"Live" is in quotes cuz I'm Tivo'ing the show and will be behind all night to avoid watching commercials. Ack, it's starting ...
8:33: Yay, Jon Stewart! I *heart* him. And thought he did a great job last time. Heh, "Welcome to the make-up sex."8:35: Ugh, I'm already regretting not seeing enough of these movies. Ooh, a dig at "Norbit": "Too often, the academy ignores movies that are not good." Somewhere, Eddie Murphy is still weeping.
8:39: I just wanna hear Jon Stewart do his candid high-pitched laugh. He looks on the verge. Although now on to the political humor ... tricky. Although this one gets an LOL: "Normally, when you see a black man or a woman president, an asteroid is about to hit the Statue of Liberty." Oh, Jon, and he laughs at himself with "Gaydolph Titler."
8:43: Jennifer Garner. Love her. So pretty, so nice. I do want to push that chunk of hair out of her left eye, but otherwise she looks stunning as usual. Costume Design: "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." *Shrug.* Kind of a tame way to start the proceedings, huh? Well, at least she kept it short.
8:44: Oscar flashback: Barbra Streisand. I guess we can look forward to more of these time-wasters as the evening drags on ...
Commercial break: This is the first year in many that I haven't made my own Oscar ballot and reference sheet. I always copy and paste the list of nominees in a Word file and format it with my preferred fonts and bullets. Then I make another list, this one ordered by movie, starting with the ones with the most nominations. So I normally I'd be able to say "Atonement" is 0-for-something, but I just wasn't with it this year. I'm even too lazy to look it up now. Wow, this is the most boringist post yet. Need to chug this rum and coke ...
8:48: "80 Years of Oscar" montage. Neil says, "They have to get this in early so they don't cut it later." Oh, they just couldn't resist using "My Heart Will Go On," or as Neil says, "that horrible 'Titanic' song ... must be muted." Hmm, didn't know that's what Charlie Chaplin looked like.
8:55: Neil just had his highlight of the evening, Jon Stewart with iPhone.
8:57: Steve Carell, always hilarious. I didn't used to like Anne Hathaway, but she's grown on me, especially since "Brokeback Mountain." I know "Persepolis" is sposed to be great, but if "Ratatouille" doesn't win, I'll be pizzed. YAY!!!! And the music is so great to hear ... Brad Bird is awesome.9:00: Another Neil quote: "I'm kinda Katherine Heigel'ed out." I'd have to agree, although she does seem pretty cool. Just wish she'd quit smoking. "La Vie en Rose" for makeup. I'm just happy that they played the song "Milord" over the clip, one of my faves since college. Also fun to hear guy speak English with French accent.
9:03: Neil asks, "Is it interpretive dance time?" So all my gal pals saw "Enchanted" before I got a chance to, and I didn't want to drag Neil to it, so it's another one I can't really comment on. Three song nominations does seem excessive, though. Amy Adams is talented, have loved her since "Junebug." Huh, kinda surprised they're not doing all the "Enchanted" tunes at once.
9:07: Okay, I did like the Michael Douglas-Catherine Zeta-Jones commenting on their Oscar wins: "You weren't even born [for his]!"
9:08: Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass." Didn't see it. But yay for polar bears. Still need to read that book. I like seeing how excited the winners are, refreshing and real.9:11: Cate Blanchett looks very Cate Blanchett. I forgot she was preggo. Love the color. Art Direction: "Sweeney Todd." Didn't see it. Afraid of the blood. Also think the musical is freaky, though generally love Sondheim. English in Italian accent, also fun. They shoulda said "Grazie!"
9:14: Really? A Best Supporting Actor montage? I mean, I kinda dig it, but just feels like more of a time suck. And a reminder of how Cuba Gooding Jr. has squandered his talent since. "Daddy Day Camp," anyone?
9:20: And the (first acting) Oscar goes to ... Javier Bardem. So I guess I have to see this movie, huh? Love the Spanish! Neil says he mentioned parents, grandparents, "This is for Spain."
