My Pick for Best Actress

5. Helen Mirren- The Last Station
She is so explosive and wonderful in this movie, an exact opposite of her performance in The Queen, but there is no way she is going to win so close to her last win. She completely makes the movie, and every scene seems dry without her, but I still cannot pick her. But she works it.

4. Gabourey Sidibe- Precious
Considering she had never even acted before Precious her talent is really impressive. I'm more excited to see what she can do post-Precious in order to confirm that she is no one-hit wonder. Gabourey cannot compete with Mo'Nique in the movie, but considering her (Mo's) attention-grabbing performance, the level of realness she brings is a welcome balance to Mo'Nique's aggression. Gabourey's honor is being nominated for a first-time performance; quite a rare feat.

3. Sandra Bullock- The Blind Side
A year ago, if you had told me that the star of The Net would win an Oscar, I would have laughed till I peed and then pretended to throw up (on your face, natch). Well, Hell has frozen over and pigs are flying right outside my window because she is the clear frontrunner for Best Actress, and I'm not even mad about it. She does an admirable job in The Blind Side, and the Academy will reward her because she was able to mask her cutesy romantic comedy self and instead be a strong, quiet Southern woman. Is it one of the great performances? Certainly not. Could another actress have played it as well or better? Absolutely. But that does not mean that Sandra does not deserve an accolade for playing a role against-character for her and making you forget that you are watching her in the process. Plus, she gives great speech.

2. Carey Mulligan- An Education
It is shocking to realize that An Education was Carey's first starring role; she is so poised, so sure in the movie that she almost comes across as a seasoned vet who has finally stumbled upon the perfect role. At the ripe old age of 24. While watching it you can see her blossom onscreen, and later I marveled at what a wonderful career she has ahead of her. Comparisons to Audrey Hepburn are unfair and I do not see it, but perhaps instead she can carve out her own niche of strong, clearheaded roles.

1. Meryl Streep- Julie & Julia
Someday Meryl will win the third Oscar she so obviously deserves. In the first few minutes of her role as Julia Child in Julie & Julia, I was genuinely concerned because I thought with that voice and her exaggerated expressions how easily she could become a caricature. Before I even knew it I had fallen in love with her joy and her infectious nature. Beyond that, her real triumph for me in the movie was when she opened a letter. She does it several times, and each time you could plainly see a wide range of emotions in just a flash of a second- hope, fear, vulnerability, strength- and then a quick shrug of shoulders and it was opened, and full emotions runneth over. None of the other actresses nominated even came close to doing so much in such a fraction of time, and thus she proves why she is La Streep.

Images via Google search.

We Take a Break From Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

This year I was accepted into an organization called CAMPP- Columbus Academy of Motion Picture Pickers- which is spearheaded by writers from The Columbus Dispatch. I was one of six people inducted and we all got to make our picks of who we thought should win, which were then tallied up and compiled in order to compare our winners with tonight's. Surprisingly, the group's winners are: Inglourious Basterds, Kathryn Bigelow, Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, Mo'Nique and Christoph Waltz. As for the picture, my excuse is that the only shirts they had to give out were XL and I was wearing a blazer and t-shirt underneath- I am not actually three hundred pounds heavier than you think (making me a nice 390 pounds ;) ). Bonus points and snaps if you can spot me in the group picture.

Links to full article and pictures also click on "New Blood" link for more!

In Before the Buzzer: My Picks for Best Supporting Actress

Let me just get this out of the way before I dive right in: These are not my predictions of who I think will win because 1. That would be way too easy this year and 2. It's not as much fun. So here goes, the following are who I want to win, from least to most.

5. Penelope Cruz- Nine
Being the best thing about a film like Nine, which was so desperately trying to be great while failing at all levels, is a bit like being the least covered in snow in a blizzard. I was so excited for this movie, partially because of Pene, but also because of Dame Judi and Grand Dame Sophia, but it really missed the boat. Pene has her Oscar, and for the time being Julianne Moore for A Single Man and not she should be in this position.

4. Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
I'm so glad she got recognized for this role, because she really is terrific in everything I've ever seen her in (Down to the Bone, The Departed, even Orphan!), but the sad truth is that she should be nominated for Best Actress and I think she was chosen to be pitted against her costar just so she could get a nomination as Best Actress is an otherwise crowded categories will several snubs already. Matching George Clooney in charm and wit is not an easy task, and for that she has already won.

3. Mo'Nique- Precious
Clearly going to win- and deservedly so. I've been trying to decide whether she or Christoph is more of a lock in their respective category. I really love her as a comedian and host of VH1's Charm School, and her transformation from comedienne to amazingly aggressive actress is extraordinary. The whole movie rested on her performance and she delivers.

