Oscars, part 11

[cleolinda]

"Our next presenter is either an acclaimed actor... or an auto dealership. Please welcome! Harrison Ford!" Okay, I laughed. Here's Original Screenplay. Of course Diablo Cody wins. She's wearing a leopard-print halter dress with a very high slit. I do like her bangle bracelets a lot. "What is happening! This is for the writers!" She thanks, among many others, "the superhuman Ellen Page" and Jason Reitman, "who I consider one of my family," and her actual family, for accepting her "exactly the way I am." And then she leaves the stage in tears. I mean, happy tears, obviously. Again, very sweet.

Oh, btw--starlady42 points out that only Academy members are mentioned in the Death March, which at least explains the Renfro omission. (Notice, for example, the difference in the Oscar list and the SAG list.) Anyone nominated for an Oscar is automatically a member, IIRC--thus, Heath Ledger.

So, here's Helen Mirren to present Best Actor to Daniel Day-Lewis. What? You know it's true. "Greeeeeeed. Ambitionnnnn. Venalityyyy. Miseryyyyyy. And... good old fashioned... cojoneeeeeees." Heeeeeee. Of course, they are contractually required to run the "I have abandoned my CHIIIIIIIIIILD" clip. I'm still so sad that this happened the same year as Sweeney Todd, because Johnny Depp was sad and scary and pitiful and awesome and he did it all through song. And I can't speak for Viggo Mortensen's performance since I haven't seen Eastern Promises, but he did what he did with a flawless Russian accent. It's just not fair that there's only one award sometimes.

Heeeee, Daniel Day-Lewis kneels before Mirren so she can "knight" him with the Oscar. (He's won, of course.) He seems much more cheerful than last time. "It seems to me that this [movie] sprang like a golden sapling out of the head of Paul Thomas Anderson," he says. Why yes, his father was a poet, why do you ask? Whom he thanks, along with his grandfather and his own children. Very nicely done.

Best Director. I like how they go out of their way to show James Cameron shouting that he's KING OF THE WORRRRLD! Also, Martin Scorsese asking them to double-check the envelope. Man, we came so close to civil unrest last year. And here he is! I have no idea who's going to win--Paul Thomas Anderson? The Coens? (Scorsese mentions that he may be awarding it to one director--"or two of them.") The Coens win. Yeah, Best Picture is pretty much sewn up at this point. "I... uh... I don't have a lot to add to what I said earlier," says Ethan Coen, which I know, because the other one says, "Ethan and I...." It's a short speech, and Joel Coen's mention of an early effort called Henry Kissinger: Man on the Go draws a laugh. (I honestly can't tell you if it's real or not.)

Here's Denzel Washington with Best Picture. We're not even anywhere near the stroke of 11 pm (CST)! What kind of show is this? No Country for Old Men wins. Producer Guy thanks Cormac McCarthy (damn straight you thank the writer) and their actors and the Coens and many, many others, because that's what producers do. Joel Coen looms over him and Ethan like a beneficient giant. "Get home safe, everybody!" says Jon Stewart. And... we're out.

Huh. Good people won; no travesties; no truly dumbass montages or intepretive dance; no really hilarious gaffes; nothing they're going to regret ten years from now. What planet are we on?

Comments

[pscopathictiger.livejournal.com]

It is hard to take Daniel Day Lewis seriously when the only thing you've seen him in is The Crucible. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F8MSFNV6Jk)

[kismeteve.livejournal.com]

DDL is one classy dude. (and I'm convinced PT Anderson was jacked. Not one win? BALLS, I say.)

[dancingbarefoot.livejournal.com]

They also include in the list, those folks who are invited to join the academy as well.

[christwise.livejournal.com]

GOD! IS! DEAD!

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

Good people won; no travesties; no truly dumbass montages or intepretive dance; no really hilarious gaffes; nothing they're going to regret ten years from now.

That was the most surreal Oscars broadcast I have ever seen.

[pscopathictiger.livejournal.com]

BECAUSE IT IS MY NAMEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


Like. His acting was really good in that, but everyone else's sucked. So it made it look overdone. I felt bad for him, really.

[pygmymetal.livejournal.com]

Good people won; no travesties;

I read that as no transvestites.

[clodia-risa.livejournal.com]

Helen Mirren had the best presenting speech - and so much poise and dignity, jeez.

Summary: After seeing the Oscars I now want to see

No Country for Old Men (mostly for Javier's performance. I got chills)
Juno
There Will Be Blood (for DDL)
Once
Enchanted
Elizabeth (II) (for Cate)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I know, right? My only explanation is the writers' strike. They just really didn't have time to come up with dumbass shit like the Crash Best Song presentation where someone groped the Thandie Newton stand-in in slo-mo while cars were on fire.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

None of them either. I mean, we at least had that one year when the South Park guys showed up in dresses.

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

Man. Those were good times.

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

Diablo Cody has awesome Skull and Crossbone earrings and a ring too!

[sound-of-bells.livejournal.com]

What planet are we on?

That's kind of how I feel right now. I'm used to being totally outraged after the Oscars -- at the very least, extremely displeased. And this year I feel... content? Like they've done everything... right? I mean, I thought There Will Be Blood was the best film of the year, but No Country for Old Men was pretty goddamned good too, and Daniel Day-Lewis won, which was all I really cared about, so... huh. This is strange.

[msilverstar]

I was surprised at how much I liked Eastern Promises. Viggo was fantastic, but the ensemble worked too, and the violence wasn't overwhelming.

[sound-of-bells.livejournal.com]

I know. I was hoping he'd at least get screenplay or something...

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

You don't know what you've got till it's gone, yo.

[luindilwen.livejournal.com]

Huh. He was the only thing I liked about that movie.

Check out "In The Name Of The Father" and "My Left Foot".

[agentsculder.livejournal.com]

I was wondering where DDL came up with that beautiful acceptance speech. Nice to know poetry runs in the family. Once the Coens won Best Director, I knew Best Picture was all sewn up as well.

Loved Producer Guy giving the shout out to his partner.

The most surreal thing was how FAST the whole thing went by. That's the quickest show they've had in YEARS.

[junebugged.livejournal.com]

OMG I did too, and continued on my merry way until scrolling to your response.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I actually really wanted to see it--this was apparently just a bad year for me in terms of motivating myself to get out and see things.

[pscopathictiger.livejournal.com]

Oh no, he was definitely my favorite part. But..I mean. Yeah.


I will definitely do that!

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

*sob*

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Like, I thought the year where they had everyone present from the audience went quick, but you could also feel them sweating really hard to make it go faster, and it kind of didn't work. This year it just really genuinely did. Go fast, I mean. Like I said to someone else, I really think the writers just didn't have enough time to think of dumbass shit to clog up the show.

[agentsculder.livejournal.com]

Personally, I thought the biggest jacking was the fact Johnny Greenwood's score didn't even get NOMINATED. It was a HUGE part of the film, and it was excluded for mostly technical reasons.

[luindilwen.livejournal.com]

God. I feel like I should record everything Daniel says. It always sounds so important.

Also, he will never stop looking devastatingly handsome. sufhisughdfg.