Oscar Chat 2008?

[opinionista]

I didn't see the ceremony because they air it here so late. I am so happy Marion Cotillard won the Oscar. I think that is very well deserved. She did an outstanding job, and almost nobody talked about it. It was a hard role to play, given that Edith Piaf was a complex woman.  Marion Cotillard was truly amazing.

The rest of the winners -except for Tilda Swinton- (I was not expecting her to win anything) wasn't a surprise to me.

[MaineWriter]

I'm coming to this so late because I apparently can't multitask as well as you guys and watch and comment online at the same time. So while I'd like to say something in response to just about every comment everybody here made, I'll limit myself to these:

1. Am I the only member of the Brokies for Jon Stewart Fan Club? I thought he was fabulous. My favorite line was the thing about how during the commercials, they all discuss the tacky clothes that viewers at home are wearing. I also loved his remark after the incredibly down-to-earth and humble "Once" guy accepted his award: "Can you believe how arrogant that guy is?" But just about everything Jon Stewart said was funny.

Jon was funny, but my favorite funny line from the night came from a dead guy: Bob Hope. They were doing a silly montage (pointless, really) about how they handle the voting (EVERYONE watches ALL of the movies! Really!) and then keep the results secret. They showed this clip of Bob and he says, "Then the secretary carefully types everything up and then they take her outside and shoot her." Okay, it looks sort of stark in black and white but it was funny on TV (in black and white!).

L

[MaineWriter]

5. Clotheswise, I didn't see anyone who I thought looked fantastic, but I didn't see anyone hideous, either. Lots of pretty ordinary dresses, especially all the black ones (for Heath? for Iraq? for the writers?), and none that stood out as being Halle-Berryishly lovely. Squished boobs were in great supply. Why is it that Nicole Kidman always looks so beautiful as her characters and so so-so in real life, at least at these red-carpet events? That seems the reverse of most actresses!

I thought Helen Mirren, in red with silver sleeves, looked quite wonderful. You are right, no over the top clothes like the old days (ah, remember Cher and Bob Mackie) but lots of pretty things: Rene Zellweger in silver, Cameron Diaz in pink, Jessica Alba's dress was pretty (sort of a dark maroon). I even liked Nicole Kidman's black ensemble. Tilda Swinton's dress was vaguely reminiscent of a black garbage bag, though. I didn't see the red carpet intro so I missed the parade of fashion.

I can't say I am too fond of Diablo Cody's tattoo, though. What is she, channeling Amy Winehouse? Although Amy's "babe" has bare boobs and Diablo's is wearing a bikini top. Still, neither one is my taste!

L

[belbbmfan]

I thought Helen Mirren, in red with silver sleeves, looked quite wonderful. You are right, no over the top clothes like the old days (ah, remember Cher and Bob Mackie) but lots of pretty things: Rene Zellweger in silver, Cameron Diaz in pink, Jessica Alba's dress was pretty (sort of a dark maroon). I even liked Nicole Kidman's black ensemble. Tilda Swinton's dress was vaguely reminiscent of a black garbage bag, though. I didn't see the red carpet intro so I missed the parade of fashion.

I can't say I am too fond of Diablo Cody's tattoo, though. What is she, channeling Amy Winehouse? Although Amy's "babe" has bare boobs and Diablo's is wearing a bikini top. Still, neither one is my taste!

L

I thought Helen Mirren looked great, very classy.

And did you like Cate Blanchett's dress? It's by Belgian designer Dries Van Noten. I think she looked amazing.

[belbbmfan]

I just finished reading this thread. Thanks for reporting back to us. 

It's a good way of 'watching' the oscars in a couple of minutes! 

[smellykellyjay]

Yes, that song made me wish they'd ix-nay the category.

Remember back in the day when you had heard three or four of the songs before, even if you hadn't seen the movie?  Of course, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" was once nominated in this category.  That alone makes me a non-supporter. 

I think the Academy has changed the rules for this category in the last few years to prevent songs that were barely featured in a film from getting a nomination and possibly winning.  I also think that's why none of the original songs from Bbm were nominated, because they didn't meet the criteria.  It was a disappointment to me, as I was hoping "I Don't Want to Say Goodbye" to at least get a nomination and wanted to see if performed live. 

The Walking Tall dude?  Really??

Do you mean Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock?  No worse than Jessica Alba in my mind.  Actually, I like the looks of him.  He looks like he tastes good. 

[smellykellyjay]

They always do. They always announce them in the same order every year.

I've been watching the Oscars since I was, like, three, and I think the earlier announcement of Best Actress is recentish, that it used to be one of the last awards given out.  Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, the big four, used to be the last handed out.  I thought they moved it on up (along with Best Supporting Acting awards years earlier), spreading them out through the ceremony, because they wanted people to watch the whole show and not just the last half hour or so to see the big uns. 

[opinionista]

I just realized that I guessed she'd win.

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,17423.0.html

Marion Cotillard




As Edith Piaf

[serious crayons]

Here's a Slate discussion of Oscar fashions. I've excerpted part in which they discuss the preponderance of black (and red).

http://www.slate.com/id/2185033/nav/tap3/

Oscar Fashion Report Card
Why so many black dresses? And which ones were best?
By Amanda Fortini and Julia Turner
Posted Monday, Feb. 25, 2008, at 4:50 AM ET

Julia Turner: Amanda, thanks for joining me once again to discuss this year's Oscar frocks. I was going to start by asking you who had the best dress, but we can narrow it down a bit tonight: Who had the best black dress, and who had the best red one?

Amanda Fortini: I think I counted nine black dresses.

Julia: At least! Ellen Page, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Garner, Laura Linney, Hilary Swank, Penelope Cruz …

Amanda: Tilda Swinton.

Julia: Yes! Even Little Miss Once. And in red we had Anne Hathaway, Katherine Heigl, Helen Mirren, Miley Cyrus …

Amanda: … Ruby Dee, Heidi Klum, Julie Christie. There was quite a divide. One group seemed to be paying homage to this somber moment we're in, and one group seemed to be attempting a celebratory mood.

Julia: Do you think the preponderance of black had anything to do with the writers' strike?

Amanda: I think so. There has been so much fallout, not just for the writers but for everyone in the industry, and so I guess it seemed a moment for respect. There was an almost funereal aspect to much of the garb—well, off-the-shoulder looks excepted.

Julia: Right. They all seemed to be in mourning, except that in Hollywood, mourning includes sequins and marabou.

Amanda: And then there was the opposite approach: Let's celebrate the end of the strike! In bright red! The color seemed a very deliberate effort to brighten things up.

Julia: Or maybe it was Reds red: Cheers to those commies in the unions!

Amanda: Don't you wonder, though, how it comes to be that practically everyone wears red? Who says, This year, girls, it's red! Why not bright green or royal blue?

Julia: I know! Poor Amy Adams didn't get the memo.

Amanda: And yet I liked her dress. It was Cameron Diaz who looked like she was of another moment. Blush felt out of place—like it belonged to a more carefree, innocent time.

(continues ...)

[oilgun]

Here's a Slate discussion of Oscar fashions. I've excerpted part in which they discuss the preponderance of black (and red).

http://www.slate.com/id/2185033/nav/tap3/

Looks like Marion Cotillard was the style winner of the night with her J-P Gaultier "explicit mermaid" dress and I have to agree.  I hated those god-awful black frocks it felt like a Victorian funeral or something.