2. Maggie Gyllenhaal- Crazy Heart
Yay she finally got nominated! I'm a bit of a minority in the Oscar pickers community in that I thought the supporting cast from Crazy Heart (she and Colin Farrell) gave stronger performances than Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake. We'll go there later. Maggie's character could have been a gigantic cliche but instead she is filled with soul, longing, ambition and love. I doubt she has even a tiny kitten's chance of winning, but hopefully she can settle for her first nomination.1. Anna Kendrick- Up in the Air
Anna's Natalie Keener is easily my favorite character of the year (even more than Julia Child!). My criteria for favorite character usually goes as follows: 1. Realism- could she walk off the screen and actually exist in real life? 2. Is she multi-dimensional- does she do more than just be the male lead's love interest or plot stimulator? and 3. Does she hold in her own- do you leave the theater remembering her character or does she fade away? The sharp delivery of her incredible dialogue gave her character the assumed confidence it needed to compete with Clooney, yet her moments of hesitation toward the end gave her the vulnerability necessary to show she was not the cold terminator after all. In an interview Anna summed up her character perfectly by saying that (paraphrasing) her character was trying hard and thought she could be Faye Dunaway in Network, only to find out that it was not to be.

Images found via Google search.

10 Nominees, 6 Days, God Knows How Many Hours Long...

The Oscars are here! And because we've missed them so much they've decided to reward us with ten Best Picture nominees! When in years past it was down to a frontrunner and an underdog to compete for Best Picture in a field of five nominees, now it's between a frontrunner and an underdog in a field of ten nominees! So twice the fun!!

In all seriousness, let's thank the Academy for giving a movie such as The Blind Side the honor of forcing movie buffs and Oscar pickers to watch a sports movie in the theater (horror!) because it's a serious movie now, y'all. Its DVD case will now say "Nominated for Best Picture" just like Fargo, Citizen Kane, Network, All the President's Men, Star Wars, etc. Only time, and a hefty sense of optimism, will tell if The Blind Side will prove to be as influential as the aforementioned movies.

The Academy will know in just a few short days whether or not their blunt whoring will have paid off in the form of customers begging for more or a hefty sense of regret at what one once was.

Silly Oscars, Tricks Are For Idiots

Today there was Earth-shaking news in the world of entertainment for everyone who cares deeply about movies (It's just me? Moving on...). The Academy Awards, aka Oscars, have inexplicably decided to bump up the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten. TEN. Considering I thought last year's Oscars included two movies (out of a nominated five) that should never have been near that title, I will say in my kindest words that finding another FIVE movies to fill the new void is going to be troublesome at best.

The Academy finally caught on (only five months after announcing nominations! Not bad for them!) that people in the public were "mad as hell and [they] were not gonna take it anymore!" because "their" movies (aka blockbusters, or really just movies that might actually make you laugh a tiny bit instead of just making you sob or roll your eyes the whole way through- I'm looking at you Dances with Wolves). The Academy missed the boat last year by not nominating The Dark Knight or even WALL-E (I don't think they should have nominated WALL-E but at least it was better than The Reader) as they represented high quality movies that are arguably the respective bests of their genres who happened to appeal to a large mass of people. But instead, good ol' Harvey Weinstein and his incessant campaigning had to go on and remind voters (who are very, very old) that the Holocaust did indeed happen, was a horrible event, and they should celebrate it and Kate Winslet being the possible most nominated loser by nominating it for Best Picture, which they kindly did.

So now the Academy is trying to mea culpa it's way out of it by adding five more slots to the Best Picture lineup. I say, why stop there? If they're so eager to boost viewer membership/caring by adding movies that people will have actually heard of in large theater chains while simultaneously boosting revenue/losing credibility by letting "NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE" be on every forseeable DVD cover from now until eternity, why not let Flavor Flav host and let the ceremony be sponsored by Coca Cola? That, I can guarantee, will bring in viewers. Especially when they cut to the money shot of Martin Scorsese knockin' back a Coke and winking into the camera lens. The type of advertisement money can buy, because it did (in my imagination).

So, since there are now ten nominees I wanted to get a headstart on the competition and list my picks for the ten nominated pictures for the year 2009. I have to start this soon so I can actually watch all of them. It's hard to schedule in ten movies before the ceremony.

