NZ comedian Brett McKenzie claims Oscar
Kiwi Oscar winner Bret McKenzie has thanked his parents for not telling him to get a real job.
McKenzie, who is one half of comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, took out the Oscar for best original song at the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
The 36-year-old Wellingtonian wrote Man or Muppet for the film The Muppets, which was up against Real in Rio from Rio, the only other song nominated in the category.
In his acceptance speech, McKenzie said he'd grown up watching The Muppets on television.
"I never thought I'd get to work with them," he said.
"I was genuinely starstruck when I got to meet Kermit the Frog, but once you get to know him, he's just a normal frog, and like many of the stars here, he's a lot shorter in real life."
He thanked his wife Hannah, their two children, and his parents for "never telling me to get a real job".
Earlier, Wellington's Weta Workshop missed out on claiming another Oscar.
Weta's Joe Letteri, up for his sixth Oscar, was nominated alongside Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett in the visual effects category for Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Martin Scorcese's Hugo, which has won five golden statues so far, took out the award.
Peter Jackson's collaboration with Steven Spielberg, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, also missed out on the best original score award.
