Ryan, for all of your dedication and hard work and brilliant writing.
The readers of AD for all of your inventive, lively discussion – you really make this site what it is.
Fellow bloggers for all of the tips, lengthy phone calls, and analysis: Ryan Adams, David Carr, Kris Tapley, Tom O’Neil, Scott Feinberg and Jeff Wells.
Most of all, to my daughter, for enduring this nonsense for another year.
Here are some Best and Worsts:
Best Speech of the Night: Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Best Moment of the Night: Man on Wire’s magic trick
Best dance number: The opening
Best dress: Taraji P. Henson
Best Loser: Mickey Rourke
Most Gracious Winner: Sean Penn
Weirdest moment: Ben Stiller’s imitation of Joaquin Phoenix – kinda sorta didn’t work
Other weirdest moment: Judd Apatow’s movie, which didn’t work
Best film montage: romance movies
Best unpredictable thing: Kate Winslet’s dad whistling
Cutest reaction shot: Anne Hathaway tearing up
And some quick observations about the show itself: speed doesn’t necessarily allow for emotional moments. It was quick and lovely, and no one was played off stage. I thought the nominees being named by previous actors didn’t work. Hugh Jackman DID work. I would have to declare it a winning show, I hope the ratings back that up.
But the predictable results were, overall, kind of a reminder of how sheep-like the Academy can be at times, and how un-daring they are about their choices. The Waltz with Bashir upset may be the one looked upon as the worst of this year in terms of winners. It proved, more than ever, that there really is a “their kind of movie.”
82 Responses for "Thanks To…"
Not liking Stiller or the Pineapple Express movie? Humorless much? I haven’t had as many genuine laughs during an Oscar ceremony than I did tonight.
Most Gracious Winner? Not Penn. Dustin Lance Black.
I think I can speak for most people visiting AwardsDaily regularly: Thank you Sasha (and Ryan and everybody else) for the AMAZING (and hard) work keeping this blog relevant after all these years.
Oscars wouldn’t be the same without you guys!
I agree with everything you just wrote, except maybe the Bashir incident. I too was surprised there, but positively so.
T.
The Judd Apatow movie almost made me pee my pants, and Anne Hathaway aint no Jack! I guess Meryl was the default Jack of this year… Overall I thought the format was great, esp. the past winners paying tribute to the nominees. I thought it was an innovative way to recognize the category.
You won’t respond to this Sasha, but I have to say, you do an impeccable job and no matter how much shit I (or anyone else) gives you, you’re like the rock of the Oscars.
I <3 you.
Best Speech was the one that ends with Mr Roboto.
A winning show? This show might be the death knell for the Oscars as we know it. Hugh Jackman was an embarassment – much better suited for the Tonys than the Oscars. The sets were claustrophobic, the music felt like the show was being broadcast from the basement of a jazz club, the way the acting awards were presented were embarrasing; the tributes to the nominees seemed as if they were being nominated for a Nobel Prize; there was not one funny moment on the show; the only high point was finally having Heath Ledger’s family accept an award for him. Bill Condon should be embarrased – a local high school could have put on a better production. The show is already getting torn apart by Nikki Finke, Drudge and Television Critics. If the ratings are worse than last year, the Oscars are in trouble. I don’t think there’s anything else they can do. The majority of Americans don’t care about Hollywood. They should have the Oscars at Tyler Perry’s house next year – people sure seem to care about him.
One thing I’ll say about Waltz With Bashir is that the Academy members that vote for Foreign Film have to see every entry. They all saw every movie!!! If they thought Departures was better, then so be it.
And also, WHY CAN’T WE JUST BE HAPPY FOR SLUMDOG??!!
It’s a good movie. In my opinion, of all the NOMINATIONS, they picked the right one.
I’m gonna have to disagree with you about the previous actors presenting moments. I thought it was the best part of the show. it was really classy, touching, and fresh. superb.
