Okay, we're done with the fashions. Moving on to the main event. This will be pretty much the ol' Cowboy speaking, unless otherwise indicated. We continue below the cut line.
Personally, I think that Jon Stewart will mention the settled strike within the first thirty seconds of his time.
And away we go.
8:31: nice opening montage. I wish I had recorded it so I could freeze frame. Amazing how many of them were SF and fantasy. Then again about ninety percent of the top fifty box office films of all time were SF or fantasy.
8:33: sixteen seconds. Score.
8:34: Stewart's definitely on. "Does this town need a hug?" "Thank God for teen pregnancy." Beautiful.
8:36: Okay, now I *have* to see "Atonement." The raw passion of Yom Kippur? I am so there.
8:39: Great, my stripper name is Mickey Albert.
8:40: "Normally when you have a black man or a woman president, a meteor is about to strike the statue of Liberty." Personally, I'm going to get a "Vote for Gaydolf Titler" t-shirt made up.
8:42: Costume design: Ariel and Kath are pulling for Sweeney Todd. Kath suspects Elizabeth will win.
8:43: Yup. Opulence usually wins costume design.
8:45: Well, you don't normally tune into the Oscars for the commercials, but that Diet Coke commercial was actually pretty funny.
RE: Comments. Yes, it was sixteen seconds. I was timing it.
8:48: "But one thing has always been consistent: Its long." Something tells me that was an ad lib by Clooney. Very honest.
8:49: Okay, I hate to admit it, but I'm a sucker for montages, and this is a good one. But, geez, how'd they miss Sally Field.
8:51: That's right, Carrell and Hathaway are costarring in "Get Smart." Can't wait.
8:52: Animated feature. We're rooting for Ratatouille, although Persepolis is supposed to be beautiful.
8:54: Ariel's disappointed. No animated rats came up to accept. It'd be cool if Brad Bird spoke with Edna's voice.
8:56: Make-up. Ariel is rooting for "Pirates."
8:57: Ariel's reaction: "That blows."
8:58: That woman's left eyelash appears to be coming off. Weird.
9:00: Amy Adams is going to be busy tonight. they should really be doing more with the presentation of this song than her just standing there. The lyrics remain gloriously demented.
The best song from "Enchanted" was "How Do You know?" and that's the one we're definitely rooting for. My only concern is that, since three songs from the film are nominated, they could wind up splitting the vote and another slides in.
COMMENTS: No, Amy Adams was not lip synching. She even sounded a touch nervous, and yes, her voice cracked here and there. A lip synched performance would have sounded much cleaner.
9:07: The Rock presenting visual FX. Since he is a walking visual effect, it's a good choice. Ariel is again rooting for Pirates.
9:08: Well, Ariel now says she thought Golden Compass was better. Me, i fell asleep during it so I'll take her word for it.
9:10: Art direction. We're rooting for Sweeney Todd.
9:11: Yea. Interesting that they played "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," which wasn't actually sung in the movie, a point of major contention and annoyance to purists.
9:13: Cate Blanchett: What a dog. (A comment that will make no sense to anyone not watching.)
9:15: High point of Cuba Gooding's career, winning best supporting. I wonder if he would have been so enthused if he'd been looking toward his future roles. Sheesh.
9:15: "Best supporting" could be referring to the front of Jennifer Hudson's dress...
9:17: Be great if Holbrook won, just for sentimental value. Probably won't.
9:18: Javier Bardem. No surprise there. Me, I love the line "I am Shiva, Goddess of death." I think I'll have a button made up that says that. I can wear it attached to my "Gaydolf Titler" shirt.
9:23: "Oscar's Salute to Binoculars and Periscopes." I sense the fine hand of the Daily Show staff on this one.
9:26: One of the songs that could benefit from the multiple nominations for "Enchanted." The singers are excellent, though, especially that little girl from the movie.
9:28: Owen Wilson. A talented actor, and I can only hope that he's gotten the help he clearly needed. Short films: Saw none of them. Does anyone ever?
9:30: Screw the one that won, I want to see that Tonto Woman thing.
9:31: God, Jerry, the damned film's out of the theater. STOP PLUGGING IT!!!!
9:32: Wow. That Madame Tutli Putli looks amazing.
9:33: Great. Now I'll have that blasted "Peter and the Wolf" tune by Prokofiev in my head for the rest of the night.