1. (Winner) Nine- The Musical
2. Shutter Island (Scorsese)
3. Broken Embraces (Almodovar)
4. Public Enemies
5. Where the Wild Things Are
6. Julie & Julia
7. Inglourious Basterds
8. The Hangover (my pick)
9. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Michael Bay will finally be an Oscar-nommed producer!!)
10. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (sleeper hit of the fall!)

A New Trend?

Men looking like crap. Joaquin (right) did it for real, Ben Stiller (left) took it and ran with it for laughs, and it appears Philip Seymour Hoffman (below) has perfected it. Really? A beanie at the Oscars? Why did you show up?

Worst Dressed, Part Two

Beyonce, terrorizing my dreams once more by wearing this lovely comforter from TJ Maxx.

Vanessa Hudgens, shouldn't be there, shouldn't be wearing that dress or that smug smile.

Miley Cyrus, who knows she should definitely be there and is proving it by wearing a dress that not even a blind man could miss.

Heidi Klum, flattening her enviable figure and trying to look from the neck up like an albino raccoon serial killer.

Reese Witherspoon trying to be "edgy".

Oh, Whoopi. I can't complain. You're wearing cheetah to the Oscars.

Goldie Hawn, giving the female viewers a Public Service Announcement to always use sunscreen and wear a bra (once you're over fifty).

Images found via the Daily Mail.

Worst Dressed, Part One

As a genius said to me on Oscar night, Jessica Biel's boob exploded, and the result is this dress.

Amy Adams: It's a shame she wore that beaded pebble sheath on her neck and her dress got stuck between her boobs (I'm getting word it was meant to look like that... ouch), because she's extremely talented and beautiful.

Kate Winslet: Dress- meh, Hair: Please leave the mullet at home next Oscar.

It's a good thing that Tilda Swinton is fierce as hell, because this bag "dress" on any other would be the death of that actress's career.

Michael Shannon and his hair do a hippie-fied version of Joaquin Phoenix.

Amanda Seyfried: Is that a bow on your hip or are you just happy to see me? (A new personal low for me).

Lisa Rinna, taking the only trend from the eighties not to haunt my nightmares as of yet (big hair) and combining it with the sex appeal of a soccer mom high on Botox.

The Best Dressed, Part Two

Yes. You can't tell, but that dress shimmered like the star she is under the lights in the theater.

Melissa Leo, totally beautiful and age-appropriate.

Penelope Cruz, my favorite of the evening, in a dress that had such detail it belonged in a museum.

Melissa George, once again representing Alias to stunning perfection.

Evan Rachel Wood, understated and elegant.

SJP doing her best belted princess, with cleavage that came out of nowhere.

The Goddess we know as Sophia Loren, gracing the world with her presence. (She's 75).

Images found via The Daily Mail and Oscars.com.

The Best Dressed, Part One

Marion Cotillard, passing the Best Actress trophy on with more style than her successor.

Marisa Tomei, a HUGE improvement.

Natalie Portman, making bubble gum fashionable.

Freida Pinto (in stunning blue John Galliano- I will find a better picture later) with Dev Patel. Man, they look great together (the understatement of the year).

Taraji P. Henson in (I called it) the best necklace of the night.

Meryl Streep, pwning her fellow nominees.

They really turned it up for the Big Dance, three cheers for Angie showing some gorgeous skin and Brad switching up his mustache for a goatee.

Images found via InStyle.com.

Lovely Pictures of the Newly Crowned Winners

Penelope Cruz, Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Heath Ledger, Best Supporting Actor, The Dark Knight

Dustin Lance Black, Best Original Screenplay, Milk

Kate Winslet, Best Actress, The Reader

Sean Penn, Best Actor, Milk

Slumdog Millionaire, Best Picture

Images found via Google and Oh La La Mag. Look for my post-Oscars analysis tomorrow including the fashions! Have a great night and thanks for reading!

Liveblogging the Oscars!

6:35 pm: Sierra Mist Free in hand, I am now watching E! The Excitation Network and their coverage of the red carpet. Kevin Kline and wife Phoebe Cates (red bikini scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High), who is wearing red- thank god, are charmingly boring as they announce Slumdog was their favorite Best Picture nominee. And... oh my god! Lou Gosset, Jr. is totally there! I can't remember any Oscars without him, he is a true Officer and a Gentlemen (ish). They relegated Giuliana to a skybox after her horrible questions at the SAG Awards (she asked Brad and Angelina how each of them made them "deeper and richer" as a man/woman respectively. It was beyond awkward).