Ben Stiller…it’s been done already…
Loved the past winners talking about the nominees. It brings a whole new meaning to “it is an honor just to be nominated…” I just wish some of them were scripted a bit better (cough, Adrian Brody, Goldie Hawn, cough). I loved how the Actresses were already pre-choked up before getting on stage and it brought some suspense to some very un-suspenseful races.
I enjoyed most of the show. My only gripes were the high schoolish musical number and the far away camera shots during the Memorium section.
Hugh did a great job!
With regard to Hugh Jackman, I wanted more of him!!
“a local high school could have put on a better production.”
Really? I’m sorry, that’s just BS. And I think you know it.
i thought the show was amazing, I was very impress
@ Big Jay
Agreed. Even though it was a bit ego stroking
Thanks for all the work you do, guys. This is definitely the best place to come during the Oscar race. You guys get some rest. *big hugs*
Consider this year an experiment. Things work. Things don’t work.
I like the idea of five people honoring all the nominees, but shorten it a bit. It’s quite close to seeing the actors/actresses receive blowjobs.
Could’ve done without the musical bit with Beyonce. One musical bit is good enough. No need for two more (the songs being the third).
I like the tributes, but also change it up a bit. I really liked the Comedy/Documentary one as it wasn’t just random clips. They were worked on by people, and would work on their own on youtube if needed.
Hugh Jackman was great. Keep him. And have him do more funny stuff I say.
PUBLIC ENEMIES looks pretty sweet!
My favourite moment:
Janusz Kaminski: “Suck it, Anthony Dod Mantle!”
it’s official, the people on this site have no sense of humor…anything even remotely related to mainstream comedy (i.e. ben stiller and judd apatow) is ridiculed. The Phoenix act and Apatow’s short film were highlights among Jackman’s opening number and Petit’s trick.
I also loved Apatow’s short film. Hilarious.
I couldn’t stop laughing during the sequence with James Franco watching himself in Milk. Also, I’m probably going to inappropriately laugh during the Reader, whenever I get around to seeing it. I couldn’t be happier for Slumdog. What a great oscar story.
I think the musical number could have worked had it been just Hugh and Beyonce, but it got way too hectic.
I loved the actors talking about other actors. Some were better than others (the supporting actor category was kind of devoid of sincerity except for Heath) but overall I thought it was sweet and touching. But I do want clips too. I thought tonights show was a great success. I LOVED how close the actors were to the stage. And Hugh interacting with some of the early on felt very old Hollywood to me.
Stiller maybe would have been funny if the exact same thing wasn’t done last night.
i thought it was great…
the waltz with bashir upset was the onlything bad…
the judd apatow movie?? GREAT!
the musical??? GREAT! *(i hate musicals)
5 awarded actors presenting each actor… AWESOME… i mean, god, himself on stage… ROBERT DENIRO???? that was the moment when i knew Sean Penn was goona win… I was expeting Rourke to win but… Sean was awesome, humble and great…
I thought this ceremony was one of the bests of the last couple of years…
and yes… Heaths Dad almost made me cry… GO HEATH!
Psss nonsense! I too loved the Apatow sequence. It helps that I have a thing for Franco and an even bigger one for Seth. Oh Seth why aren’t we married…. Oh, thats right, I’m already married to Javier. Damn!
Thank you Sasha and Ryan for allowing us to express ourselves.
When are we officially starting next year’s race.
I am kind of indifferent about this year’s show. Not much improvement over the past. Maybe, because I am so wrapped up in who will win what I forget to enjoy the actual show. Zach Efron was on stage too many times. It’s a shame they cut nominated songs just to have HS Musical cast on stage.
Acting presentations seemed like a great idea but execution didn’t work. Halle Berry working herself into Melissa Leo tribute wasn’t classy, but Marion Cotillard was very warm and moving.
Overall, not enough Hugh for the buck.
Awww, the show was really good. Of course this is colored by my absolute delight at Sean Penn’s win. But about a half hour in one of my best friends called me and said, isn’t the show great? And it was. Hugh Jackman did a great job, they moved the thing along very nicely, the music and dance bit seemed not to work but what the heck, it was lively and well done, and former winners handing out winners to their own category was great, and when Ben Stiller walked out I honestly thought it was Phoenix and was bummed til I realized what was going on. After seeing Letterman – this was very very funny. As was the Apatow skit. I’m with Ian, the James Franco watching James Franco in Milk was the funniest moment of the night. Hell, I didn’t even mind when Alan Arkin botched Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s name.
