The earlier live blogging posts are much better (I was fresher. Carpal tunnel was only a notion rather than a fully formed fear ~ please read them)
Part 1 E! Arrivals
Part 2 More Arrivals and 1st Third of Show
I am bleeding inspiration. So tired. Marion Cotillard & the biopic collaborated to do me in ;) I'll be back to fight the good fight for recognizing fictional characters next year. One of these years they'll finally get bored of it. Won't they?
9:48 ADAPTED SCREENPLAY. After double team action from James McAvoy and Josh Brolin (I'm towelling off now) who are both vying for "most wanted" in Hollywood right now, the Coen Bros win. Short speech and they keep it about the category. 'They're selective. They've only adapted Homer and Cormac McCarthy.'
9:51 More Plan B mini docs about Oscars. I know all of this already but I think it's good that the nearly one billion people watching are learning it too. Not that they aren't having potty breaks right now.
9:54 "That's How You Know" performed by Kristen Chenowith. This is a cakewalk for her. She does 8 shows a week.
10:01 I picked a weird time to start the third post. It's like the energy suddenly went out of the Kodak. But then again, it'll be hard to top the Tilda Swinton win.
10:02 Seth Rogen and (the name is escaping me) performing as Halle Berry and Dame Judi Dench. LOL. That joke started... but it didn't go anywhere? I thought there would be a skit or something.
Sound Editing goes to
The Bourne Ultimatum. Per Hallberg has both a pony tail and a dangling earring. The people who don't approve of Daniel Day-Lewis are seething right now.
Sound Mixing goes to
The Bourne Ultimatum. Will it go three for three with its nominations?
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10:09 BEST ACTRESS. Clip reel first: Damn that Jessica Tandy. Now Pfeiffer will never have one! Forest Whitaker is presenting and it goes to Marion Cotillard who is very grateful and exactly how Oscar likes their Best Actresses: young, pretty, trembling and weepy. Congratulations Marion.
10:16 Why do I have this terrible feeling that this commercial break will be the longest evah. So that I can stew knowing that Hilary Swank is a two-time winner and Julie Christie is not. Oh the humanity. But such is the power of the biopic. 7 out of 10 of the past Best Actress Oscars
70%!!! have gone there. If Julie Christie wants a second Oscar she better damn well find a 60something famous woman to recreate for the movies. Learn your craft woman. ;)
10:19 I fucking love this song. Can I swear? Sure I can, it's Oscar night. The normal rules don't apply. "Falling Slowly" that movie is so loveable.
10:24 Jack Nicholson is talking about Best Picture. I'm so confused. Too early for that. Plan B Random Clip Reel ...and go!
10:29 Renée Zellweger presenting
FILM EDITING. The win goes to
The Bourne Ultimatum. Is Renée wearing her
Chicago costume? I'm so confused. Marion Cotillard's win, which I confidently predicted without any personal joy, has left me strangely empty rather than angry. I guess after
Brokeback vs.
Crash I can handle anything. Nothing will be as embarrassing to the Academy / painful to me as that ever again. But still... I think it'd be
so cool if the Oscars got away from biopics for awhile. It would really do the film world good to have more than one idea about what constitutes great acting. There are so many ways to express oneself in art. Why must they continually reward the same thing?
MOVING ON... Until next year when the next biopic performance wins.
10:33 Hey, it's Nicki Kidman! Why does my heart swell with love? She's there for an honorary Oscar presentation to Robert Boyle.
10:43 Penélope Cruz announces the
FOREIGN FILM category. I am suddenly nervous about my
Counterfeiters prediction. Could it be 12 instead? Or... Nope,
Counterfeiters as expected.
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10:46 I'm sorry but how many songs does
Enchanted have. I'm so annoyed right now. But I've seen Patrick Dempsey naked so it's all good. (Just wanted to see if you were still reading -but yeah, I have...
Some Girls) This song makes me ill. As does the Amy Adams impersonator in the purple dress. True story: Last week I rented the first season of
Fame (the 80s television series) just to see if it was as good as I remembered it being --hey I was a kid. It wasn't. I don't know why I'm telling you this. I started typing the story and I totally lost the thread. I feel like I may be disappearing.
BEST SONG is being announced. "Falling Slowly" wins. That's awesome.
10:52 Jon Stewart loves
Once. It's so heartening to discover more fans.
10:57 Jon Stewart is my new hero. He actually brought out Marketa Irglova to give her acceptance speech since they cut her off at the mic. Awesome. Why do they cut these people off. It's their once in a lifetime moment. Cut some damn tribute to binoculars instead.