6:44 pm: The Slumdog kids! Youngest Salim doesn't speak English and all the kids look super adorable and dressed up in their mini-tuxes and mini-gowns. It's sad to say that that may be the highlight of the red carpet night for me. Now, Anil Kapoor and oldest Salim (who looks ridiculously hot with less hair) and the non-torturing guard are all here, and they look totally amazed (I can't blame them). The keep showing teasers of stars, and from what I can gather Melissa Leo and Freida Pinto look perfect.

6:50: Jay Manuel (in a white dotted tux) glamastrates Taraji P. Henson. I hate glamastration... Dev Patel and Freida! Yes! Freida is in brilliant blue John Galliano and Dev brought his sexiest British accent. They successfully dash the romance rumors while being adorable. They should probably start making babies about ten minutes from now. They bring in John Legend, what a random shout-out. Is he singing? I guess I will see. And now he will be interviewed, because Ryan will interview anyone attractive or famous (can be mutually exclusive). He likes Slumdog the best and looks nice in a brown tuxedo.

6:54: Melissa Leo the grand will be interviewed, and she has almost Farrah hair with a lovely bronze dress. Ryan is asking her dull questions, what weakness. He's just shuffling people through, so now it's Danny Boyle. He looks less hobbit-ish than usual and he's already loosened his tie. It's going to be a looong four hours for him. Viola Davis is in a shocking gold dress that looks like a sibling of JLO's Globes dress (not a compliment, but it's not as bad). She looks so different from her character it's silly.

7:00: Taraji P. Henson, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, has the night's best necklace (I'm going to call it ahead of time). Her face and hair look flawless, and she is currently pulling her dress up (to the thigh) to show her ankle. It's about time for some serious skin, no one's had any real cleavage yet (I feel deprived). Sigh.

Michael Shannon from Revolutionary Road is now being interviewed and he has hippie hair. He almost looks better as his character, and his voice is way too mellow. Oh well, he did a great job and is probably super excited to be there.

Heidi Klum and Seal are ready to party and Heidi's hair looks like a wet seal, all slick and straight. However, her dress is lovely, red origami-like with a huge slit up the side, which she said makes her sit "on one butt cheek" so she doesn't reveal her ladybits.

7:09: Michael Sheen, the underappreciated star of Frost/Nixon (hint: he's not Nixon) is there looking dashing with curly hair. It's too bad he wasn't nominated in lieu of Frank Langella (hint: he's not Frost).

Richard Jenkins, Best Actor nominee for the Visitor is now being subjected to Ryan's dull outer thoughts. Quick visual: he's not wearing his glasses (hot!). Jay Manuel just glamastrated again; it's incredibly annoying. The Oscars are not a game, and the actresses deserve more than to be drawn on with a pen. I am not a fan.

Amanda Seyfried from Mamma Mia is now speaking semi-intelligently, and she's gone and replaced by Amy Adams of the Huge Necklace. Ryan just called her character pure (she was a nun, it's not rocket science) and asked her if she was as pure as her character. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to journalism hell.

7:15: And he's interviewing Robert Pattinson, who definitely needs to be there. At least he's hot and is a Harry Potter alum (what what Cedric!). He looks like he showered and has a good intense face, which is helpful and is counteracting the lack of cleavage.

Immediately following him are Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, who also need to be there. Because who would I make fun of. Luckily for her the horsiness is at a minimum in her Dior Haute Coutoure princess dress. Hell, she almost looks like an attractive woman, good for her and her people. Matthew has a surprising amount of gray hair, but he's still taller than her so he wins.

Seth Rogen, who is allegedly in a short movie that will be shown tonight, and laughed that he was the transition after SJP, injecting much-needed humor into the infection of yeast that is Seacrest. He then pans to the skybox where Giuliana is stranded, hopefully so she cannot offend anyone else.

7:25: Marisa Tomei somehow does not look like total crap in a one-shoulder white dress. Someone must have taken pity on her and styled her. Ryan is verbally glamastrating and pleading for Mickey Rourke, who I've never seen without sunglasses. He's wearing a Jean-Paul Gaultier off-white three piece suit with a necklace of his deceased dog, Loki, around his neck. His hair looks pretty normal and his face looks the best I've seen it.

7:29: Diane Lane and Josh Brolin are now being subjected to torture, as Ryan asks him why the story of Harvey Milk was important to tell *cough* idiot *cough*. Josh counters (after explaining as if to a three year old, which Ryan is) that he wants to portray Ryan in a movie.

Queen Latifah is next and looks lovely, but Ryan ruins it by bringing up her work on Sesame Street. I'm ignoring the glamastration of Anne Hathaway because it combines two things that should not be at the Oscars at all.