All in all a fun show.
“The Waltz with Bashir upset may be the one looked upon as the worst of this year in terms of winners. It proved, more than ever, that there really is a “their kind of movie.”
Why? This seems like kind of a random statement. Everybody has to actually SEE all the films in this category before they can vote, so I’m not always surprised when there is an upset. The last upset from two years ago — The Lives of Others over Pans Labyrinth — proved accurate: the Lives of Others was a more brilliant film.
I’ve yet to see Departures; thanks to the Oscars, I will see it, as well as the other nominees.
Were the actor speeches written for them or by the actual actors? Some seemed pre-written and some didn’t. As annoying as she is, I really liked what Goldie Hawn said about Taraji in Benjamin Button….”you realize you missed her just like Benjamin did” It was very sweet. I think Taraji and Anne Hathaway were the most honored by the kind words
I have to say that the actors honouring the nominees was wonderful. I loved the welcome to the club nature of it. DeNiro talking about Penn, Hopkins on Pitt, Kline on Ledger etc were really special moments. I really hope they give that format another crack next year. Do it for Best Director too.
I really loved the new format of five past winners honouring each nominee… they all deserved their moment in the sun. Plus who cares about the clips – you can just watch them on youtube.
I thought Hugh was fantastic, but more comedy and less dancing next time. He’s got great charisma (and a great voice), but I wanted more funny.
Wasn’t thrilled with the big musical number, too busy and lacked relevancy (the musical was ‘back’ a few years ago)…
I keep commenting but I have to agree with the comments about Waltz With Bashir losing possibly not being that big of an upset. I’m guessing no one here has seen Departures. It looked pretty good and didn’t look like the standard foreign film winner. I say we wait before we cry foul just because a lot of us have seen Bashir and liked it.
Thanks Sasha and Ryan.
On to 2009!
I loved Petit’s trick – I just didn’t the Apatow thing was funny but I guess I’m in the minority.
I thought the 5 previous winners presenting the acting awards was the emotional high point of the show, and was absolutely thrilling. I also thought the Seth Rogan/James Franco thing was hilarious. Perhaps my favorite Oscar telecast ever.
When those 5 great movie stars came out to award Best Actress, I almost lost it. Fabulous.
Thanks to… you, Sasha Stone, for the amazingly opportunity you give me, the mentoring in Oscarology, the tutoring in humor management, and the impeccable example you set for me in blog diplomacy.
I’m operating on about 5 hours sleep over the span of weekend because I let the charts and poll results mess with my borderline autistic tendencies for two days straight. Right now I can’t really form any smart paragraphs that would live up to your praise tonight — but I’ll be in better shape tomorrow, and ready to tackle the 2009 cycle (Watchmen for Best Picture! heh-heh)
Don’t let Sister Aloysius see that photo of Danny Boyle and his Mumbai kid actor.
SASHA you should thank your readers… that have supported your site every single day
SPECIALLY ME!!!
I’m gonna have to disagree with you about the previous actors presenting moments. I thought it was the best part of the show. it was really classy, touching, and fresh. superb.
Yeah, I guess I’m in the minority yet again. It creeped me out seeing the nominees pinned in the spotlight like that.
SASHA you should thank your readers… that have supported your site every single day
SPECIALLY ME!!!
You didn’t see where I thanked the readers?
Big thanks to sasha and ryan for keeping us going this award season! Awardsdaily has been my second home these past couple of months! Looking forward to next season!
Thanks Sasha and Ryan. You are a classy bunch that has to deal with a lot of daily criticism (including mine sometimes). Thanks for your website. Thanks for getting me to see In Bruges, Frozen River and The Visitor before I might have, otherwise.
