. His stroke a few years ago left him unable to act but nevertheless able to present the award for best supporting actress while drawing out the nervousness and anxiety for the 5 nominees.

Leo had been criticized by industry insiders for boldly campaigning on her own behalf in an effort that, to some, seemed unseemly but was defended by the Hollywood reporter: "Leo doesn't censor herself, and that's appealing in a world where kisses are made of air." Censored or not, Leo won the statuette for her role as Alice Ward, the brassy badmouth mother of two prizefighters in the tough Lowell, Massachusetts, neighborhood of "The Fighter." Whatever else you might say about her reaction to winning this prize, you have to give Leo credit for being genuine.

The actor got her start on the soap opera "All My Children" in the mid 1980s and broke out in David Simon's compelling precursor to "The Wire," playing Kay Howard, the only woman among the homicide detectives in Simon's 1993 Baltimore police drama, "Homicide: Life on the Street." She currently has a significant role in his most recent HBO series "Treme."

She has always been an impressive talent but as a fan, I've gotten the impression from interviews and in her roles that the 50-year-old character actor had a non-glam journey to the podium. She turned in a stellar, gritty performance in her comeback film "Frozen River" in 2008 as a smuggler of human beings, and she was perfectly cast in last year's "The Fighter."

Her public personna, however, has sometimes lacked polish. Let's face it, some of us need a script. In the most breathtakingly exciting and nerve-wracking moment of her hard-knock career (her dress was lovely, the jewels and hair all worked), Melissa Leo had a tongue malfunction.

As soon as an unfortunate curse word left her lips she tried to grab it back. She clapped her hand over her careless mouth as the look in her eyes said "Oh, crap. I really didn't mean to say that." (ABC's several-second delay of the production bleeped out the remark but I understand it began with the letter F.)

The outburst was awkward, embarrassing, and, particularly after having just curtsied to the venerable Douglas, insanely inappropriate. That said, I have to confess here to having a poor censor myself. Just as Pfister's remarks implied solidarity with union workers in Wisconsin, I felt great camaraderie with Melissa Leo over her situational tic disorder. From time to time, I have also found my words leaving the station without my permission.

Fortunately, although Hollywood has its movie jail customs, the Leo tongue slip is not punishable. Before the broadcast was over her co-star and fellow Oscar winner Christian Bale noted that this was not the first time a star has sworn, (nor I suspect, the first time Leo has used unscripted salty language in a public forum). She gets to keep the Oscar and she will continue to get meaty parts and be recognized at the Kodak Theater.

Next time, however, I suggest she might want to ask a writer for help with her first draft.