7:33: Ron Howard is telling little anecdotes at Frost/Nixon and is remarkably able to keep his spirits up even with Ryan's barrage of nonsense, which continues with him asking about the Arrested Development movie for the eightieth time.

Peter Gabriel, Best Song nominee for WALL-E, is speaking kind of softly and allows me to tune him out (I am eternally grateful)... that's over, and the hangover starring Evan Rachel Wood has begun. She looks pretty nice (still not better than Christina Hendricks) and her fake eyelashes are superb. Now Ryan is asking about her singing instead of, you know, pertinent things.

7:41: Penelope Cruz and her perfect broken English are now being interviewed and have exited quicker than you can say please-let-her-win-tonight. She is replaced by last year's Best Actress winner for La Vie en Rose Marion Cotillard, whose English has improved greatly and is cooing about how much she loves Penelope and being an Oscar winner.

7:52: Kate Winslet and her mullet are "very nervous, actually" and she doesn't have a speech, apparently, to the detriment of us all. She got advice from her children on what to say, and they encouraged her to be emotional (as if she needs the encouragement). I expect if she wins that she will just dissolve into a puddle of emotions. Apparently she's on the cover of this week's TIME as "Best Actress- Why it's Kate". It would be kind of hilarious if she didn't win and the TIME editor had to explain his irrational thinking and jinxing.

7:58: Ryan was able to shout a question a Brad about how he felt to be there, how awkward. Robert Downey, Jr. is left to scrape up Ryan's heart from the carpet floor and he looks amazing. And.... it's over! Now to ABC's coverage with Tim Gunn and Tim Gunn, on HD!

8:00: Robin Roberts looks beyond fierce with an almost bald head and toned arms. The first guest is Kate, who does not look so good in HD, and Robin tells her not to be so emotional (from her mouth to God's ears, I say).

More Josh Brolin and Diane Lane, she, on the other hand looks flawless in HD. It turns out that SJP's dress has a belt which is unfortunate, but she still looks good.

Tim on Angelina!! He got to greet her! Yay him. He loves her so much, but then again so does everyone. Less than thirty minutes till the big show, how exciting.

8:14: Viola is being interviewed again, and I wonder if she has ever been interviewed without somebody mentioning Meryl's name. Miley Cyrus is now there for no apparent reason other than shock value in a dress straight out of a sequined colonic explosion. She is followed by Anne Hathaway, who is working her poise in a classier version of Miley's sequins.

8:20: Meryl and her gorgeous daughter are being interviewed by not Tim Gunn and they both look phenomenal. She is followed by Penelope's magical wedding dress and the detail is amazing. Tim Gunn said it well "Penelope Cruz, dressed for a win." Perfecto!

8:24: Leslie Mann looks amazing, accompanied by Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow. Less than five minutes remain!!

8:30: Let's get this party started! Crystalsssssss. And the lovely Hugh Jackman, what a perfect combo. He and his accent are perfect and well tanned. It sounds like there's a laugh track in the background which is quite unfortunate. Oh, dear. Dancing. At least the Benjamin Button skit is fairly humorous. And Anne has changed her dress for her planned skit. Her new dress is a major upgrade. Oof, her Nixon impression is not so good. It really sounds like canned laughter, it's disturbing me. And more dancers in futuristic costumes. Now he's putting kneepads on his tux which is fairly classic to make fun of The Wrestler. And the music number is over, I feel a bit relieved. Hugh is gallivanting through the audience like Dean Martin on a booze cruise and he's doing pretty well with the jokes.

8:42: A ton of Best Supporting Actress winners will present the award: Eva Marie Saint, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Tilda Swinton, and Anjelica Huston. They are standing as if in a cult, apart and eerily poised. They all look amazing and all the nominees are tearing and shaking. It must be hell to wait through all this to see if they win. Not showing any clips is a bit like torture, but it's always pleasant to hear a shout-out of Sister Act by Whoopi (Leopard print! Purple sunglasses!). Tilda Swinton's face matches her dress and is the very definition of fierce. And the winner is... (I hope Penelope)... Penelope!!!!!! Hallelujahhhhh. Her wedding dress was not for naught. Oh she is crying and about to faint, how adorable. Her cleavage looks so lovely (can you tell I have boobs on the mind). She thanks Woody, Almodovar and her family beautifully without losing it and without speaking muddily. What a lovely way to start off the evening, with me being one for one (and her winning).