“Yeah, I guess I’m in the minority yet again. It creeped me out seeing the nominees pinned in the spotlight like that.”
Just a leeettle bit too close in staging and tone to the tribunals at the end of America’s Next Top Model, but overall I like it better than seeing the same 15-second movie clips for the 40th time. It needs work. Shorten it a bit, and have it look a little less like Hannah Schmitz facing trial in front of a firing squad of fairy godmothers. Also, at this 5-5 ratio, how many years before they run out of A-List testimonial givers? (oh oops, they almost already did).
I thought overall the show was really good. The sets and the “musicals” number was quite good, with the intertwining of the different musicals throughout the years. However, trying to do that with the wall-e song and Jai Ho just didn’t work. One of the highlights for me would definitely be the past winners welcoming the winner into their exclusive circle. It really adds an emotional effect and literally every woman who was nominated cried. It was great. You didn’t win but you were given words of wisdom and if you did win, you got five previous winners waiting for you on stage. Brilliant. The opening number though, best in years….Hugh Jackman can come back any day.
“Also, at this 5-5 ratio, how many years before they run out of A-List testimonial givers (oh oops, they almost already did).”
I don’t think anyone would mind repeats of the big ones. And then there is always last year’s winner if they aren’t already a nominee again. I’d love to see Kate Winslet wax poetic on someone next year.
lol Ryan
As they were presenting the Actor award I was thinking who’ll they bring next year.
Two time winners (Field, Jackson, Swank) can do 2 for 1 special.
If there is God, Streep will win the BA next year.
“One of the highlights for me would definitely be the past winners welcoming the winner into their exclusive circle. It really adds an emotional effect and literally every woman who was nominated cried. It was great. You didn’t win but you were given words of wisdom and if you did win, you got five previous winners waiting for you on stage. Brilliant.”
ok, wow, Francois. When you describe it in those terms it sounds really awesome. I’ll say again, it’s the best new idea in years, and it just needs to be polished. Maybe next year, if they stick with it, the shock of the new will have worn off and the rough edges smoothed out.
Who else is excited by the glimpses we got of Julia & Julia in the post-show upcoming attractions?
Wouldn’t it be something to have Streep/Adams duo nominated again?
I thought the sets were great, I thought Jackman and his opening number were pretty good, I thought most of the musical numbers were above average. I really hated the way the acting awards were presented, I happen to really like seeing clips of each individual performance, especially the ones I haven’t seen yet…
However, despite a lot of good things about the production itself, the whole thing fell kind of flat. Why? As stated here many times, the winners themselves were just so boring and/or predictable. It was extremely easy to predict who would win in almost every category, especially the major ones. Did we really think Rourke or RDJ or someone other than Penelope Cruz would win in their respective categories? With the way this dull year had played out so far, my thoughts coming in were a big fat NO. Slumdog with 8 wins while last year No Country only had 4?…what a joke. Benjamin Button was by far the best movie of the year, anyway (along with Let The Right One In and The Dark Knight…two movies foresaken by the Academy).
The fact that this year was so dull is all the more reason to thank Sasha, Ryan and my fellow AD readers for all of the time and effort they put in, even if it was excruciating at times. Thank you!
Biggest laugh of the night:
have it look a little less like Hannah Schmitz facing trial in front of a firing squad of fairy godmothers
And just one more lament I have to squeeze in this one last time for a movie that will probably be forgotten once everything has died down: The Fall should’ve been nominated in at least a few minor categories. Definitely one of the best of the year.
Now let’s all begin our 2009 awards watching as we await Watchmen, Public Enemies and Up while Slumdog Millionare (which, despite my negative tone, I really did love) and this year in general fade into forgottenness…
Wouldn’t it be something to have Streep/Adams duo nominated again?
cool, except next year possibly competing head to head in the lead actress category — ack! Which Julia in the title is Meryl and which is Amy? Category confusion already, yay!
Sean Penn is the hypocrite of the highest order. He stands on a moral highground of equal rights, yet makes several visits to Hugo Chavez, who is basically a dictator that gives his people no rights at all. And the most ironic thing is, Chavez is staunchly ant-gay.
