Live-blogging is de rigeur these days, so your faithful RTers were of course right here discussing all the winners, performances, presenters, and outfits of this year’s 79th Annual Academy Awards! Join in the fun and dish on all things Oscar.
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Will it be "Babel" or "The Departed?" Will Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren continue their respective Best Actor/Actress dominations? Can Eddie Murphy really pull off an Oscar win?
These and more questions will be answered tonight during Oscar’s 79th go-round of cinematic celebration. Who will win your office pool?
For a crash course in this year’s award show breakdown, check out our Awards Tour to prepare your predictions for this year’s contenders based on Tomatometer, awards won, critics circle picks, and more honorific criteria!
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Binh here. I’m the designated Oscar blogger this year. Joining me is the inestimable Jen Yamato, who will be chiming in from time to time. It’s almost 5:30 PM and people are still filing in. With any luck, the ceremony won’t go over 4 hours.
5:30 PM, on with the show…
Worst. Opening. Montage. Ever.
Jen says: Ellen’s hosting, so the intro monologue is refreshingly un-standup comic-y. Thank goodness for that! But negative points for the velveteen rabbit suit, Ellen. These are the Oscars, not the Daytime Emmys!!
Oh god, there she goes. I guess we all knew there would be a Dancing Ellen sometime during the telecast.
Binh: That jab at Peter O’Toole about him getting nominate numerous times and not winning is pretty funny. So is the one about Al Gore.
Jen:Oh crap! First award is up (Art Direction, presented by James Bond and Nicole Kidman) – I’ve got to keep track of my office Oscar pool predictions!!
Art Direction: "Pan’s Labyrinth"
Binh: My pick was for "Dreamgirls," but "Pan’s Labyrinth" is a good choice as well.
Jen: Pan’s Labyrinth! I’m on my way to Oscar pool domination!
A Will Ferrell-Jack Black Oscar duet performance? At least they know that as comic actors they probably won’t get a shot at Oscars. Best line? I thought it was Jack Black threatening Peter O’Toole with his Nickelodeon award. Until John C. Reilly stood up out of the audience to join in, letting them know that he did it and still made “Talladega Nights.”
Makeup: "Pan’s Labyrinth"
Binh: A lock for "Pan’s Labyrinth" considering the competition.
Jen: Award #2: "Pan’s Labyrinth" again for Best Makeup. Which means I’m 2 for 2 in the Oscar pool, baby!
Animated Short: "The Danish Poet"
Binh: Talked about an obscure category. How many people have seen these shorts?
Live-action Short: "West Bank Story"
Binh: Ditto.
Sound Editing: "Letters from Iwo Jima"
Binh: My pick was for "Pirates." There goes the Oscar pool.
Sound Mixing: "Dreamgirls"
Best Actor in Supporting Role: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Binh: Nice win for Alan Arkin and "Little Miss Sunshine."
Binh: Want people to go green? Give out free energy-saving light bulbs at grocery stores.
Animated Feature: "Happy Feet"
Binh: A surprise win? Maybe not…
Adapted Screenplay: "The Departed"
Binh: Drat! I was pulling for "Borat" to make an upset.
Jen: Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway present the costume design award, wearing two of the most sequined dresses of the whole affair. The nominees are presented in a nouveau way – via tableau onstage, so we can see just what designs are up for the prize.
Costume Design: Milena Canonero, "Marie Antoinette"
Binh: I picked her to win. Yay!
Jen: Darn. I thought the winds of popular opinion were going "Dreamgirls" with this one! That makes me 8 for 10 now.
Well, Milena Canonero is at least appropriately dressed for an Oscar-caliber costumer in a female tux-sort of thing.
Ah, a Sherry Lansing tribute. Nice and all, but bring on the entertainment! Get Will Ferrell back on the stage!!
Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro, "Pan’s Labyrinth"
Jen: The shadow people are back — this time acting out an interpretation of "Little Miss Sunshine" in silhouette. Kinda neat!
Visual Effects: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest"
Jen: YESS! Another win for me!
But really, "Pirates" had the coolest effects of the lot — especially turning Bill Nighy into Davy Jones with his slimy, octopus face.
And now, Catherine Deneuve and Ken Watanabe are presenting a foreign film montage together. Deneuve looks ABSOLUTELY beautiful!
Clive Owen and Sparkly Cate Blanchett are presenting for Best Foreign Film. They’re definitely two of my favorite non-American actors in Hollywood.
Foreign Film: "The Lives of Others," Germany
Jen: Hey, this director guy (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck) doesn’t sound very German!
Binh: Well, he does have the "von" in his name. Makes him German to me.
