<--- 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!!!"?'Finis'
You wish. But we're almost done. In fact I am done... but I guess we're not done until you've read and commented. It's the back 'n' forth beauty o' the web.
Oscar Review is Complete
Page 1 Oscar Hangover (in case you haven't read it yet)
Page 2 (NEW) Fashions: The Good, The Bad and the Neither
Page 3 (NEW) Split-Screen Madness. Loving those 'win or lose' actress boxes.
also a new poll --who is least likely to return to the Oscars?
Return and gab in the comments. That's how we do. It's the last Oscar post for the 07/08 race so celebrate accordingly in the comments. And remember, The Film Experience is year round (it just gets rather Oscar whipped from Dec-Feb)
*
Posts
48 comments:
Split screen madness article is a stroke of genius! Best post-Oscar 08 related article I've read!!
I watched the Best actress announcement 5 times (once for each lady's reaction)!! Very interesting indeed!! Loved Christie's delayed reaction and applause. But my favourite has to be Blanchett's shock which was followed by sheer delight and hearty applaus to Cotillard's win. I have a sneaky feeling Blanchett voted for Cotillard, especially taking into account her reaction to her own clip. Gotta love Cate!!! She'll win a lead Oscar one day, hopefully!
I loved that even Cate Blanchett was embarrassed about Elizabeth II and that it was also very obvious that she voted for Marion Cotillard (those biopic specializing actors need to protect their own you know!).
Also, I loved Ruby Dee's stank "Great, I guess its an honorary Oscar for me!" look.
Wonderful "post match analysis".
Whilst I think you gave Christie an easy time of it (loved her reaction UNTIL the plastered on fake aftermath of joy; would have had far more respect had she just sat there looking pissed off), I can forgive you.
As someone who whooped like a wild banshee when Cotillard's name was announced, I realise that you were amongst the other half of the Cotillard/Christie divide (it's felt like one all season), and I realise it must sting a little. However, a special plea: could we please call a truce on Cotillard before it develops to Swank/Zellweger heighs though?
Elsewhere, hilarious analysis of Cate Blanchett's grimace. Her Golden Age nomination still grates, but I forgave her somewhat after the squirm. Lovely playful swipe at Jennifer Hudson too. I'm all for that...
Thank you THANK YOU for a riotous Oscar season!
Rob
Split-Screen Madness? Genius.
Thanks, Nathaniel. I'm serious, I hope you understand how much your hard work pays off - this site is one of the things that gets me through the day, consistantly funny and offering food for thought - and I really appreciate all the stuff you do for us minions.
Better start practising your humble face for the split-screen at the best Film Blogger Awards!
you're too kind... i've never won an award in my life!
ok, I did once at a job but even then it was a tie for 'manager of the year' ;)
Is it possible that there was a tape delay in Christie's box? I watched it over and over again and that seemed to be the case. Didn't the people react at the same time she did? (lol sorry. I have the same obsession as you do it seems)
Oh, and they didn't do clips in 2002, the year Nicole Kidman, etc. won. It was such a let down, although they did make up for it with Naomi Watts' hysterical clip in '03.
Loving the split-screen analysis- had me laughing more than I have in a while. I wasn't paying attention to Ruby Dee when I was watching the show (it was all about Tilda) so it comes a hilarious surprise to see her evil eyes.
I loved how Jennifer Hudson yelled "No Country for Old Men" over all the applauding- she's not going until she's finished!
I do wonder whether Julie is actually masking disappointment or whether she's just a bit slow. We already know she doesn't care about winning, and she was beaming whenever I saw her in the audience post-BA.
I'll lamely echo the thanks for a great Oscar season. Looking forward to another great year.
I think Cate's reaction to Marion's win is the best! ;o) You could tell where her vote went! :p
Loved your split screen piece. I love it when actresses let out their inner diva before our eyes (another great moment is Faith Hill from the AMAs when Carrie Underwood won).
And based on Oscars recent history does that mean that Drew Barrymore or Jill Scott could be frontrunners next year?!?!
Also, I absolutely LOVE your new banner. Partly my love for JG, but also because it captures that rare star moment before they are in the spotlight. (FYI, I totally want to see this JG/Linney sisters movie they referenced with Ryan Seacrest...if they could make it a biopic where Linney gets ugly maybe we could get her an Oscar!)
