Liveblogging the Oscars
The only reason I’m watching this show is Jon Stewart. Just sayin’. But he’s doing cheesy Jay Leno-style one-liners and exhorting people to vote Dem this election.
Diablo Cody (Juno screenwriter) looks delish with a red starburst on her right cheek. Jon Stewart says she went from exotic dancer to Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, and ‘How do you like the pay cut?’
Despite her peekaboo bangs, Jennifer Garner’s shoulders are as broad as Oscar’s statuette.
The first Oscar goes to a desi-directed film. Elizabeth: The Golden Age wins best costume design, and designer Alexandra Byrne thanks ‘Shekhar.’
Anne Hathaway is ravishing in red and proto-desi in her dark, painted eyes.
Ratatouille beats Persepolis in animation. Fully rendered beats French woodcut.
Shrinkwrapped into one dress, not twenty-seven, Katherine Heigl presents the makeup award to the overlong and annoying La Vie en Rose. But Marion Cotillard and her prosthetics were amazing.
So far, no cheesy dance routines like Bollywood’s Filmfare awards.
The Golden Compass beats Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean 3 for f/x — teen boys everywhere cry murder. The team thanks Rhythm & Hues, which rendered Compass effects in Bombay.
Sweeney Todd wins art direction, as it should — the whole bloody flick was mincemeat and atmosphere.
Stewart tweaks Cate Blanchett’s range, from Kapur’s Queen Elizabeth to ‘the pitt bull chasing Josh Brolin’ in No Country.
Javier Bardem wins best supporting actor for No Country, beating Tom Wilkinson’s ‘I am Shiva, the god of death‘ (they played the clip) and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s CIA agent in Charlie Wilson’s War (’I spent the last three years learning Finnish! Which should come in real handy here in Virginia.’) He dedicates it in Spanish to his mother, his grandma and Spain. Jon Stewart: ‘I took Spanish in high school. I believe he just told his mother where the library is.’
Owen Wilson, looking very much alive and making no mention of it, gives the short film Oscar to Le Mozart des Pickpockets.
Bee Jerry Seinfeld gives the animated short award to Peter and the Wolf, a stop motion flick which beat out Madame Tutli-Putli (puppet in Hindi).
Best supporting actress goes to Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), who’s apparently Wilkinson’s consort Parvati. She says she’ll give her Oscar to her American agent, whose buttocks resemble Oscar’s, and George Clooney, an actor so serious, he wears his nipple-studded rubber Batsuit hanging upside-down…
Jessica Alba mentions the technical awards, which some desi visual f/x software guys shared. Obviously.
Idi Amin’s doctor gives the kickass Coen brothers the statuette for best adapted screenplay for No Country. ‘Our success is due to our selectivity — we’ve only adapted Homer and Cormac McCarthy.’ Intolerable Cruelty was highly underrated. Zeta-Jones and Clooney — how could you go wrong?
Stewart: ‘Angelina [Jolie] couldn’t be with us tonight. It’s tough to get 17 babysitters on Oscar night.’
The cast of Knocked Up gives The Bourne Ultimatum the nods for both sound editing and mixing. ( Knocked Up was robbed — it was so much better-written than Juno, though cruder.)
From the best actress montage: Louise Fletcher signed her acceptance speech? Were her parents deaf?
Idi Amin presents best actress… to Marion Cotillard! In French, no less! Has there ever been a best actress winner before in a foreign language film? And she flips out. I think we just had our Roberto Benigni moment. I feel bad for newbie Ellen Page. Shekhar Kapur can’t be pleased.
This bodes well for Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)– both were intense performances in which the actor disappeared into the role. Cotillard was lovely and brilliant in A Good Year (Archie Punjabi) too.
Gandhi flashes past in the best picture montage. Then The English Patient. Then Crash, what a travesty.
Is Renee Zellweger juicing? She gives best film editing to Christopher Rouse for The Bourne Ultimatum.He also shot those queasy, handheld Goa scenes in The Bourne Supremacy.
An invisibly-pregnant Nicole Kidman (where’s her dæmon?) draped in late-Christmas tinsel gives a special achievement award to nonagenarian production designer Robert Boyle.
Penélope Cruz wearing a large feather duster gives best foreign film to The Counterfeiters (Austria). The director says filmmakers like Billy Wilder had to leave his country because of the Nazis, so it’s apropos that Austria’s first Oscar goes to a movie about their crimes. Is that an apology?
The entire songs category is a giant infomercial for Stephen Schwarz, Alan Mencken and the very bland Enchanted.Patrick Dempsey presents — how sad is it when your best work is Sweet Home Alabama?
Colin Farrell and John Travolta (widow’s peak, past and future) both slipped on a slick stage. All the nominated songs are schmaltzy as hell. But Dublin indie flick Once — shot in three weeks on $100K — wins it. The clock finally struck midnight for Enblanded.
The songwriter from Once says ‘hope’ more than Barack Obama.