Sean Penn is a disgrace.
They’ll squeeze one of them into supporting. Just wait and watch.
Meryl has biopic/make up/voice thing going on so she’ll be the top dog. Not to mention, she’ll have two ton cement blocks strapped to her feet.
in the best actor line-up….where was Daniel Day-Lewis?
GREAT to see Sophia Loren.
Eddie Murphy was classy, Jerry Lewis was humbled and terrific.
best mini-moments:
Man On Wire juggling Oscar on his chin.
Winslet’s dad whistling from the audience.
First of all, thanks to Sasha and Ryan for hosting this site. I appreciate the time and energy you’ve spent given us, the readers, a
place to rant about our movie choices for the year.
Now the Oscars have come and gone, and just like after the Super Bowl, I will go through a few days of withdrawal symptoms.
I found the show boring because of all the predictable winners, except for the foreign language category.
My high point was seeing Sophia Loren on stage, even though I think by using five past winners to present the acting awards took an edge and the anticipated excitement out of opening that envelope. Usually when one presenter comes out to make the presentation-there is a finality to it-a hush pervades the audience, and hearts are pounding. I didn’t get that.
I thought the opening when the curtains didn’t open up and you could hear someone offstage call out to open them was tacky.
Jackman was pleasant but go weighted down in the musicals, ala Tonys.
I give the show a C.
I am actually glad Kate Winslet finally has an Oscar.
It takes a bit of sting away from Moore, Close, Weaver, Kerr, O’Toole disappointments.
I was so looking forward to seeing all those crystals. They were hardly visible.
SASHA, i did… but i clearly said SPECIALLY ME…
Come on, make me feel special!
Sasha: “But the predictable results were, overall, kind of a reminder of how sheep-like the Academy can be at times, and how un-daring they are about their choices. ”
I don’t get it. Please go and look at the results as decided by the readers of this site. How Sheep-Like are they then? The votes here virtually match the academy selection spot-on, but for a couple of very minor differences. Rourke/Penn was neck and neck anyway and my guess was that was probably the case with AMPAS as well.
Sasha: “The Waltz with Bashir upset may be the one looked upon as the worst of this year in terms of winners. It proved, more than ever, that there really is a “their kind of movie.””
Having seen all 5 foreign picture nominees i can safely say that Departures was a very worthy choice. Please go to the NGNG predictions and see how many people on this site picked Departures for their NGNG win.
If they pick the same thing as everyone else then they are Sheep like. If they pick something different then it becomes the “Worst Selection”?
The Academy just can’t win with you guys, can they?
Did they screw up? Yes, they did. Perhaps with TDK and The Boss significantly differring from popular opinion, but i very much doubt that is reason enough to cut them up and leave them to dry.
I say this as someone who thinks Slumdog is an enormously over-rated movie, it will not make it into my Top 20 of the year. However, i cannot begrudge the genuine love the movie seems to enjoy. It is not my choice, but it is the choice of the Academy and it is what it is. I refuse to believe that voting for their choice makes them sheep-like and predictable. If so, then the readers of this site are guilty of the very same offence. Sorry to say. But the truth is what it is.
Sean Penn wrote a blog about his visits with Castro and Chavez, you might check them out. Even if you ultimately disagree with the politics, it’s an interesting read and sheds light on any ‘hypocrisy’ of Penn championing gay rights while meeting with anti-gay dictators.
He brought his daughter with him who asked Castro point blank, “Why do you not offer the same human rights to homosexuals in Cuba as to heterosexuals? Why have you persecuted them?”
Penn writes, “Castro seemed nothing but impressed with the question, patiently explaining that while homophobia had not been invented in Cuba, it had deep cultural roots, and that he and the revolution had many mistakes as a result. But that there is an evolution involved in the process of change. And while they still made mistakes, there had been tremendous growth. (In 1979, Cuba abolished anti-sodomy laws. Today in Cuba, affirmation of same sex unions is scheduled for 2009, surpassing the pace of U.S. social reforms, and sexual re-assignment surgeries come compliments of the public health service)”
“
Thanks, guys, for this delightful and exasperating place-to-be online.