Was the reason Julie Christie was looking down before the winner was announced was to get her acceptance speech out in advance? That's really presumptous if that's the case. And I took Cate Blanchett's odd face after her clip was shown just to mean that she's embarrased to see herself on the screen. I sensed a little bit of uncomfortableness on her part during her "I'm Not There" clip too, though not to the degree of the "Elizabeth" clip. I don't think she's ashamed of her work.
Speaking of split-screen madness, did anyone catch a peep at Paul Thomas Anderson when he lost best director. He made an absolutely adorable/sardonic face of faux disappointment, and then carried on with his applause. Poor guy -- wish the Academy had thrown him a bone.
I totally think that Cate Blanchett voted for Marion Cotillard too. So many actors praised her performance in "La Vie en Rose" as the acting feat of the year with Daniel Day-Lewis's, and she was one of them. Even Tilda Swinton was cheering on Marion in her post-Oscar press conference. You can't fake a reaction like that when someone wins. Not even the great Cate.
Following the Best Actress aftermath I am choosing to look at this way ... I am choosing to look at the positive and remind myself that Tilda Swinton now has an Oscar and that no matter what they can never take away Julie Christie's DARLING oscar.
I wonder if blogging existed back in the 1960s if we would be upset about a twenty-something Julie Christie winning the Oscar for DARLING. Hmm.....
Can I just say how depressing your poll made me feel?
I mean, everyone voted for Ruby Dee (myself included) because she's old. That's sad, I enjoyed her a lot in American Gangster.
I love old people - they all remind me of Grandpa Simpson.
Great article.
i loved Ruby Dee's reaction.
She looked as if she was going to burst with hatred.
I think Christie may have some hearing problems. It's not the first time I see her reacting with some sort of delay. That's what my mother does ;)
I thought 90% of the wins lacked ellipses (nice phrasing, there Nathaniel). Drove me crazy!
the correct procedure is to say "and the oscar" and on the magic word "oscar" start opening the envelope so that when you've said...
"and the oscar goes to..."
you're still trying to see the name.
more suspense = better. make 'em wait
NO one wants to talk about the fashion? Okay I will ( How superficial, but seriously if it wasn't for the Fashion I wouldn't watch at all).....
Anne Hathaway- She's starting to be one of my new favorite up and coming actresses ( weird, cuz she use to annoy me). She looked gorgeous, but it does remind me of Kate Winslet's 2002 dress which looked better.
Heidi Klum- I love the glam and I missed Project Runway last week.
Jennifer Hudson- I don't think it was that bad, it was definitely better than last year.
Ellen Page-I don't know, I've seen her look better.
Soairse( SP?) - She looked like a doll. So cute.
Tilda-I don't know, I mean I know it's her thing, but wasn't feeling it.
Marion- Didn't really like it either
Cate B-It was okay, nothing I would wear.
Nicole Kidman-Eh
Renee-Old school dress and hair was atrocious.
Keisha Whitaker- Pretty
Amy Adams, Amy Ryan Laura Linney safe and boring.
Ruby Dee-Eh it was okay
Julie Christie- Eh
Helen Mirren- I liked it.
Keri Russell- She was cute
Cameron D- I really liked her dress, but not her hair
Penelope C- It was okay
Hilary S- She looked liked a middle aged mother
Jennifer Garner- It was cute, but didn't like the bottom of the dress
The guys all looked practically the same to me so I won't bother commenting on them.
-Zee
P.S. I think Ruby needs her glasses, cuz she looks exactly the same in both screens.
I thought Helen and Jennifer both announced the winner too fast.
-Zee
Hal Halbrook is also a first time nominee according to Hal.
Edith Evans received her first Oscar nomination when she was 75, and received two more, and Judi Dench had to wait until she was 64 to be nominated, and she's on nomination number six now. Ruby Dee could still score.
That said, I voted for only Casey Affleck & Viggo Mortenson.
Page-Too precocious
Ronan-Who, aside from Jodie, received nods when they were kids and then when they were adults?
Swinton-She, unfortunately, seems like a one-nod sort of gal.
Cotillard-How many foreign-language stars double up? Maybe five in the history of the Academy.