9:34: MERcidees McCambridge? I always thought it was MerSAYdees McCambridge.
9:35: We're rooting for Tilda Swinton, just because we like saying the name "Tilda Swinton." I'm thinking it will be Blanchett to make up for her not winning Best actress (which she won't), if for no other reason.
9:37: Yea! I guess lots of people like saying "Tilda Swinton."
9:39: Okay, now I'm dying to meet Tilda Swinton's agent, who I bet REALLY likes saying "Tilda Swinton."
9:44: And now, here are the awards to the people who are so important, so ingenious, and so brilliant, that we didn't want to waste your time presenting them here.
9:45: Okay, bloggers, fess up: Who put up the Gaydolf Titler t-shirt on Cafepress?
9:47: Interesting that in quoting "the best lines ever written" for adapted material, they cited "you're gonna need a bigger boat" which was, from what I understand, an ad lib by Scheider.
9:48: Let's go Coen bros.
9:48: Bingo.
9:49: "Hello there, everybody." "Hi, Doctor Nick!"
9:50: "this time of year, we don't have to pay for films; the studios want us to see their films." Okay, here's a flash: The rest of the year they have screening so they don't have to pay, and the studios ALWAYS want you to see their films, ya yutz.
9:52: Okay, there was some cute stuff in there, I'll admit it.
9:53: Here we go: The Enchanted song I'm rooting for. This one they'll do up right. But Amy Adams should be singing it.
9:55: Nice height on that jump.
9:56: Okay, okay: you can see the quality difference. I love Amy Adams, but you can see the higher level of performance from an experienced Broadway headline like Chenowith moving through a number like that.
COMMENT: True enough, Roger. Chenoweth is indeed one of the best: Bernadette Peters level. I wonder if they gave Amy Adams her choice of songs. If so, she made the right choice since it was a solo piece.
10:01: Who the hell...?
10:02: God, please, make it stop...
10:03 Sound editing? Transformers. That thing was wall to wall sound.
10:03; Winner was "Bourne Ultimatum." Yeah, well, big deal: They didn't have to deal with cars turning into something else during their car chases.
10:05: Okay, if these guys come out a third time, I'm going to gnaw like leg off at the knee.
10:06: Sound mixing now? Okay...probably Bourne.
10:07: Gee, that was tough to see coming considering what won just before.
10:08: My God, are they presenting best actress already? So let's see Sally Field.
10:09: Aw, c'mon: "You like me!" That's classic. Okay, anyway: Ariel is rooting for Ellen Page; Kath says smart money is Blanchett, although it's tough to get an Oscar for great acting in a lousy film.
10:11: I'm wondering if it might not be Julie Christie, back after such a long time.
10:13: Zut alors. That's a surprise. Winning for a non-English-language role is VERY tough. Although I haven't seen it; perhaps she speaks English during it.
10:17: Wiiiiiiiiii!
10:18: I was looking down and out of the corner of my eye it looked like Colin was roller skating. Apparently there's something slippery on the stage.
10:20: Well, THIS song is putting me to sleep...
COMMENT: I appreciate the assertion t that I'm better and faster at this than Harry Knowles. On the other hand, he has close to a thousand replies on his, so...
10:23: Boy, that's weird. I could swear Nicholson's hair was grayer at the beginning of the broadcast. Hunh.
10:24: A best picture montage? What the hell? It's not like they're giving away the Best picture Oscar now...?
10:25: Now me, i want to see a montage of some of the films that DIDN'T get "Best Picture."
10:26: As "Entertainment weekly" (I believe it was) noted, often it doesn't come down to what was the actual Best Picture, but which picture had the best Oscar campaign.
10:27: Don't walk awaaayy, renee....
10:28: Film editing: This can sometimes be an indicator for best film.
10:29: And sometimes not...
10:31: Check out the fake accent on Nicole Kidman.
10:32: Oh. Crap. That's actually how she talks, huh?
10:32: It's always interesting when they put together an explanation as to what the technical jobs actually mean when it comes to films. The best such that I ever saw was one for film editing in which they ran about fifteen seconds of the famous pursuit-of-the-train from "French connection," and the they ran it a second time with a counter in the lower right ticking off the number of edits in just that brief time. And it was something like forty seven edits.
10:36: Okay, in case you're wondering, this is Robert F. Boyle, born 1909, with a long and illustrious history in art direction. Last work was back in 1979.