PS. Departures wasn’t the big surprise upset it’s being made out to be. I got the word on that here at this very site this morning and if I’d have been smart I would have changed my prediction. (I did make a last-minute for Live Action Short, which is how I won my Oscar pool.)
Yeah, I would say Dustin Lance Black or Penelope Cruz or Kate Winslet or Ledger’s family were more gracious winners than Penn. Kate Winslet is always gracious and tactful, so…
And no way, the previous winners announcing and saluting the acting nominees was wonderful and completely worked. It felt genuine, and the nominees clearly liked it. I would have liked acting nominees’ clips, but they probably wouldn’t have included those in a different format anyway. Anyway, no, you are so off-base, it was the best part of the show because it felt current and unexpected and uplifting for all involved. Definitely reminiscent of the 1969 ceremony where multiple actresses presented Best Director.
The best of the Pantheon speeches were the most personal. Pitt looked really touched by Hopkins’ kind words.
It’s like being at a banquet with people giving toasts. And the Oscars get to generate their own content, rather than relying on a clip that someone can get anywhere.
” Pantheon speeches ”
brill! I love that, K. Bowen, you phrase-coiner, you.
You have it exactly right. “generate their own content” instead of regurgitating clips like a link-monkey who knows how to search youtube… (er, forget I said that last part.)
Sasha wrote: I thought the nominees being named by previous actors didn’t work.
WHAT??? This was, to me, the best innovation by a mile. Seeing the 5 previous winners on stage to present was absolutely wonderful. Almost every nominee teared up and I thought, for the nominees, how really quite special it must have felt. Streep was agog being introduced by Sophia Loren. Anne Hathaway was almost a puddle after Shirley MacLaine’s intro. de Niro gave Sean Penn a hearty slap on the back. This was really really good stuff. The only clunker was schmuck Adrian Brody. It couldn’t have met much to poor Richard Jenkins getting introduced by one of the great one-hit-wonders of all time + a guy who could barely get through the intro speech they wrote for him.
Thanks Matt. Yes, it is true.
First, the Panthenon speeches were the biggest highlight for me. I was leaping and screaming….how often do you get such big names on one stage? And I love the whole “giving flowers while here” feeling I got from it. Even if Mickey Rourke never gets an Oscar, the Oscars gave him a delicious tribute last night.
Second, Baz’s musical interpolation blew my mind! And hearing the audience scream for Bey when she went into “At Last” in the light of Etta James’ recent comments made me all cozy inside. My favorite musical performance of the night.
Third, the surprise presenters really worked. I was like “Eddie Murphy? Will Smith? Alicia Keys? That chick from The View?” Haha, I loved it. And Stiller and the Apatow video did make me laugh a lot.
Lastly, even if I didn’t love the winner, I loved the speech, and that’s pretty much across the board. I wasn’t even gonna watch last night and I ended up turning it on as an afterthough about ten minutes till the ceremony, and I’m so glad I didn’t miss it! My favorite one by miles ever since the last one that chick from The View hosted, lol.
Cheers!
Here in Portugal, the network showing the telecast was ungracious enough to not include that upcoming movies montage. Is there a YouTube video out there for us montage-less? Want to check out Julia(s) and Public Enemies.
T.
It’s a nice show but there is serious problem with the music. The film from winning film should be played when winner picked up the award just like it used to be. Felt that they didn’t show much respect to the music from the film… but we shouldn’t be too surprised after they cut down-to-earth to 65 seconds. BTW, down-to-earth performance was awful, whoever singing the lead is definitely needing more rehearsal. The song just felt apart. I am not sure why the producers forced people to listen to music from coldplay twice. The music for the movie clips was bad in general and they should just avoid that. There is plenty of good music from the films and yet they had to choose some pop music for what? ratings? honestly, I think it just makes things worse.