Ryan-I think she's still in the "who?" phase, which she should have been out of at this point.
Dee-It took Oscar this long for nod number one...
I think Christie may have just forgotten that she was being featured on the split- screen at first. She took a little long to mask her immediate reaction until she realized they still had the cameras on her...?
Or maybe she thought Forest Whitaker was mumbling something unintelligible (he does that from time to time) and that for all she knew, he could've been saying her name. It just took her awhile to realize he wasn't...
Either way, the ambiguity of it is great. She's like Mona Lisa or something.
"She could've been farming!" Priceless.
My best dressed votes go to Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner. Admittedly, there should be better options. But I love how Mirren outfoxes all the young things, and when she attributed her own outfit to a "Nevada brothel madame" influence, I was even more sold. Like an A– student who properly identifies her own flaw.
Is it just my computer's temperamental constitution, or is the film experience down? Goddamnit, I want to see those split screen posts!
THANK YOU NATHANIEL POSTING THAT LOVELY COMMENT ABOUT JENNIFER NOT BEING AN ACTRESS AND THEY POST IT ON OTHER WEBSITES AND GUESS WHAT THE BASHING RESUMES. YOU MUST HAVE IT OUT FOR HER.SHE"S BEING CALLED A FAT BLACK YOU KNOW WHAT ETC. OF COURSE YOU WOULD NOT POST A BUNCH OF OTHER PEOPLE WITH BAD TIMING.
YES THIS WAS THE BEST OSCARS EVER WHY BECAUSE NO BLACK PEOPLE WON. I KNOW DEEP DOWN INSIDE YOU ARE ALL THINKING IT.
OH AND ABOUT HER OUTFIT NO IT WASNT BAD AT ALL. PEOPLE ARE BIASED AGAINST BIG PEOPLE> SHOULDN"T KERI RUSSELL AND JEN GARNER BE ON YOUR LIST TOO FOR BEING TOO THIN BECAUSE THEY BOTH LOOKED LIKE SKELETOR.
BTW HERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE WHO AREN'T BIASED AND REALIZED THAT HELEN DIDN'T PAUSE EITHER
http://www.awardsdaily.com/?p=25#comments
BUT OF COURSE YOU JUST POST ABOUT JENNIFER
The split screen thing made me practically piss my pants. Ku-dos, Nathaniel. VIVA LA FILM EXPERIENCE.
I SAID IN THE VERY ARTICLE THAT MY DVR DID NOT RECORD "BEST ACTOR"
so how could i have talked about Helen Mirren ???
but my point remains. Jennifer Hudson is not an actor. She's a singer. And I'm sick to death of people equating anything like criticism with someone being prejudiced. I also think it's hugely hypocritical of everyone to join the Jennifer Hudson wagon because of Dreamgirls and then diss people like me who were freaking voting for her EVERY SINGLE WEEK and numerous times on American Idol -- She's the only contestant on that damn show that I ever got worked up into a fan frenzy about...
please do not make things about things that they are not about. Jennifer's skin color did not make her forget the elipsis for drama's sake. I mean, come on.
plus: it was meant to be funny... the elipsis thing.
i don't hate Jennifer Hudson. I like Jennifer Hudson. But I fear Dreamgirls may have distracted her and fooled her about what her true calling is. To make records.
this was one of the funniest posts i've read about the oscar night, especially because i was thinking bout these reactions myself yesterday, seeing and re-seeing marion's big moment.
i love cate's face after her elizabeth clip is showed; i laughed my as off on sunday imagining her thoughts would be something like "uhg look at shit!"
Why is it that it's us and the Academy who get labelled when there just weren't many interesting performances by black people? Next year there looks to be a whole lot. Geez. As Nat said, not liking someone's performance or whathaveyou does not always equate to prejudice.
Anon 4.39 Jill Scott will, unfortunately, be ineligible because her movie is premiering on UK television this year. I'm fairly sure that makes it ineligible, right?
Also, on the fashion side Saiorse was my best dressed. Did you actually see her picking the dress out? Is there a story there we should know?
okay. since this is supposed to be the last, last oscar post (right, nat?) i wanna mention how disappointed i am that polley never got her "saoirse moment" when she did "the sweet hereafter." sure, she's got a writing nom under her belt now but where was the best supporting actress love then?
it is the last "official" oscar post yes (for this past year)... obviously the oscars will return to discussion since this is the film experience and i love the naked gold men.