10:59 Cameron Diaz. Every time she comes on with her aw shucks fidgety cute/hotness all I can think is where is Anna Faris' Oscar for mimicry for her spot on Diaz in
Lost in Translation. Seriously. Where's
that Oscar?
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Robert Elswit
There Will Be Blood. Hooray.
11:03 In Memoriam. There was a stuntman in there. It's still so weird to me that stunts and casting don't have Oscar categories. And yet "song" does. Which has more meaning and prominence in the movies?
11:09 Amy Adams. My cat is hissing.
ORIGINAL SCORE goes to
Atonement. I like Dario Marianelli's work. His
Pride & Prejudice score is so pretty as well. I know some take issue with the typewriter but I like inventive scores.
11:14 DOCUMENTARY SHORT. presented by the US Troops. Interesting. The winner is
Freeheld. Ohhh, there so happy. The woman in the audience during the reaction shots looked just like Grace Zabriskie from David Lynch movies. So naturally I'm petrified right now.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE. The winner is not me because I'm totally bored right now. Sorry, I am. I'm just speaking my truth. It's not that I don't love the smaller categories. I just think they should not throw in so much filler so that by the time we get to the later awards everyone is so tired. The winner is
Taxi to The Dark Side. Did you hear how they banned the poster for this movie? Incredibly sickening to do that when they let crap like
Hostel by. Argh.
11:21 So, they're showing a commercial for
A Raisin in the Sun. I want to see it because I love Audra McDonald and I wanted to see it on Broadway. But earlier this evening as Sean P Combs walked the red carpet he actually plugged it saying that it was his "debut as a movie star" Oy. TV movies of Broadway shows are not
movies! Everyone knows that. There's healthy ego and then there's stupidity.
11: 24 Harrison Ford presenting
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY to
Juno. A shout out to "the superhuman Ellen Page". Wow. She was moved but a lot of people will be disappointed in how plainly acceptance-speechy that was. No quirky flourishes. No Junoisms. Nothing.
11: 27 It's 11:27. We still have Best Picture and Best Director and Best Actor to go.
11: 31 Queen Mirren shows up. All older women in Hollywood weep. They know that she filled the quota of Oscars to older women for another couple of decades. Shame since Julie Christie in
Away From Her is not only better than Marion Cotillard's Piaf but also better than Mirren's
Queen.
BEST ACTOR. They're not being very original with the clips tonight. Daniel Day-Lewis wins. It's the first time ever (supposedly) that no Americans have won in the acting categories. CORRECTION: Only the second time ever --the first was the 64/65 Oscars when Julie Andrews won for Mary Poppins.
11:40 I am so sleepy and I don't know how I didn't realize this up until now since it's so standard but I do actually have to work tomorrow. Which means sleep is a necessity.
BEST DIRECTOR Martin Scorsese is presenting. I'm sure this is going to The Coen Bros but since I sat in the DGA theater listening to Scorsese interview PTA so that would be sweet to see Part 2. The Coen Bros win it. So heres' another Mr & Mrs with Oscar Frances McDormand and her man.
11:46 Denzel Washington to announce
BEST PICTURE for
No Country For Old Men. Great movie. After several years of so-so winners it's nice to see two really good movies win back to back. Ohmygod. Cormac McCarthy is there. He is so elusive. It's bizarre to claim that it's a total surprise though.. I mean seriously, are only Oscar fanatics following along as the year progresses? I imagine the Hollywood community does as well. Even more so. They have to actually dress up. Me, I'm in jeans and a polo you know. They have to
plan.
And we're done. Sorry for the anti climax.
kiss kiss. THE FILM EXPERIENCE IS YEAR ROUND. It's just as much fun in the off season. Come back later tomorrow for wrap up afterthoughts and later this week for another peak at 2008 cinema --from an acting angle.
Good night.psssst. this was part 3
Back to Part One E! Arrivals. La Pfeiffer and I hit the red carpet (we have very different tastes in Oscar fashions. Was that the most boring parade of gowns, ever? I think so)
11*
The Queen... Dame Helen Mirren
Formidable Ava, 'Barefoot Contessa' / Enigmatic Julie, 'The Sunshine Girl'
Mary Pickford & Lillian Gish. Their lives made history.
popbytes Kate Winslet as Mildred Pierce. Have a looksee
He's really outdone himself with three evocative portraits of Oscar winning actresses: Julie Christie, Jessica Lange and Emma Thompson. His beautiful incisive studies of these legends are more than a little intimidating but so worth having in the world. My favorite is the one on Christie. I don't share Nick's love of Lange but neither is it a crime to look at her. His writeup helps me understand what some think all the fuss is (or was) about.