10:38: Wait, I take it back. Production design work as recently as 1991.
COMMENTS: Yes, we checked IMDB, and no, in case you guys are wondering, there wasn't really an "untitled Nicole Kidman film" for 2010. Jon Stewart made a joke. Fancy that. And will someone please slap Luigi awake?
10:42: Did someone else have a feathery dress just like Penelope Cruz before, or is this thing starting to make me punchy?
10:43: The Counterfeiters was the odds on favorite for best foreign film.
10:45: And here's the third song from the film. It's a nice ballad song but I have the least attachment to it.
10:48: Boy, HIS voice is cracking.
10:49: Okay...best song goes to...
10:50: Great. The one that was putting me to sleep. Figures.
10:51: You think THIS is mad? Not as mad as the people at Disney are gonna be. That's what happens when you have three songs from the same bloody film.
10:57: VERY classy move by stewart.
10:58: Cinematography. Another potential indicator of best film.
11:00: Okay, we'll see if "There Will Be Blood" wins for Best Picture.
11:02: Respectful blog silence for the departed.
11:05: I can't help but observe that a number of the departed, if they won Oscars, would not be allowed to appear on the main telecast, because the jobs they do aren't sexy enough. It is only upon their passing that they get to have their faces seen on the Oscar cast. There's something fundamentally screwy about that.
11:08: I feel like I'm watching "Name that Tune."
11:09: Kath thinks Michael Clayton for best score.
11:10: Guess not. I was thinking maybe it would be "3:10 to Yuma." Then again, I tend to have a strong sense of Yuma.
11:11: How marvelously inclusive: our folks serving in Baghdad announcing short subject. Of course, there's some irony in that considering Iraq is in fact unending rather than short, but...
11:15: I'm going to try and check out this film when it shows up on HBO. You have to love the passion that these two women obviously have for it.
11:15: Best documentary. This should be interesting. Moore was snarking Bush back before it was stylish to do so. But he did it on the Academy awards and a lot of people still resent that.
11:17: Yup.
11:18: Oooo, nicely put, about the country moving away from the dark side. And I love that his late father was a navy interrogator who was furious over current questioning techniques.
11:23: Does Harrison Ford seem a little...off...somehow?
11:24: We're pulling for Juno here.
11:25: Bingo.
11:26: Love the tat. Exotic dancer, huh? Never have guessed.
11:30: Best actor coming up.
11:31: We're rooting for Johnny Depp; smart money says Daniel Day Lewis.
11:34: The most notable Viggo scene is the one they dare not show.
11:34: There Will Be Oscar. And Helen Mirren knights him with it! Who's queen?
11:36: "And to the other fine nominees in this category, I wish to say: I drink your milkshake!"
COMMENT: What did Stewart do that was classy? One of the creators from "Once" was given the bum's rush, and Stewart brought her back out and let her give her comments without being interrupted.
11:40: The run up to Best Director.
11:42: Thank God Stewart didn't try to make a joke about Scorsese.
11:42: Naturally we're rooting for Jason Reitman. Likely winner: Anderson.
11:43: Son of a gun. The Coen Bros.
11:43: So this would seem to narrow the field of Best Picture to "There Will Be Blood" and "No Country For Old Men."
11:45: Best picture. I guess it's good the montage was earlier; by this point it's Get On With It!
11:46: So much for the cinematography pointer. "No Country For Old Men." Then again, the best director pointer tends to trump the cinematography pointer.
11:48: And the award for best live blog coverage goes to...
Yeah. Figures. Well, maybe next year.
Great job by Stewart, I thought. I actually enjoyed it. Then again, it may be that writing this blog helped keep me focused since this is the most awake I've ever been during the Academy Awards.
The Mission Impossible theme. Perfect.
Posted by Peter David at February 24, 2008 08:28 PM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingFirst 30 secs, I don't think that was even 15 seconds
Hmmm....Jennifer Garner is the first one presenting, and for Costume Design, while wearing the dress my Mom made. Fitting. :-)
So what happens if my pet is female, and has a female name? I'd be Elsa Summit.
I have to say for a costume designer that was an ugly dress
"8:45: Well, you don't normally tune into the Oscars for the commercials, but that Diet Coke commercial was actually pretty funny."
Bah. Over here we just get regular ads and boring commentary from D-List celebs. :(
The meteor joke reminded me of this from The Onion
http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/do_we_really_want_another_black
We don't get the us commercials what was the diet coke commercial
I just have to ask.... am I the only person who just does not get Regis Philbin?