9:22: A brief taste of what a writerless Oscars woulda looked like: a salute to binoculars and periscopes. I seriously want more of those.
9:24: Felicity! Keri Russell looks fab, although a bit too thin. Zoned out while she was listing who's involved in this performance ... guess it's a lotta peeps.
9:27: You know, I really enjoyed that. "Raise It Up," with that little girl. I was a wee bit inspired.
9:31: A reminder that "Bee Movie" wasn't nominated for Best Animated Feature. Really? It'd be funnier if it was a Jon Stewart joke. Aw, I love that one of the winner has a "Peter and the Wolf" doll with him. Yay, Prokofiev.
9:35: I do enjoy hearing the "Little Miss Sunshine" music again. Best Supporting Actress: Wow, Tilda Swinton, the White Witch! The blog And the Winner Is ... predicted a "Michael Clayton" surge. And she tweaks George Clooney, "seeing you in the rubber bat suit, hanging upside-down at lunch, you rock, man." Okay, she officially rocks in my book.9:43: Just skimmed the And the Winner Is ... blog during commercial break, just for validation that I'm not contributing anything with this posting. Sigh.
9:45: The "always fantastic Jessica Alba"? Oh, a "Fantastic Four" reference. I guess "always marginally talented" woulda been rude.
9:47: I'm all aflutter as James McAvoy comes to the stage, with a little dance move, to boot! Oh, that accent. He's so funny. Best Adapted Screenplay: the Coen brothers for "No Country for Old Men," which is 2-for-2.
9:51: Mini-doc on how the Oscar voting happens. Really? Okay, Brad Bird covering his eyes and dropping his pen on his ballot is funny. The requisite shout-out to PWC, where my brother works! He knows folks who count the ballots, I hear. But still ... do we really care? Jon Stewart: "Wow, that was amazing [sarcastically]. I always thought it was superdelegates."
9:54: Yay, Kristin Chenoweth. I do enjoy her voice. This song? Not as good as she seems to think it is. Dancing Smurf-blue construction workers? Mariachi band? Reggae beat? I'm feeling cringey. And I miss "Pushing Daisies."
10:02: Stewart bit on pregnant stars at the Oscars, "And the baby goes to ... Angelina Jolie!" Chuckles.
10:03: Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen: "You give off a not Halle Berry vibe." Sound Editing: Will "No Country" continue to sweep? I'm pulling for the rat, of course. But happy for "The Bourne Ultimatum"! Mostly cuz I saw it but also cuz it's awesome. Aw, those two seemed genuinely shell-shocked.
10:06: More Jonah and Seth riffing -- I don't hate it; they're cute. Sound Mixing: "Bourne" again. I could use a mini-doc explaining how sound editing is different from sound mixing. Oh wells.
10:08: Best Actress already? Man, time flies when you're live blogging. "Forrest Gump" music, nice. Okay, I take it back: I like these montages. I'm a sucka. Also like seeing all their dresses again. Aw, Cate makes a "yikes, is that me?" face after her yelly-Elizabeth clip. Oh man, I'd love if Laura Linney won. She's one of my faves. Gah, why didn't I see "The Savages"?
10:14: Wow, Cate looked truly ecstatic for Marion Cotillard (which I love saying, by the way). A surprise, I think? I thought it would be Julie Christie." This is why I love awards shows, these genuine, surprising moments. "It is true there are some angels in this city!"10:18: The Wii bit is a bit weak. Oh, yay, Colin Farrell introducing "Falling Slowly" from "Once." I saw them here at the 9:30 club a few months back. Lovely. Ooh, Glen Hansard cleans up nice! Getting chills! Although why end on Bill Conti? Boo, director.
10:25: Montage time again. This time, 79 best pictures. I used to have all these memorized. Now it's a bit hazy, but this is a good refresher course. Trying to identify the music, pains me that I can't. Big BOOOOO to "Crash" winning in 2005. ARGH, that still cheeses me. I tried listing the movies before they were listed but fell woefully short.
