-- Brian Juergens from AfterElton.com

Despite the fact that there were no gay characters, gay-themed films, or out actors up for major awards at last night's Oscars, the ceremony managed to be surprisingly gay regardless ... and no, I'm not talking about the 347 musical numbers from Enchanted that perforated the evening.

Most notably, the night was capped by a touching moment for gay visibility. Upon accepting the award for Best Picture for No Country for Old Men, producer Scott Rudin made a point of thanking his partner, John Barlow, by name, and referring to him as "honey." Rudin's reputation as a demanding boss is downright legendary, but he is also responsible for bringing films like The Hours, Clueless, In & Out, Wild Tigers I Have Known, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, and more to the screen, and I can't remember another time where the man accepting the award for Best Picture thanked his husband.

Another big moment came when filmmakers Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth accepted their award for Best Documentary short for the film Freeheld. The film tells the story of a terminally ill lesbian's battle to have her pension transferred to her partner, and upon accepting the award the two women made a touching plea for equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Aside from these moments (between these, David Hyde Pierce's Tony speech, Jodie Foster's awards shout-out and Tina Fey's Emmy speech from last year, awards acceptance speeches are the hot vehicle for gay visibility!), the Jon Stewart-led telecast featured a few other queer highlights and a wonderfully irreverent sensibility overall. My other favorite moment was Jon related that backstage, the Best Original Song winners for Once made their Oscar statues kiss and that when one said, "they're both men" the other noted, "this is Hollywood!" From the looks of this pic, the winners in the acting categories had no such qualms.

Anyone else have any favorite moments? Tilda Swinton's hilarious swipe at George Clooney and Gary Busey attacking Jennifer Garner on the red carpet were definitely the highlights for me. And the fact that movies like Fletch and Top Secret were used in Oscar montages?! Awesome.

The full list of winners is after the break...

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Daniel Day-Lewis

There Will Be Blood

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Marion Cotillard

La Vie en Rose

Adapted Screenplay

No Country for Old Men

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Javier Bardem

No Country for Old Men

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Tilda Swinton

Michael Clayton

Original Screenplay

Juno

Achievement in Directing

No Country for Old Men

Best Motion Picture of the Year

No Country for Old Men

Achievement in Cinematography

There Will Be Blood

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Ratatouille

Best Live Action Short Film

Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)

Best Animated Short Film

Peter & the Wolf

Achievement in Costume Design

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Achievement in Makeup

La Vie en Rose

Best Documentary Short Subject

Freeheld

Best Documentary Feature

Taxi to the Dark Side

Achievement in Art Direction

Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)

Atonement

Achievement in Sound Mixing

The Bourne Ultimatum

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)

Once

Achievement in Sound Editing

The Bourne Ultimatum

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

The Counterfeiters

Achievement in Film Editing

The Bourne Ultimatum

Achievement in Visual Effects

The Golden Compass