Thank you, Academy, for proving why ghettoizing the animated features to their own category is fucking stupid. I knew that one day, someone would make a movie like Persepolis (I personally imagined someone making an animated adaptation of Art Spiegelman's Maus), and it would go up against the typical Disney fare, which is a joke. Ratatouille not only isn't the best anmiated feature, it's not even the best Pixar film. Hell, it isn't even the best Brad Bird movie, especially after The Incredibles. What an insult.
"I just have to ask.... am I the only person who just does not get Regis Philbin?"
No.
Great lip synching job there, Adams. *cough cough*
Here's hoping they actually let the Once duo actually perform.
I dunno I could her Amy's voice cracking here and there
No nomination for Spider-Man 3 for best visual effects? What's up with that?
I hated the Golden Compass, I wanted to claw my eyes out. It was every single bad fantasy cliche in every movie ever thrown into a blender and thrown up on screen.
Talking bears for FX vs. Giant Freakin Robots Smashing Stuff. Right. Sure. Just look at the box office gross.
OK,its bad enough that Transformers were robbed for not nominating it for Best picture and Michael Bay for Best Director but to give Golden Compass what it so deserved.
So, does that old man nominated for supporting actor not have a name?
PAD... What I would not give for a musical rendietion of "springtime for titler"
Wilkinson's performance was really good, but for some reason I kept reminded that it was a performance - like I could see the "For Your Consideration" graphic at the corner of the screen. Good stuff, but showy. Bardem, in comparison, was just The Character and he was Awesome.
Keri Russell looked great. Everybody watch "Waitress". It has Captain Mal in it.
Peter, you are far faster/better at this than Harry Knoles over at AICN.
I just want to go on record that Ratatouille was the first animated movie that I not just enjoyed watching, but also went away from the theatre with a great appreciation for the wonderful "camera" work, the writing, and the little details throughout that really made Ratatouille an excellent movie. Sure, The Incredibles was good, but then again, making a movie about superheroes interesting is fairly easy compared to a movie about a talking rat that wants to be a French chef. A well-earned Oscar, in my opinion.
Anyone else notice they kept marisa tomei out the best supporting actress monatge?
Regarding the shorts - I've never seen them *before* the Oscars, but a small, independent theater near our house has shown the Oscar-nominated shorts for the past couple of years a couple months after the Oscars.
< fingers crossed > that they do it again
Okay tilda wins for the batamn bit of her speech forever.
Good on Tila Swinton, she was AMAZING in "Clayton", my favourite acting in the movie, and glad she won.
Peter David: 9:39: Okay, now I'm dying to meet Tilda Swinton's agent, who I bet REALLY likes saying "Tilda Swinton."
Luigi Novi: I wanna meet her makeup artist and costumer. So I can just point and laugh.
Wow, this is probably the only capacity in which Jessica Alba will ever be on an Oscar stage.
Sid can't get in yet they had a camera in there for the reverse shot.
Not smooth
Well, there's absolutely NO shame in not being in Chenowith's league....there's not a whole lot of people in Broadway HISTORY who are....
But Peter, what makes the song special in the movie is the more "little girl" less experienced delivery by Amy. I like Christine and she isn't hard on the eyes either, but Amy should have done it.
Geez, the poor Transformers sound guy just lost his TWENTIETH NOMINATION!!! (great piece of ABC news tonight before the show)
20 nominations and no wins. Yowza.
” 9:47: Interesting that in quoting "the best lines ever written" for adapted material, they cited "you're gonna need a bigger boat" which was, from what I understand, an ad lib by Scheider.”
From what was said in the special features on the deluxe release a few years back, most of the most memorable lines in jaws were ad libs by the three leads. Goes to show what you can get when you let talented people have a little room to play.
Wait, my bad, I think it was the sound mixing guy who was nominated 20 times.
...and he just lost again.
Yeesh.
Transformers just got screwed again. Bourne was good but "sound" I don't think so.
Seth Rogen had better not play Britt Reid in the Green Hornet film he's producing.
La Vie En Rose is mostly in Freanch with a little English here and there.
But once again the winner is someone who played a real person. That's 5 over the last 7 years.
David
Hope this song doesn't win...it;ll become the scourge of karaoke bars everywhere...
the orchestra kind of stepped on the neck of the end of "Falling Slowly" (it feels more epic on the soundtrack & in the movie), but that's an amazing song, great performance, and everyone should watch "Once." Like, right now. Hopefully this one wins.
In other news, does Nicholson even read from a teleprompter anymore?
WHo cares how many replies Harry gets, the conversation is more "intelligent" here, especially in the reply area
Okay, tell the truth: How many of you out there went to imdb to check out Nicole Kidman's page?
(Raises hand.)
"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ."
Oh, come on, Luigi, show some respect.
[[And will someone please slap Luigi awake?]]
And Philip Seymour Hoffman, too?
Actually, the Nicole Kidman credit is real, just only on IMDb Pro. They filter out some of those for the main consumer site. (I used to work at IMDb, so I still have a comp pro account, and do vaguely remember that there's some selection criteria difference between pro and regular.)
The regular page is virtually empty anyway: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0785072/
Menkenn evidently has won too many Oscars in the past. So they give it to the song that sucks.
Wha...huh?....wha?....Okay, okay, I'm awake.
Seriously, Penelope Cruz knows four languages? I knew she knows Spanish, English and Italian. What's the fourth?
And shouldn't she have put a bit more emphasis on the name of the movie The Counterfeiters when announcing it as the winner? She seemed to rush through mentioning it before beginning with the names of the people the award went to.
And the crowd goes wild, finally a fantastic song wins. Oscar gets it right. Great movie too. Once again, watch "Once", its amazing.
Beauty and the Beast had 3 films nominated. I think Little mermaid had 2 or 3 not sure about alladin
I respectfully disagree about your "best song" comments. This is what happens when you have a superbly written and performed song that works with its movie very well. The Enchanted songs were good (and clever), but not spectacular. When "Falling Slowly" plays during "Once" - you feel the connection between the 2 main characters.
- Dan
Delmo: Hey Luigi, show a little respect.
Alan Coil: Oh, come on, Luigi, show some respect.
Luigi Novi: Geez, guys we're on the INTERNET. It's not like I'm there, in the audience, throwing tomatoes and heckling the guy. Peter himself mentioned certain things that he felt were "putting him to sleep". Chill. :-)
That should be 3 Songs nominated.
Mermaid had 2 and Aladdin had 2
Now that Jon was very classy good for you.
Nics move, letting that woman come back out to talk.
Nice to see an Oscar telecast that's more internation in scope than any I've seen in recent years. And thanks to the orchestra by helping all those people who speak English as a second language by driving them off the stage as they're struggling to get their acceptance speeches together.
Why does Jon Stewart keep making gratuitous comments about the patently obvious? Is somebody in his earpiece telling to stall for ten seconds so they can clear the stage?
And about a minute after I wrote those first comments, they brought out the lovely Czech actress back out after they blasted her off the stage!
I agree with the above. Once is super awesome and I think it's great that the low budget, foreign (and superior) film one over the Disney machine. Even though Enchanted was a lot of fun.
Me three (or four)...I think that, more than anything else, makes Jon stands out as a presenter...
No doubt Heath Ledger's moment will get a huge applause.
Yeah, Once is pretty fantastic and its songs have alot of heart and are superbly written. Very much a different kind of "musical", but its just so vibrant, well done, and all the songs are ridiculously good. Better than any of the Enchanted showtune samples on the show tonight.
Man, Lois Maxwell didn't get any applause... That disapoints me very much.
Attention television people!
I am not watching your broadcast on a 60-inch screen. Please make your graphics large enough for those of us who can't afford larger television sets.
Looks like Ingmar Bergman wins this year's Dead Person Montage Appluause Award. I'm a little
surprised Heath Ledger didn't pull it out
at the end, but celebrity grief can be
unpredictable.
-Dave O'Connell
It did show a lot of class for Jon Stewart to bring her back out - We should also be glad that she took excellent advantage of her second chance. I'm swallowing several snide comments about gaffes that don't seem very important now.
Peter David: It is only upon their passing that they get to have their faces seen on the Oscar cast. There's something fundamentally screwy about that.
Luigi Novi: Yeah, but it's pretty consistent with what they say about the appreciation of great artists, ain't it? :(
Hey Brad Renfro was missing from the montage!
Wouldn't it be ironic if they got these servicepeople to announce the award for Best Documentary, given that four of the nominees are about the Iraq War? :)
Oh wow, they're announcing Best Documentary, with Hanks mentioning the Iraq subject matter of some of them, right after the one that whose nominees were announced by the servicepeople.
The montage only covered Feb. 1, 2007 to Jan 31, 2008. I'm fairly sure Roy Scheider's passing was more recent.
Whoops. War Dance isn't about the Iraq War. My bad.
Scheider died this month and they cut off date was Jan 31.
The remembrances were dated from Feb 1, 2007, through Jan 31, 2008.
What a brilliant idea to have a group of soldiers serving in Iraq announce the award for best documentary short subject. Because that so makes it up to them for being over there.
Although that being said, I notice they didn't get to announce the following category Best Documentary, which included the anti-war docs No End in Sight, Operation Homecoming and Taxi to the Dark Side. Funny that.
Auto dealership? Who the hell wrote THAT joke? It certainly doesn't sound like Stewart or his staff.
Geez, Ford sounds stiff in reading off the t-prompter.
So what is it that makes former Minnapolis strippers (Kate Worley and Diablo Cody) so much better writers than other former exotic dancers?
Yes, Harrison Ford seems off. He seemed that way during the Barbara Walters interview, too.
Luigi, if you think Harrison Ford was stiff, how about Cameron Diaz trying to spit out 'cinematography?' Isn't this, like, the way they make a living?
Yeah, but Joe, it's Cameron Diaz. Look at her. Stop thinking.
Yeah, and they get to do take after take when they mess up. I don't see how this is the same thing. Being stiff and stumbling verbally are not the same thing.
Missed part and catching up on comments. What did Stewart do at 10:57 that was "VERY classy"??
Thanks.
I wish I could read lips, just I could 'hear' what Helen Mirren was saying to Daniel Day Lewis as they left the stage together.
Well It was a toss-up between Daniel and George...the best man won of course. :)
He felt that one of the winners for (IIRC) Best Song didn't get to talk, so he brought her back out so she could give her acceptance speech, rather than do more comedy.
Guess it would've been in poor taste for Daniel to say to the other actors nominated "I drink your milkshake!"?
Wow, insta-response. Thanks, Peter.
I did actually see that part. Just didn't have my time stamps matching up enuf to realize it was what you were referring to.
Thanks, again.
Okay, here's a question for the rest of the class. Not that I have anything against the Coen Brothers, but isn't there some kind of DGA rule that precludes co-directors on a film? The reason I'm asking is I seem to recall Robert Rodriguez withdrawing from the DGA because he wasn't able to credit Frank Miller as co-director. Maybe you have to be brothers? Maybe I just need some sleep. Unlike Luigi, who seems to have caught up on his while the Oscars were still on.
Is the Kate Worley mentioned the same one who wrote comics some time back? Having never seen a pic of her (and not being able to see the telecast due to being at work anyway) I'm curious.
What Stewart did that was (comparatively) classy was to not act like an asshole. For some reason, based on previous ceremonies, that's quite an achievement.
I don't believe this Best pic and it's not even 12:00 yet!
Is it my non-digital, non-HD TV, or is Denzel Washington looking a bit chunky tonight?
Back to the subject of lip syncing: I don't think they did, but I see everybody's lips looking to be out of sync. I would imagine that it is the 7 or 10 second delay in the broadcast.
Joe Nazarro: isn't there some kind of DGA rule that precludes co-directors on a film? The reason I'm asking is I seem to recall Robert Rodriguez withdrawing from the DGA because he wasn't able to credit Frank Miller as co-director. Maybe you have to be brothers?
Luigi Novi: Maybe. The Wachowski brothers and the Hughes brothers are part of the DGA, aren't they?
I think the ending did in There Will Be Blood.
I thought Stewart's move was classy for the exact thing you described: "One of the creators from "Once" was given the bum's rush, and Stewart brought her back out and let her give her comments without being interrupted." Great move there, because nobody EVER lets the winners back on after they get the bum's rush to finish what they were saying.
I vaguely recall the pertinent point is that Frank Miller wasn't a member of the DGA at that point.
Actually, I believe the problem was that Frank Miller is not a member of the DGA, and that was why he couldn't be listed as co-director, hence Mr. Rodgriguez withdrew so as to share the credit.