10:30: Film Editing, a perennial predictor of Best Picture: Whoa, upset city for "Bourne Ultimatum." Damn, they haven't even done the documentaries yet, and we have 30 minutes left.
10:33: Nicole Kidman's boob comes out wearing a lovely necklace. Oh, man, is this some sort of old-guy tribute? At this hour? I'm sorry, but I'm tired and cranky, and I can't bring myself to care.
10:42: I've never seen "Dancing With the Stars," but this new lineup is tempting: Steve Guttenberg! Marlee Matlin! And one of my childhood heroes: Kristi Yamaguchi!
10:43: Best Foreign Language Film. Austria. I'm still in my not-caring mode.
10:47: Oh, jeez, more with the elaborate production for an "Enchanted" song. I guess it fits the film, but don't see how it's necessary for a televised awards show. Also, snooze.
10:50: Is it just me, or did it take Travolta a month to get to the microphone? Yay! "Falling Slowly," so happy! Heard it on American Airlines radio today on plane, then queued it up on my iPod. They look so thrilled! "Tanks," heh. His bewilderment at being in such a huge room echoes sentiments he made at the 9:30 concert -- amazed at the reception at even a moderate-size venue.11:00: (Re-creating this post after my browser crashed. Stupid E! Online site.) Wow, that was a wonderful Oscar moment: Jon Stewart letting Market Irglova come back onstage to make her acceptance speech. "Fair play to those who dare to dream. ... Hope is something that connects all of us, no matter our differences." I think that's my favorite thing all night.
11:13: Best score. Oh, the excerpts from memorable scores is fun! I'm pulling for "Ratatouille" here -- I have the soundtrack! So fun, totally evocative of every moment in the film. Ooh, just hearing the clip makes me well up! But it goes to "Atonement." Well, can't be upset about what is likely to be its only win. And the music was good. Also, any excuse for a James McAvoy shot is fine by me.
11:17: U.S. soldiers in Baghdad announce the nominees and winners for Best Documentary Short Subject. Very cool. Oh man, I'm fading here. Best Doc: "Taxi to the Dark Side." Winner gets a little political: "Let's hope we can turn this country around, move away from the dark side and into the light."
11:23: Best Original Screenplay. Is this "Juno's" moment? Or will "Michael Clayton" continue to surge? Aw, I'm just happy "Ratatouille" got nominated. Diablo Cody! Whoa, that's a slit in her ... slip of a dress. Jason Reitman looks kinda like Jason Lee, no? Neil points out that she didn't seem to appreciate that she was getting an award from Han Solo.
11:30: The end-of-show buzzer goes off. We're in overtime, folks. Three awards to go, starting with Best Actor. Oh man, Helen Mirren walks in and I get chills. Dress of the night, hands down. And she says "cojones."11:35: Daniel Day-Lewis, least surprising award of the night. Aw, and he kneels before the queen. "That's the closest I'll ever come to getting a knighthood."
11:42: Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen. Looks like we're in for a "No Country" run at the end of the show, or a really exciting upset. Guess which I'm pulling for?
11:44: Final presenting honor for the night goes to Denzel Washington, very nice. Sigh, "No Country."
11:48: Final thoughts: I was tired when this started; can't say there was too much to wake me up, especially toward the end of the show. Lotta red dresses. Marketa Irglova still my favorite moment. Jon Stewart was okay; better last time, but I'll cut him slack because of the strike. All the Best Picture nominees won at least one award ("Atonement" pulling the least prestigious, original score).
12:00: I'm not sure about the live blogging. Gave me something to do, not too distracting, but I'm not convinced it does much for the blog. Think I'm better when I have time to self-edit. Off to snooze now ...
1 comment:
The music for best picture winners was from "Dragonheart," if I remember correctly. Or at least I know from the late point at which I tuned in, the music for the montages went "Forrest Gump," "Dragonheart," "Field of Dreams."
Post a Comment