8:52: The award is presented by Tina Fey (absolutely stunning) and Steve Martin with funny voiceovers and they make fun of Scientology (brilliant!) for Best Original Screenplay. If In Bruges wins I will leap and dance, but Milk will probably win and writefully (get it!) so. Dustin Lance Black wins for Milk and looks quite dashing in his tuxedo. Sean Penn looks as though he will cry, it's quite moving. Lance appears to be inches from tears.. oh dear, he may not make it. It's very touching and he is a great follow-up to Penelope's heartfelt speech.

And Tina and Steve are back to present Adapted Screenplay. My choice is Slumdog, but if it does not win it may not win Best Picture tonight, and if it does, domino effect begins. And the winner is...Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire! Hurrah and hooray! Simon is wearing a necklace sash of sorts to make himself stand out. His speech is short and fairly sweet, and well done for Tina and Steve who should really be hosting the show (no offense to Hugh).

9:03: Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black present Best Animated Feature. The producers have enough restraint to wait to pan to Angie until right before the amalgamation of animated features (with hard rock!) are presented. In other news, Jennifer's hair has gone hippie. I'm sure it will be the news of the night, but they're all adults and nothing happened so everyone but the bloodthirsty media wins. And the winner is...(it's going to be WALL-E, it's the sure thing of the night)...WALL-E. Andrew Stanton the writer and director accepts and he is wearing a velvet suit and thanks his high school drama teacher as if right out of In & Out. Short and sweet, just how I like it.

Jen and Jack present Best Animated Short, and they pan to Brad and Angie again (to be fair, she was in Kung Fu Panda with Jack). And the winner is...who knows... La Maison en Petit Cubes, which looked like it had pretty animation in the previews. Kunio Kato accepts with extremely broken English but is very endearing as he says "Domo arigato Mr. Roboto". Hilarious (it's pee-your-pants worthy for the Oscars). What a great way for animated short to be remembered.

9:15: Sarah Jessica Parker and Daniel Craig present the award for Art Direction. Her boobs are out of control, as is his hotness. Benjamin Button will probably win, but Revolutionary Road was also excellent and The Dark Knight would be a great and deserved spoiler. And the winner is... The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Donald Graham Burt and Victor Zolfo accept and are clearly thrilled, both with the award and SJP's dress.

9:19: The duo now presents the award for Costume Design. The Duchess, being the ultimate period piece, is destined to win but Revolutionary Road's outfits were exquisite. And the winner is... The Duchess. Michael O'Connor accepts and is overwhelmed while somehow being underwhelming. He is Debbie Downing all the great heartfelt speeches of the previous awards.

9:22: Now they are presenting Makeup (three awards for SJP? Really, Oscar?). My pick is a toss-up between Benjamin and TDK. And the winner is... The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, as accepted by Greg Cannom. His speech is nice and SJP is now off the stage.

9:25: Robert Pattinson and Amanda Seyfried stare intensely into the camera and are not funny. They are presenting a time fluffer of romance from 2008 in movies. Coldplay's song sounds nice in it and the multiple flashbacks from Vicky Cristina Barcelona are quite excellent. They're barely featuring Milk which is unfortunate. So much kissing! I could watch those Slumdog kids all day.

9:31: Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller present Best Cinematography, with Ben dressed as Joaquin circa Letterman (fabulous!).The audience is quite restrained, probably feeling awkward. Natalie is lovely and perfect and Joaquin/Ben is super amazing. I'm pretty impressed with the first hour of the Oscars. It's quite a mixed bag, Benjamin Slumdog or TDK could all win and I would be happy. And the Oscar goes to... Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire. The reign begins. He tries to be funny and fails but rebounds with a nice speech.

9:39: Jessica Biel presents the Sci Tech awards dinner held two weeks ago.

9:42: Seth Rogen and James Franco star in a Pineapple Express spoof of some of the best pictures of the year, nominated or not. It is hilarious, and so far I am very impressed with what the Academy has offered me.

9:45: Seth Rogen, James Franco, and Janusz Kaminski present Best Live Action Short. I picked Toyland, but really who knows. And the winner is... Spielzugland (Toyland). In other news, I'm a genius. Germany AufGerman accepts while his wife freaks out. I'm dying, it's fifteen minutes until Best Supporting Actor (aka if Heath Ledger doesn't win I will flip) and I can't handle the waiting.

9:51: Hugh sings again, this time accompanied by the unfortunate Beyonce whose beaded leotard has a tail in front. They are paying homage (slowly ruining) previous musicals. Great, now Vanessa, Amanda and Zac are joining in. Perfect. To quote Biggie, I'm ready to die and nobody can save me. This has really put a damper on the evening in a huge unfashionable way. In some ways it's worse than I thought, and boy was I not expecting much. Penelope's raised eyebrow at the end says it all. Unnecessary, but fortunately short. Moving on...