Love previous winners announcing the nominees but can but briefer. The opening is hilarious but the musical bit in the middle is just odd. The memorial part was really nice. For me the best speech is from Dustin Lance Black especially by the end when he mentioned what Harvey Milk would say to us. The worst presenter is Ben Stiller. What the xxxx is he trying to do. It took me a while to finally get that he’s trying to make fun of Mr. Phoneix. It totally didn’t work. The comedy short is also quite bad. I don’t know if anyone notice that but I think they’re trying to reference “Verizon” network by the end… even so that is not that funny.
the James Franco sequence was one of the greatest things i’ve ever seen on the Oscars! even if it was a crap year for movies (and the only worthy nominated film didn’t win, “milk”) it was the best show i’ve seen. bravo Bill Condon!
What I didn’t like about the telecast -
#1 – Why did Michael Douglas get to open the Best Actor award? Maybe Daniel Day Lewis was busy – but of the 5 previous actors on stage – DeNiro (with 2 Oscars) is more ‘best’ to me than that egomaniac. Gordon Geeko certainly must’ve been the role model for the current economic mess that we’re in.
#2 – The Hugh Jackman/Beyonce medley – how high-school amateurish could you get???? The singing was horrible – what, did the 2 stars of of Mamma Mia and High School Musical only have 1 line to sing???
#3. Seeing Halle Berry made me feel uneasy because I was waiting for her to go off script and compare her door smacking open Best Actress victory with Obama’s presidential victory. Thank God she didn’t.
4. Ben Stiller – your J.Phoenix bit gets my Oscar Razzie.
5. Reese Witherspoon gets to present Best Director? If I was Danny Boyle, I’d think that at least they coulda got Katie Holmes!
6. Men looking bad- Zac comb your hair – Adrian Brody – are you currently residing on skid row?
**************I’d have to say that my highlight was when Jennifer Aniston showed up to present Animated Feature. Holy cow was the white elephant on that stage!! I kept, kept waiting for an audience camera shot of you-know-who – I kept waiting for ABC to p-ssy out – then they show AJ, then her and her beloved — THAT’S why ratings are down. People in America know what goes on and that audience shot was classic.
One more note on Departures — it’s the second Asian film to win the category ever (if you don’t count the special awards that pre-date the existence of the category) and the first ever win for Japan.
Doom about Waltz With Bashir not winning sounds a little weak if you haven’t seen Departures. Everybody was complaining wildly about Pan’s Labrynth losing to Lives of Others. And when Amelie lost to No Man’s Land. We won’t really know the situation until the film is released.
The Judd Apotow movie was HILARIOUS! One of the best moments of the night!
Sorest Loser:
Alexandre Desplat… it looked like he wanted to rip Rahman’s head off. Almost as bad as his reaction to the BAFTA loss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAaieEZ8G9s&feature=related
I really liked the way they did the acting awards this year. The actual design of the whole thing was very classy and the idea of a previous winner singling out a current nominee and praising their work was really nice. It was a different approach and one that highlighted the performances in an interesting manner.
I also enjoyed the musical numbers (especially the opening one) and thought some of the shabby-looking sets (seen in places such as the whole Will Smith bit) were quite neat. They were a nice juxtaposition to the glamorous main set.
So really, I think Condon did a great job. The wins were nearly surprise-free, but the show was top-notch.
Things that impressed me – ditto to Aaron – I too was impressed with the formant of previous acting winners singling out a nominee and singing their praises. Even if they didn’t receive an Oscar – you could tell that it meant more to them JUST TO BE HONORED BY A PREVIOUS WINNER. My only gripe with this – I wish that they had shown an acting clip or even a photo of the role that each nominee was nominated for. ***This format also kept me awake during the 2nd half of the show. I kept trying to guess which 5 previous Best Actresses/Actors would appear on stage. It juggled the mind to remember who you saw on the red carpet. For the Actresses – I picked perrenial audience member Faye Dunaway, I thought they’d want Cher back, Julie Roberts to plug her new shitty with Clive Owen—Best Actor- I think that the Academy better immediately explain the travel schedules of Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker because I’m sure that Spike Lee will put out a statement regarding this snub (?!). Sorry, for Mr. Lee, but we invite Ben ‘Gandhi/India’ Kingsley in the ‘Slumdog’ season.