A sinewy Cameron Diaz tips cinematography to Robert Elswit forThere Will Be Blood. ‘We really are all standing on the shoulders of Daniel Day-Lewis.’
The Rocky horns which M.I.A. sampled are played in the intro for best score. Kite Runner is nominated in this category but loses to Dario Marianelli for Atonement. His score’s typewriter tip-tip-tip echoes the Bollysong of the same name.
Tom Hanks looks weathered, and men get fashion-shafted in their cookie-cutter monkey suits. Salim Babais nominated in short doc:
He has earned his living for 45 years in the same manner: by screening discarded film fragments for neighborhood children on a hand-cranked projector bequeathed to him by his father. [ Link]
Presented by American soldiers in Baghdad, the award is given to Freeheld, about discrimination against gay and lesbian couples.
The director goes nuts but makes sure to let us know she’s married and het. 
Taxi to the Dark Side , about CIA torture and a cabbie named Dilawar tortured by American soldiers in Iraq, wins best documentary:
This is dedicated… to my father, a Navy interrogator, who urged me to make this film because of his fury about what was being done to the rule of law.
No End in Sight, a documentary about the Iraq war by the founder of Microsoft FrontPage, was also nominated.
Diablo Cody in a jungli dress slit to mid-thigh beats the excellent The Savages and Michael Claytonfor best screenplay. WTF? She tells her fellow writers, ‘I’m learning from you every day.’ Gracious and accurate — the Oscars love an insurgent. But not as absurd as Crash in ‘05.
Day-Lewis for best actor. Least surprising win ever. ‘This is the closest I’ll ever come to being knighted,’ and a gracious, humble speech thanking his wife, father, grandfather and sons. Clooney and Tommy Lee Jones gave fine, somber performances; Sweeney Todd and the terrible, kitschy Eastern Promises shouldn’t have been up on that dais. The Oscars love method actors.
Presenter Denzel bucks tradition by wearing a tie. Saucy rake.
Best directors and best film: the tense No Country sweeps, proving audiences love the BFG as much as do gamers. Bardem is suddenly marketable in America. Do the Coens bring the moustache back?
Net net, a fairly predictable year. No streakers, no political protests, no odd outfits. Bah. Nor any Indian flicks in the running, not even Shakalaka Boom Boom. I gotta say the Filmfares have far sexier outfits. The monochromatic palette tonight was a yawner. Bollywood folks don’t value screenwriters, but at least they look good.
on Sunday, February 24th, 2008, 8:43 pm in Fashion, Film, Photographs, Politics, TV › 
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It would be so much more awesome if you included your snarky thoughts on all these subjects. I’m just saying. :)
What do you guys think about John Stewart so far? I was hoping he would kill tonight - just so-so till now.
His political jokes during the beginning monlogue, which got the most laughs till now, too felt some what off-topic for Oscars.
Tamasha: I’m not bitchy enough. But I can review the flicks =)
Gru: Yeah, his stuff seems Leno-esque so far, a bunch of lame one-liners. Very stilted.
My wife just used the b-word “bland” describing Oscars so far. She has been eagerly waiting for the Oscar Ceremony since Writer’s strike ended.
Need some Cuba Gooding Jr. or Roberto Benigni style excitement.
That’s kinda comforting (evil grin), that i am not missing out on much :-D
Manish, there’s your cheesy dance routine. I will have Filmfare’s cheesiness anyday compared to this bullcrap.
let me bitch a lil bit..actually I didnot like any of the costumes this time.. too many reds..blues…browns..and blacks..too bad..
none of them are that good..last years and a year before were better..not glamorous enough..
saving grace John stewart…he is great this year..from obama to hillary to writers strike..he is good with his one liners and hosting..
I dont know I didnot like any of the films though I saw only a couple this year..atonement was not that great, micheal clayton was just ok..clooney was good but movie was not all that great except that shiva sentence..so I dont know this years oscars were paler compared to other oscars..
ratouville was a good movie and deserved a win..thats good shekhar kapoors film won one award..
may be next year we will have better luck if taree zameen par becomes indian nominee or someother good movie..
Jonah hill and Seth Rogan rock!!!
How true!
best dressed
jennifer garner,renee zelweger, calista with harrison ford and may be
http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20168763_20180019_2,00.html
http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20168763_20180019_12,00.html
http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/photos/photo.html;_ylt=Apkd7ypIQnrIMLYABLQC6Fh2VLcF?gid=88&pos=118
ann hathway is pretty no matter what she wears..
Ipod, Wii… Is this the Oscars or 10 Items or Less on TBS??
They must’ve been paid well.
look at last years so many classy dresses in 2007..2008 pales before 2007 dresses..
last year gweneth paltrow, jennifer,beyonce, panelope..such classy dresses last year..this year is really boring color choice design..
here are some real good last years costumes..
http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/photos/gallery.html;_ylt=AsecmHF3LXNajXLQGOGx_nN2VLcF?id=66&type=primary&curr=1
http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/photos/gallery.html;_ylt=Avzg8QQe6fxFY8WSEU.dSHF2VLcF?id=66&curr=2
prakruti…Marion Cotillard’s fish scales dress wasn’t too terrible.
i thought she looked gorgeous. i loved her eye shadow.
