Is that Oscar wearing the Mad Hatter’s distinctive hat and flame-orange hair? Why, yes he is, courtesy of Robert Stromberg, the production designer for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, who with set decorator Karen O’Hara won the first Oscar awarded at last night’s ceremony. Mr. Stromberg and Ms. O’Hara won for Art Direction; the other nominated films were Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1; Inception; The King’s Speech; and True Grit. This was Ms. O’Hara’s first Oscar win; Mr. Stromberg previously won for Avatar. Congratulations!

Accepting her Oscar, Karen O’Hara looked at director Tim Burton and said, “Tim, this is yours.” Robert Stromberg added, “Meet me with a saw, because half of this is yours.” He then produced the miniature version of the Mad Hatter’s hat and said, “There’s one last bit of art direction for a Tim Burton film–there it is,” and he placed the hat on his Oscar’s shiny bald head. We must say, Oscar never looked better! To see a larger version of last night’s best-dressed Oscar, CLICK HERE, and to see a photo of the happy winners backstage with their awards, CLICK HERE.

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for breaking the news and Theresa for the pictures. We congratulate Mr. Stromberg and Ms. O’Hara on their well-deserved victory.