As expected, and as we predicted, Alfonso Cuaron has won the Oscar for Best Director at the 86th Academy Awards for his work on the stunning 3-D epic Gravity.

Alfonso CuaronGeorge Clooney in Alfonso Cuaron's 'Gravity'

Cuaron has long been the favorite for the award and in many ways he was considered the biggest certainty. In recent years, the Academy has bucked its own trend of awarding best director to the man or woman behind the camera of the year's best film and instead considers technical achievements and progressive techniques. Last year, Ang Lee won Best Director for the visually spectacular Life of Pi, while Ben Affleck didn't even receive a nomination for his Best Picture winner Ben Affleck. Steven Spielberg was also nominated for Lincoln.

Taking to the stage to collect his award, Cuaron told the audience, "Making a film can be a transformative experience...what really sucks is that, for a lot of these people that transformative was wisom, for me it ws just the color of my hair."

"I want to share this with all these wise people who made this movie happen," he added." Sandra Bullock, Sandy your Gravity, your the sole and heart of the film, your the most amazing actress, and one of the best people I have ever met."

The 52 year-old then went to thank the many people who worked on the film from Warner Bros. Pictures. 

Cuaron, who was widely praised for his directorial work on Children of Men, is now considered the most in-demand filmmaker in the business, though his only officially scheduled project is directing the pilot for sci-fi TV show Believe.

Watch the Gravity trailer: