Jared Leto - SO happy to see him win, some people lived a charmed life, you know? Hasn't acted in 5 years, someone thinks of him for a role, sends the script to him, he likes it, and bang! He wins an Oscar. I'm glad he was first up as he rambled a lot. I'm going to have to Google Venezuela to figure out what's going on there, that he bothered to mention them. :-\
The appearance of Kim Novak, made me embarrassed for her, still not knowing why she was called on to be a presenter, except to show the younger starlets what a disaster plastic surgery can be. The same goes for Goldie Horn, who has always had a beautiful face, yet now filled with botox, looks awful. Why cant she age gracefully and with dignity like her partner Kurt Russell.
(I totally missed the whole Pink/Wizard of Oz thing, the pizza man, Kim Novak,...)
I totally missed the whole Pink/Wizard of Oz thing
(http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2014/red-carpet/oscars/blog/liza-minelli-1-600x450.jpg)
"I'll get you, my pretty!"
(http://d3rm69wky8vagu.cloudfront.net/article-photos/large/1.153847.jpg)
Reminds me of Adele Dazeem
If you don't know who Adele Dazeem is, follow this link (http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/low_concept/2014/03/john_travolta_called_idina_menzel_adele_dazeem_what_s_your_travolta_name.html).
My opera singer friends on Facebook were in two camps about Pink's rendition of "Over the Rainbow." Some defended her as a favorite rock singer, others were super annoyed at her complete disregard of phrasing and her taking breaths at odd moments. Someone wondered why they didn't just ask Bette Midler to sing it. Although I though Pink was in command and admirably composed, I think they could have made a better choice.
I'm sure Bette could have knocked it out of the park.
Before our collective memories of this year's Oscars starts to fade, I thought some might enjoy reading this graded list of the acceptance speeches just published in the New Yorker on-liine magazine. I was very glad that Daniel Day Lewis got the only A+ but Ang Lee was not far behind:
There are infinite ways to bomb an Oscar speech. Common pitfalls include self-aggrandizement (King of the World James Cameron), excessive weepiness (Gwyneth Paltrow), and sheer who-invited-this-person weirdness (Melissa Leo). Some are passive-aggressive (Shirley MacLaine, who thanked Debra Winger for her “turbulent brilliance”). Some are strident (Vanessa Redgrave, who chided “Zionist hoodlums”). Some are unsettling (Angelina Jolie, who declared herself “so in love with my brother right now”). At their best, they offer a jolt of liberating mania (Roberto Benigni), or a banquet of finely calibrated self-deprecation, gratitude, and poise (Meryl Streep, whose speeches are perfect and deserve their own awards).
So how did last night’s winners do? I should mention up front that extra points went to people with adorable accents.
Christoph Waltz, Best Supporting Actor: Waltz kicked off the evening with short and classy speech that acknowledged his competitors without condescension, and his collaborators without obligation. Speaking of his director, he said, “We participated in a hero’s journey, the hero here being Quentin.” Anyone who can make Quentin Tarantino seem like a selfless underdog knows his way around a speech. Plus: adorable accent. A-
Michael Haneke, Best Foreign Language Film: “Sank you to my wife.” B+
Anne Hathaway, Best Supporting Actress: All of us who have been following Hathaway’s ingratiating march through the awards season were bracing for the inevitable. Sure, that saccharine “It came true” was a step up from “Blerg,” the opening line from her Golden Globe speech. But the whole thing smacked of endless nights rehearsing in front of the mirror. After a dutifully memorized laundry list of names, Hathaway closed with the wish that “someday in the not too distant future, the misfortunes of Fantine will only be found in stories.” I’m sure all the consumptive French prostitutes with bad dentistry who were watching the Oscars appreciated that. C+
Adele, Best Song: Meanwhile, if you’re going to do teary-eyed earnestness, do it like Adele. She was gracious and disarming and—always a plus—brief. Loved that final arm wave to the auditorium with the line, “You’re all amazing as well!” B+
Quentin Tarantino, Best Original Screenplay: If you happen to find Tarantino’s rubber-faced self-mythologizing completely intolerable, this speech was not for you. Take note: humility is not thanking your actors by saying, “Boy, this time did I do it.” Nor is it necessary to point out that Charlize Theron is your neighbor. After talking over the “Gone with the Wind” play-off music (where’s “Jaws” when you need it?), Tarantino declared 2013 “the writer’s year, man” and signed off with an icky “peace out.” C