Curiously, Beatty don't seem to have anything like affection for McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971) and it reads like neither star was happy on set. I have an admittedly limited working knowledge of the western genre (not my favorite) but McCabe is in my top ten for sure [editors note: other favs... using "western" loosely I suppose are Red River (1948), Giant (1956), Hud (1963) and Brokeback Mountain (2005)]. It's yet another reminder that actors don't always know what's best for them. McCabe is a total classic. Whether or not the stars understood what Altman was after, they're both terrific in it.
Nathaniel walks to the stage, tears welling in his eyes 
Audrey, Kate, Vivien, Ingrid, Natalie, Jane, Bette, Meryl,
And of course...
<--- Anne Hathaway applauds with joyous relief --the film year is finally over. Is she thinking "I'm gonna own this place next year as a nominee!!!"?
9:54 "That's How You Know" performed by Kristen Chenowith. This is a cakewalk for her. She does 8 shows a week..jpg)
10:09 BEST ACTRESS. Clip reel first: Damn that Jessica Tandy. Now Pfeiffer will never have one! Forest Whitaker is presenting and it goes to Marion Cotillard who is very grateful and exactly how Oscar likes their Best Actresses: young, pretty, trembling and weepy. Congratulations Marion.
10:29 Renée Zellweger presenting FILM EDITING. The win goes to The Bourne Ultimatum. Is Renée wearing her Chicago costume? I'm so confused. Marion Cotillard's win, which I confidently predicted without any personal joy, has left me strangely empty rather than angry. I guess after Brokeback vs. Crash I can handle anything. Nothing will be as embarrassing to the Academy / painful to me as that ever again. But still... I think it'd be so cool if the Oscars got away from biopics for awhile. It would really do the film world good to have more than one idea about what constitutes great acting. There are so many ways to express oneself in art. Why must they continually reward the same thing?.jpg)
10:46 I'm sorry but how many songs does Enchanted have. I'm so annoyed right now. But I've seen Patrick Dempsey naked so it's all good. (Just wanted to see if you were still reading -but yeah, I have... Some Girls) This song makes me ill. As does the Amy Adams impersonator in the purple dress. True story: Last week I rented the first season of Fame (the 80s television series) just to see if it was as good as I remembered it being --hey I was a kid. It wasn't. I don't know why I'm telling you this. I started typing the story and I totally lost the thread. I feel like I may be disappearing. BEST SONG is being announced. "Falling Slowly" wins. That's awesome.
10:59 Cameron Diaz. Every time she comes on with her aw shucks fidgety cute/hotness all I can think is where is Anna Faris' Oscar for mimicry for her spot on Diaz in Lost in Translation. Seriously. Where's that Oscar? BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Robert Elswit There Will Be Blood. Hooray.
11:14 DOCUMENTARY SHORT. presented by the US Troops. Interesting. The winner is Freeheld. Ohhh, there so happy. The woman in the audience during the reaction shots looked just like Grace Zabriskie from David Lynch movies. So naturally I'm petrified right now. DOCUMENTARY FEATURE. The winner is not me because I'm totally bored right now. Sorry, I am. I'm just speaking my truth. It's not that I don't love the smaller categories. I just think they should not throw in so much filler so that by the time we get to the later awards everyone is so tired. The winner is Taxi to The Dark Side. Did you hear how they banned the poster for this movie? Incredibly sickening to do that when they let crap like Hostel by. Argh.
11:46 Denzel Washington to announce BEST PICTURE for No Country For Old Men. Great movie. After several years of so-so winners it's nice to see two really good movies win back to back. Ohmygod. Cormac McCarthy is there. He is so elusive. It's bizarre to claim that it's a total surprise though.. I mean seriously, are only Oscar fanatics following along as the year progresses? I imagine the Hollywood community does as well. Even more so. They have to actually dress up. Me, I'm in jeans and a polo you know. They have to plan.
Marcia: ...Julie Christie in Away From Her
It was also fascinating to note their devotion to Michael Clayton. They don't seem all that excited about No Country For Old Men or There Will Be Blood... and even after they both rave about Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There they say they're both voting for Tilda Swinton. Final note: Marcia is still upset that Diving Bell and Butterfly didn't get nominated. Watching this little show reminds us that Oscar voters are in some ways just like Oscar fans --they play favorites, they bitch about the snubs, they shake their heads at Oscar's past bungles. Twenty-eight years later, Marcia would like you to know that she's still pissed that Raging Bull lost Best Picture.
* to all the readers who are upset that Ellen Page is not featured.
>Whew< ... that party was so much fun to host. Today I will be cleaning up after it. If you're just joining the Oscar Symposium conversation, you'll want to start from day one. But if you've been playing along, here's the wrap up.
<--- Julie Christie is a goddess
Empire Julianne, no! Back away from the mainstream genre movies. No Moore
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