I am loving how realistically interested everyone looks to be in Robert Boyle’s speech.
Foreigner flips out, check. Yay maid Marion!
Seriously. No cutting-ya-off music.
How funny was that with the get-off-the-stage music for the Once couple? I laughed so hard my little boy woke up on the next room.
What’s with the hope-fetish these days? Or is the Once-girl campaigning for Obama?
Nice touch though by Jon Stewart bringing the girl back for her speech.
so many women winning oscars this year..great…felt like I saw more women on stage with the handsome oscar statue this year than last few years..also it is an international year..so many non americans winning oscars too this year..
that fish scales dress was ok but not classy..poor dress show this year..
but good job by jon stewart..makes up for poor dress show from women..men I cannot make out they all look the same..same black coats and ties..dont men wear other color coats..how about reds, greens and other color coats for men..
Tuxes are boring. I can’t believe some desis actually ask men to wear black tie at weddings when sherwanis and kurtas are available.
Wesley Snipes wore a purple suit though, and he looked like a pimp. Men can’t win, although the Denz did well with a tie.
u are right manish …sherwanis and kurtas look so colorful..now in india u get so many varieties..
everytime I buy clothes for my brother in law who only wears polo shirts..I get bored of choices..same stripes, same colors..
even for my nephews this time I brought 3-4 pairs of shirts and pants..guess what the little guys liked only the glow shirts I bought at NASA florida and Disney shirts..others I brought they didnot like because they all are the same boring stripes..
too many poor choice of clothes for men in US..India is a lot better..
thank God Iam a girl..I can wear so many colors and kinds of clothes compared to men..skirts, gowns, chudidars, sarees, gaghra, jeans, capris…even american clothes we have lots of choices compared to men..
Oh, I dunno, Manish…. I’m often struck by all those times the camera pans to bored, sloppily dressed people, chewing gum and sitting on white garden chairs…..the mix of clothing is interesting…..some people go all out and put on the dog, while others look like they could be strolling around Inorbit deciding whether to hit the food court or Cafe Coffee Day.
I thought Helen Mirren’s scarlet dress was lovely, especially the way it sat on her and flowed along with her as she walked. Hillary Swank’s black, flowery, one-shouldered gown was quite gorgeous too.
Interesting to see Daniel Day-Lewis (who once allegedly broke up with pregnant g/f Isabelle Adjani via fax) speak so fondly of his wife.
Oh, you mean in a bad way :) Maybe it has to do with how structured the lines of a suit are. But I suspect it’s cultural– you can wear pink-and-purple ties in London without being bendy, but in America, box cuts and boring colors rule.
Yeah, but any Indian auntie would tell you, ‘Tch! How many black and red outfits do you have already? Get a different color, na!’ And you’d have a plethora to choose from.
purple is not a mans color..
dark green is…dark blue is..dark brown or earthy brown is ok..even red to a certain extent..off white will look good with a nice dark color tie..white might look ok too..too much white looks flashy..
not purples..not voilets..not pinks for men…
Iam sure a green suit or a dark blue suit or dark brown suit will look good without looking odd..off white with a nice light or dark color tie for men will look classy I think..
Btw, Helen Mirren’s dress was designed by George Chakra, from Beirut.
Hehe! The desi palette is absolutely more interesting for evening clothes. But to some extent it’s our own fault for scrutinizing the Oscar women’s dress choices so critically and mercilessly, no-one wants to make a mistake with a “risky” outfit so they end up with minor variations on a safe black dress/neutral shiny dress/simple red dress/princessy pink dress.
So speaking of being too critical, Anne Hathaway looks too much like a cartoon disney princess IMHO.
I liked that Marion Cotillard had normal upper arms rather than the super-buff defined ones of all the other women. Softness, even a bit of flab, is better with a strapless or sleeveless gown than the bodybuilder look (though it’s a short step to flabby, and most of us are so afraid of looking flabby we work out more then necessary to get upper arm definition).
EJ’s after party was just as bland as the show, the gowns, the talents…and even Manish’s tame commmentaries above… ;)
Now Kelly Preston’s drape is a nice color.
Is a video of the Jon Stewart opening monologue available on the Internets? Apart from this one, that is.
intrigued by the proto-desi comment, I HAD to do a web search for this hathaway person.
????????!!!!!
NOT what I wanted to see before crashing.
Another Indian wins oscar this year..
Apurva Shah won an oscar, an animation artist who has roots in Gujarat, was not only overall in charge of all the special effects and animation in Ratatouille, he was also involved in defining the look of the film.
here is the link
http://publication.samachar.com/pub_article.php?id=1379078&navname=General%20&moreurl=http://publication.samachar.com/timesofindia/general/india.php&homeurl=http://www.samachar.com