10:01: The big award. Needless to say I am trembling, with the results either being a combination of sorrow and joy (Heath wins) or utter desolate sorrow for a long time (he loses). Christopher Walken, Kevin Kline, Cuba Gooding Jr, Alan Arkin and Joel Grey (Cabaret, Alias(!)) present the award. Deep breaths. O dear god. Philip Seymour Hoffman is wearing a beanie. To the Oscars. John Mayer is next to Diane Lane in the audience, what a crazy pairing (He's with Aniston). Cuba is quite funny introducing RDJ, a nice relief from the tension. Christopher's hair matches Michael's. And Heath wins!!! His family accepts and I am sobbing like a newborn kitten, what a relief. How the hell can they follow that.

10:11: Best Documentary feature. My pick is Man on Wire. I wish it was a commercial so I could have a break. Bill Maher presents the award in a lovely suit. He acknowledges the moment by saying "everyone is crying and I have to go on." He tones down his humor which is quite a relief. And the winner is... Man on Wire! James Marsh accepts and orders the subject Philippe up and he is adorable in a white scarf and performs a magic trick, first by disappearing a coin and then by balancing an Oscar on his nose.

10:16: Maher presents Best Documentary Short Subject. God, I need a commercial, I sweat through my t shirt with the anticipation. Nonetheless, the show must go on and I picked Smile Pinki (coolest name). I guess I'm a genius, because I won again. For awards I know nothing about I always pick the one with the coolest name because they're usually foreign. I'm 1 for 2 in those categories, not too bad so far.

10:23: Fight scene montage! Sweet action, guys. Will Smith appears afterward "because he loves action movies." Never would have guessed Hancock-Wild Wild West-Men In Black/II-Independence Day. He presents Visual Effects to Benjamin Button, which was all but a lock.
Will now is presenting "boom goes the dynamite" Outstanding Sound Editing. I hope TDK wins at least one of these. And the winner is The Dark Knight's Richard King!! Yay!!

Now for Sound Mixing, again presented by Smith. Again, my pick is TDK. And the winner is... Slumdog Millionaire! It appears it and Benjamin are the last ones standing for Best Picture, with Slumdog the heavy lead.

Will again for Best Film Editing. My pick is TDK but Slumdog will probably win. And the winner is... Slumdog Millionaire's Chris Dickens. It seems like they're running a bit over as there's less than an hour to go with Best Actor and Actress, Director, Picture, Foreign Film, In Memorium, Original Score, Original Song and Jerry Lewis's tribute still to go.

10:42: Eddie Murphy (Norbit) presents Jerry Lewis with the Humanitarian award. He does a shockingly short speech, maybe he knows they're way over. Still kickin'!

10:51: Original score is presented. My vote is for Slumdog. And the winner is presented by Zac Efron and Alicia Keys, and who better I say. The Oscar goes to... AR Rahman for Slumdog! He's super adorable. The Best Original Song is also presented by the duo. I am rooting for M.I.A. and AR Rahman's O... Saya. Now he's singing! How perfect!! It doesn't look like M.I.A. will perform, much to my chagrin. Oh, well, it still sounds great. John Legend is singing "Down to Earth" from WALL-E and it sounds better than the real thing (Peter Gabriel sang it originally). Last is Jai Ho also from Slumdog with AR singing (adorably) again. And the Oscar goes to... Jai Ho! Poor M.I.A., oh well, at least she's an Oscar nominee. It's super impressive that AR Rahman bookended his performances with acceptance speeches, quite the task. 5 awards to go!

11:05: Liam Neeson and the perfect Freida Pinto present Best Foreign Language Film. I picked Waltz with Bashir. And the Oscar goes to... Departures from Japan, quite the spoiler. Waltz and The Class got the most attention, who knew (I certainly didn't- genius status revoked). Japan is having a killer night-both in adorable speeches and winning (not in that order).

11:10: Queen Latifah sings for In Memorium.

11:18: Sid Ganis isn't making a speech, hallelujah! Reese Witherspoon presents the Best Director. Her eyeshadow matches the dress, which is never a good choice if you're not from Jersey. My choice is Christopher Nolan I mean Danny Boyle. Poor Dark Knight. In other news, there's 11 minutes left with the 4 biggest awards to go. It's laughable to imagine it being on-time. And the Academy Award goes to... Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire. He's jumping like Cuba! He said he would receive the award as Tigger to his kids a long time ago, which is fabulous.