Jen: Whoa, those dancing shadow people did "Snakes on a Plane!" Are they available for parties?
Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"
Binh: Another popular choice to win has won. What a dream come true for J Hud.
Jen: Hey, don’t "wrap it up" music J. Hud! She’s so cute, one of the most genuine sounding acceptance speeches I’ve heard. And she thanked God twice. Beyonce in the audience actually looked happy for her (maybe she’s been taking acting lessons?)…
Gael Garcia Bernal, presenting documentary short with Eva Green, on film length: "Whether long, or short, it’s what you do with it that counts."
Documentary Short: "The Blood of Yingzhou District"
Documentary: "An Inconvenient Truth"
Binh: Jerry Seinfeld is waaaay funnier than Ellen DeGeneres. Is he trying to make a case for himself to be the next Oscar MC?
Jen: Ennio Morricone tribute, presented by Clint Eastwood. Morricone’s scored over 400 films – geez, that is a lot!
At first, when Ennio got up to the mic to give his speech (in Italian), I thought Clint had just gotten his stage direction wrong. He’s practically standing next to him. But no, Clint’s sticking around to translate for us! Are you sure, Academy? Is Clint Eastwood a trained translator? I thought he forgot his glasses!
Original Score: Gustavo Santaolalla, "Babel"
Original Screenplay: "Little Miss Sunshine"
Binh: "LMS" was my pick to win. Will "Sunshine" be the dark horse in the Best Picture category as some have predicted?
Jen: The "Dreamgirls" song performance: J. Hud starts with “Love You I do,” and she’s joined by Beyonce; Beyonce launches into “Listen,” with Hudson belting the occasional line. In case you needed any reminder, J. Hud can blow just as good as the Grammy winning Beyonce. Then, it’s time for “Patience,” the ensemble tune with Anika Noni Rose and Keith Robinson. The divas join in, and then a gospel choir. Are we watching the Oscars, or some American Music Grammy Awards show?
Best Song: "I Need to Wake Up," Melissa Etheridge ("An Inconvenient Truth")
Jen: "Dreamgirls" somehow got completely robbed here. Come on, that Melissa Etheridge song sounded like every Melissa Etheridge song! What happened??
Perhaps the "Dreamgirls" vote was split by its triple nominations. Darn. My Oscar picks are getting cold.
Binh: I know! This one is a surprise.
Binh: Another history of cinema montage? Come on. There’s one every year.
Film Editing: "The Departed"
Binh: Another win for "The Departed."
Jen: Biggest thesaurus word used in an acceptance speech: Thelma Schoonmaker says "panoply" A buff Jodie Foster presents the year in dead people. Don Knotts, Red Buttons, June Allyson, Gordon Parks, James Doohan, Jack Palance, Robert Altman.
Actress in Leading Role: Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
Binh: The popular choice has won. She’s pretty much a shoo-in.
Actor in Leading Role: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"
Binh: Go Forest!
Jen: You know it’s a true actors’ accolade when the other nominees give a standing ovation. Forest deserves it. That man could make me cry just reading a phone book.
The OG Three Amigos: Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg. Funny bit! Up to present best Director award to…
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"
Jen: Wow. The entire place just stood up for Marty. Aw, he looks almost cute in that little suit and bowtie!
It’s cute that Scorsese ends up onstage with his Oscar with Coppola, Lucas, and Spielberg with him. Huge 1970s-1980s American cinema figures, all together. Which reminds me, I need to finish reading "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls."
For the record, I’m 17 for 23 here. Only one category to go, and it’s the BIG ONE!
Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton are up to present Big Picture. Jack steps quickly aside to let Diane shout out every single nominee in a loud, surprised voice.
Binh: Spielberg, Lucas, and Coppola ought to take their act on the road. The new Three Tenors! Scorsese finally won one. Unfortunately, it’s for directing the remake of a highly acclaimed HK movie, "Infernal Affairs," not one of his own.
Best Picture: "The Departed"
Jen: Good thing Scorsese stayed in the stage wings. He can go do press with his producer guy. And Nicholson.
Eh, this wasn’t my pick. I thought "Babel" had a good shot, but "The Departed" really took off in recent weeks in Oscarland.
So I guess that’s it! Wow, are we way over time here? It’s 9:17pm — Comcast says the Barbara Walters special was supposed to start 47 minutes ago.
Let the Monday morning Oscar quarterbacking begin!
Binh: No upsets this year for Best Picture. As predicted, "The Departed" has won. Thanks for being my wingman this year, Jen. You make these lengthy telecasts much more tolerable. I like to thank everyone who’ve watched along with us as well.