Ang Lee, Best Director: The menschiest speech of the night belonged to Lee, who began by thanking the “Movie God” and his cast, whom he called “the golden statue in my heart.” Coming from anyone else, these sentiments might have grated, but Lee seems to truly prize his moviemaking family. (Ronan Farrow, son of Woody Allen, agreed, tweeting, “Let’s be real, if we could pick our legendary director dads, we’d go with Ang Lee, right guys?” Ouch.) Extra credit for thanking Taiwan. Namaste. A
Jennifer Lawrence, Best Actress: At this point in the night, the ceremony desperately needed some spontaneity, so Lawrence’s tumble over her gigantic Scarlett O’Hara skirt was not unwelcome. She recovered quickly, saying, “You guys are just standing up ’cause you feel bad that I fell.” Aside from that, her speech was unmemorable if sweet: she thanked whom she needed to thank (which apparently didn’t include David O. Russell), wished Emmanuelle Riva a happy birthday, and seemed genuinely, breathlessly shocked. B+
Daniel Day-Lewis, Best Actor: Ladies and gentlemen, this is how to give an Oscar speech. Maybe it was magical Oscar dust from Meryl Streep, who gave Day-Lewis a big smooch that left his cheek smeared with lipstick. But this speech had it all: convincing humility, a slam-dunk bit about switching roles with Streep in “The Iron Lady” (and, yes, major points for making this a Meryl Streep speech by proxy), and heartfelt shout-outs to his wife, Steven Spielberg, and the “mysteriously beautiful mind, body, and spirit of Abraham Lincoln.” That’s how to thank someone from the nineteenth century, Anne. A+
Ben Affleck, Best Picture: Speaking like someone who has seen the best and worst of Hollywood, a snubbed-no-more Affleck described how the movie industry will pick you up, knock you down, and lift you back up again. After hours of Seth MacFarlane’s frat-boy comedy, cruise-line commercials, piano-bar bait, and William Shatner, we’d all been on a rocky journey, so this felt apt. Affleck spoke lightning-fast, but at that point it was practically Monday so all the better. Extra points for thanking Canada, Iran, and “my wife, who I normally don’t associate with Iran.” B+
Special Mentions: The two guys with Morlock hair who tied for Best Sound Editing; Chris Terrio, who dedicated his Best Adapted Screenplay award to those who “use creativity and intelligence to solve problems nonviolently.” After last night, that group does not include Seth MacFarlane.
Last night I saw all five of the Oscar-nominated live action shorts! My favorite to win is a toss-up between The Butter Lamp and Bugaloo and Graham. Apparently these are all available to watch on a special Oscar TV channel: check this out (http://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/the-films/).
Lady Gaga is getting a big amount of press for her singing last night, she was great.
Before I left for work this morning, the Today show ran a teeny-tiny clip of her singing "The Sound of Music." The talking heads were all raving about what a beautiful voice she actually has, and from the tiny bit I heard, I agree with them.
The opera boards were all a-buzz with discussion about Gaga's performance last night. Opinions run the gamut. I thought that she did a good job with repertoire that is not in her wheel house. And I give her credit because I can't think of any other current pop stars who could have done anywhere near as good a job. There were some diction issues, and her breathing was all over the place. But she did display good tone production, and she managed her passagio well. Her acting was nothing more than stock gestures, and she spent too much time with her eyes closed, which passes for emotional intensity in the pop world, but doesn't fly in theatre. The tattoos were utterly distracting.
I really hope The Weekend wins for best song so that the movie will forever be known as : The Oscar winning Fifty Shades of Grey! Joke aside, it really IS the best song.
I know what the Weeknd looks like from having seen him in the audience at both the Grammys and the Oscars, but somehow I've managed to have never heard him.
That's not weird for me, though. I'm pretty hit and miss when it comes to keeping up with current popular music.
The Weeknd has become quiet the hitmaker lately.
Their first song "Earned It", spent a few weeks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the second hit from the 50 Shades of Grey soundtrack.
Next two singles "I Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills" both hit #1 on the Hot 100 chart. Current single "In The Night" peaked at #12.
Newest single is "Acquainted", and it's moving up the chart, last week #82, this week #76.