11:24: Best Actress is presented by five previous winners: Sophia Loren (boobs!), Shirley MacLaine, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, & Marion Cotillard. The ladies get a standing ovation and they all look amazing, all to the tune of the theme of Gone with the Wind. My vote is for Meryl Streep, who was simply stunning as Sister Aloysious in Doubt. Shirley presents Anne, who barely holds in the tears. Marion presents Kate, who is clearly a lost cause emotion-wise. Halle presents Melissa Leo, from one independent movie sister to another. Sophia, the goddess, the perfect, presents Meryl, and what an honor for Meryl. Hand cocked on her hip, Sophia works it with better cleavage than most women could even dream of, and Meryl being the fellow goddess she is doesn't cry. Nicole presents Angelina, and almost looks human (great for her!). Angelina looks way too cool, but it seems she's breathing quickly (nervous? Angelina? never). The Academy Award goes to Kate the Mullet, who gets a standing O. Angelina lets Kate touch her arm, now Kate is truly the winner. She's not crying yet, there may be hope. She is no longer the biggest loser, good for her. Ricky Gervais was totally right, do a Holocaust film and you will win an Oscar.

11:35: Best Actor (five over already) as presented by Robert DeNiro, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins, Adrian Brody, & Michael Douglas (they also got a standing O, though not for as long because they're not Sophia). My pick is Mickey Rourke, but it's a wild one. It's basically between him and Sean, so flip a coin and choose for yourself. Michael presents Frank Langella as Nixon. Bobby DeNiro presents Sean and is either wearing a perfect suit or has lost weight (I'm going with suit). Adrian presents Richard Jenkins while looking like a mountain man (I had no idea Jews could be mountain men- fabulous). Anthony presents Brad Pitt, and they starred together in Meet Joe Black and if I remember correctly Legends of the Fall. Ben Kingsley presents Mickey who looks so nervous he's shaking, and is introduced as "the returning champ." And the Oscar goes to... Sean Penn for Milk, who gets another standing ovation (he got one for Mystic River as well, his second win). Screenwriter Lance Black is crying and Sean is clearly tickled. He tones his rhetoric down and makes a lovely speech.

11:47: The last award! Steven Spielberg presents Best Picture (17 minutes over). My pick is for The Dark Knight, I mean Slumdog Millionaire. They link the movie's themes with previous nominees, which turns out quite clever and pleasing. And the Oscar goes to... Slumdog Millionaire!!!! They get a standing O and are clearly thrilled, as it appears the entire cast and crew are on the stage crying and hugging. The kids are so adorable!! Anil, the host in the movie, takes the Oscar and pumps it in the air, what a lovely end. And only 25 minutes over. Phew. I'm so relieved.

The Oscars

I am liveblogging them... starting now! Be sure to check back after the show and in the next few days to see my full coverage and my analysis of the outfits!

Spirit Awards- Possible Template for the Oscars?

Tonight were the Independent Spirit Awards, which aired live on the Independent Film Channel and will be broadcast with editing on AMC. The Spirits are the awards show where all the actors are in casual dress and look like they just stepped off the beach (maybe some did).

The winners tonight were:

Best Picture: The Wrestler
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Actress: Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Supporting Actor: James Franco
Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Director: Tom McCarthy
Best First Feature: Synecdoche, New York
Best Foreign Feature: The Class (France)
Best Documentary: Man on Wire

The Spirits are for smaller budgeted movies only, which is why you see no Dark Knight or Benjamin Button nominations. I'm just thankful that Rachel Getting Married won nothing, because if it was going to win anywhere it would win there, and it shows that there is some humanity/justice in the indie world.

It may be the Oscar bridesmaid...

...but at least at the box office it's the bride. The Dark Knight has now crossed the one billion dollar box office mark with $1.001 billion in the bank, trailing only Titanic (1.84 billion), Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (1.12 billion) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (1.07 billion).

The movie was re-released in IMAX theatres on the day of the Oscar nominations, anticipating an unprecedented amount for a blockbuster movie (they were right, but not in the ways they were hoping). If Heath Ledger wins on Sunday (my fingers have been crossed since January 21st- side note- my fingers hurt a lot) it is likely that whoever has not seen the movie (Hippies? Post-modern freaks?) will go see it, or if it sweeps all eight nominations (possible but doubtful) then they could see their revenue increase as well. The Dark Knight will have to make a lot of money to catch up to the top three, but it sure would be nice if it somehow beat Pirates 2 (I can't believe people saw that so many times).

Image via Gold Derby.