Random thought for Ben Stiller – Perhaps you could’ve tried to steal some of RDowneyJr’s Thunder and did a black-face skit of Chris Brown – with Natalie Portman as Rihanna. That MIGHT have got you a chuckle, because I didn’t think your JPhoenix act was one bit funny.
3. Was it just me or was anyone else expecting Jennifer Hudson to show up?
4. Wasn’t a statement put out that the Academy was going to acknowledge the snubbed passing of mr. Brad Renfro? Perhaps, in a decision to save 3 seconds his image was scrapped.
Whilst the previous winners presenting the acting awards was interesting, I really missed the clips from the performances- perhaps we could have both??
I also dont know why they played the generic music rather than the film music for so many of the winners
For the record books, Slumdog is the first film EVER to win Oscar BP, Globe BP, BAFTA Best Film, BFCA BP, SAG ensemble, DGA, WGA, PGA and Scripter (I know it won other guilds too).
Schindlers List didnt win SAG and BFCA because they werent around. American Beauty didnt win Scripter because its an original screenplay. LOTR: ROTK lost Scripter
I’d like to add an award
Best Presenters – Steve Martin and Tina Fey: the funniest pre-award schtick I can remember!
Sasha, after reading your opinions of the best and worst of the show I have to say while I agree with most of your bests, what you felt “kinda, sorta” didn’t work shows your overall taste is somewhere I won’t say because I’m polite. This was my first time reading your site and let me say it will also be the last (and before anyone wants to make a big deal about no one caring keep in mind I’m sure this site’s advertisers care and the site will thanks to that lost revenue). The show was great, ratings were up and the only people complaining seem to be the critics who, as always, are out of touch with what the general public wants. Pack the site up. In Contention and Rope of Silicon are infinitely better than this thing you’ve got here.
Thank you Sasha for providing us with the most human forum for our Oscar discussions. Sure there are tense moments sometimes, but I think that’s just the way our passion manifests itself. Suffice to say, you are one of the hardest working women in Oscar fandom, with Ryan a close second.
As for the comments about the ceremony, I stated in another section that I felt the “In memoriam” section kinda got the shaft, and the musicals medley didn’t work. I agree with some of your choices, but I disagree with the Apatow segment (it was suitably absurd) and the presentations of the performance oscars by 5 previous winners. I thought that was really classy, and gave each of the nominees their moment, so that if he or she didn’t win, at least they had their own personal tribute. Granted, each speech could have been a tad shorter, and some clips would have been nice, but I thoroughly enjoyed it (a little strange not seeing Day Lewis there, though–hadn’t heard that he would be absent). I feel like it’s the montages that always needlessly add to the length of the ceremony. They should really get rid of them–I don’t need a re-cap of all the romances, comedies, dramas, etc. (and notice how there were no horror films?) from the past year. Take those out, and you could cut the ceremony down by 10 minutes at least.
oh, and while foreign film may be an upset, we haven’t seen all the films yet, so maybe Departures actually is brilliant. We’ll have to wait and see.
Beyonce almost ruined it for. I just can’t stand her, and she isn’t a good singer.
The show was OK, I actually wanted to see jackman host. I wanted more musical numbers and jokes about Hollywood. Instead of having those stupid montages. Jackman was good when he was up there but, the Lurhman piece was terrible.
Penn’s a blow-hard. When he said the word brave I nearly cringed. You make pretend and get honored and paid handsomely for it. What these people don’t understand is that what they do isn’t brave at all. They’re just entertainers.
All in all it was a pretty good show that hopefully is the foundation for the glorious spectacle the Oscars once was.
I loved the previous winners presenting – it gave me chills right off the get go and it kept me guessing all night “who is going to present to the other actors” it added a wow factor and I just thought that it was very well done.
To those who complain about montages? What gives??? This is a show about movies, so why would you want to get rid of clips that are a celebration of film???? That just boggles my mind
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