BUT we have to take a couple weeks off of awards at least;) and just discuss movies.
i'm not terribly surprised Polley wasn't nominated for SWEET HEREAFTER wasn't it's directorial nomination a shocker?
the thing i was really pisssed off about was the IAN HOLMs snub.
to me either her or CHRISTOPHER GUEST deserved Best Actor that year.
guest.
was it for "waiting for guffman" he was supposed to be nominated for? i think that came out a year ealier.
Jennifer Hudson is an actress, and she rightfully earned her Oscar for her performance in "Dreamgirls". Throw her under the bus all you like, but it'll never change her being an Oscar-winning actress or having a fine acting career if she wants it.
anon --there's no throwing of Hudson under the bus. but the fact is she's a singer.
And there are MANY people who feel her Oscar is for singing. which is fine ...She's certainly got an award worthy voice.
I'm allowed to be pissed that she is going to waste time on movie sets instead of giving us music.
because you see I was a fan of THE SINGER before everyone starting getting huffy about what a great actress she was.
I think that maybe we should reserve judgment until we see a second film performance and one that doesn't involve singing (which she is phenomenal at). She looks awfully amateur in that Sex & The City trailer... I'm just hoping that's her worst scene. cuz i like her and i like sex & the city.
ryan --GUFFMAN was a 1997 release. It played at festivals in 1996. IMDB often lists the year that it was made rather than the release year.
but yeah those are my top two from 97. HOLM & GUEST neither were nominated damnit ;)
Nathaniel--I have been an ardent fan of your website and blog for well over a year and have never commented before (sorry). But now, after reading your split screen madness article, I just have to. I thought I was the only Oscar junkie who did that!! I remember when I used to tape it on VHS which made the rewinding and replaying much more difficult. With DVR, it's a breeze!! Loved the article and LOVE YOU! Seriously, will you marry me?
From Dennis
since you've mentioned guest. i might as well bring out another frustration of mine - catherin o'hara's non-nom ever.
Nat: Great article. Since I don't have a DVR, it was great to see the different reaction shots.
Have you ever seen the show "TVTV Looks at the Oscars?" It's a fantastic documentary that covers the 1976 Academy Awards. One of the most telling moments takes place between Supporting Actress nominee (and eventual winner) Lee Grant and Goldie Hawn. The two are "limo-pooling" to the show and Hawn helps Grant rehearse her reaction to a potential loss by repeatedly announcing "And the Winner is..." with other actresses besides Grant. It's hilarious and very revealing as Grant practices her enthusiastic "good loser" clapping.
I think on some level, every one of the nominees wants to win. I know it's completely different, but when I was up for a journalism award last year (against Rob) I REALLY did want him to win because I felt his article was more deserving--yet I definitely felt a tinge of disappointment when I lost. Glad nobody was taping me!
As you eloquently stated in your piece, the Oscar split-screen really does shine a light on victory/defeat. I think that even the most rehearsed reaction can offer a glimmer of the truth.
Jennifer Hudson is a singer yes, but she's also an actress, and nothing you say will change that. She has three upcoming films to "prove" herself, though she doesn't have to prove a damn thing to anyone about her merits as an actress. She won her industry's highest recognition, and whether you think she deserved it or not, facts are facts.
hey nate, love your site and all your oscar posts in particular—just thought i'd comment since this is your last one of the season. i’ve been sending your oscar hangover article to all my friends who argue with me about the oscar’s “irrelevance”. did you see this article on EW popwatch? seems they stole your line on turning the oscars into peoples’ choice awards, haha. but good points and insightful articles all around. we need more people like you.
oh and dennis thanks for joining the comment fun.
as per your proposal --that's sweet but i think it's illegal!
I dont think I've ever seen a more pissed off reaction than Ruby Dee's ... genius.. I seem to remember Lauren Bacall seemed mighty pissed off when she lost to Binoche (I could be wrong)..yet another one who lost out on a 'career' oscar
You forgot Hal Holbrook in the first-timers poll :\.
I TOTALLY DID. oops
Post a Comment