Yes, I was referring to the late Kate Worley, scriptwriter of Reed Waller's OMAHA series and also Disney Comics' ROGER RABBIT comic. Like Diablo Cody, Kate was a former Minneapolis exotic dancer who was also an exceptional scriptwriter (though in comics, not films). And again, why are Minnapolis strippers so much better writers than other strippers. (Even Gypsy Rose Lee's THE G-STRING MURDERS was reportedly ghostwritten by Craig Rice, so she doesn't count.)
Peter David: Great job by Stewart, I thought. I actually enjoyed it.
Luigi Novi: Ditto. It actually seemed to go pretty briskly, though again, it may be that focusing on the blog helped the perception of it flying by.
Thanks for doing this Peter. I agree with Brian. It was fun. :-)
I thought Stewart's move was classy for the exact thing you described: "One of the creators from "Once" was given the bum's rush, and Stewart brought her back out and let her give her comments without being interrupted." Great move there, because nobody EVER lets the winners back on after they get the bum's rush to finish what they were saying.
Basically, I think Stewart had to go tell the producer to stop--send a runner, get her back from backstage, get her from the press interviews, tell the director that he's NOT going to do his next bit and spike the set up for the bit he was going to do next.
Classy and not entirely trivial to do, particularly on a live show that's on a tight schedule (no matter how long the show runs, a live telecast is ALWAYS on a tight schedule).
Yeah, live oscar blogging rules. Next year we all get to bark about which one is going to win best VFX or makeup - Indiana Jones, Iron Man, or Batman.
Fun times!
Joe,
I think the Rodriguez situation was that he wanted a co-directing credit for Frank Miller, but it wasn't allowed by the rules.
"Rules? Rules? We don't need no stinking rules!"
Jeffrey S. Frawley said:
"What Stewart did that was (comparatively) classy was to not act like an asshole. For some reason, based on previous ceremonies, that's quite an achievement."
---
Way to look at it from the most negative viewpoint.
Thanks for the filling-in Anthony.
I knew very little about Kate Worley, except that I enjoyed her writing immensely. That piece of information explains why Omaha had such a realistic feel to it, despite being a 'funny animal' book.
"Gaydolf Titler" just might be the worst joke ever told.
Nothing against Jon Stewart by any means, but everyone here seems certain that he made and enforced the decision to bring that woman back out, which does not strike me as necessarily true.
Nothing against Jon Stewart by any means, but everyone here seems certain that he made and enforced the decision to bring that woman back out, which does not strike me as necessarily true.
True...at the very least, the director had to check off on it.
By the same token, Stewart still probably had to check off on it, as he had SOME material ready for the slot (and from prior telecasts, the host is working with writers DURING the show to develop material, particularly for coming back from commercial breaks...).
I love the Internet. I'd much rather read amusing comments by you, about the show, than actually sit through it. If I want to review the best jokes, they'll be uploaded somewhere in a matter of hours.
I also know you'll have at least one, terrible, terrible pun that my friends will repeat at some later date.
Comment #1: Marion Cotillard's win: MAGNIFIQUE! La Vie en Rose was an absolutely marvelous film, and Mlle Cotillard brought Edith Piaf to life. The film does jump around a bit in Piaf's life, but it's not too bothersome. (I was so taken by the story that I bought a collection of Piaf's music. The soundtrack had a bit more non-Piaf material than I wanted.)
Comment #2: Regarding the Best Song winner, I'm rather disappointed that the Academy actually allowed the song's nomination. Yes, it was written for the film (one of the key qualifications) but it was officially released on an album in 2006 by Glen Hansard, some 9 months before the film's US opening. The album, The Swell Season, includes 4 songs that appeared in Once, including "Falling Slowly". Under Oscar rules for Best Song eligibility:
4. The work must be recorded for use in the film prior to any other usage, including public performance or exploitation through any media whatsoever.
Admittedly, the recording of the album may have coincided with shooting the film (and I believe that I did read somewhere that Hansard had been approached to write and record just a couple of songs for the film but became inspired to do a separate album) but the timing is just too close for comfort. (Also, I'm more than a bit peeved that the Academy chose to "honor" THREE songs from Enchanted while completely ignoring Eddie Vedder's original songs for Into the Wild--the fact that the film's lead, Emile Hirsch, was also ignored by the Academy is more than a bit upsetting. But I digress........)
On the plus side, it's good to get back to the site after a few problems encountered during the "maintenance" period.
Posted by: Anthony Tollin
(Even Gypsy Rose Lee's THE G-STRING MURDERS was reportedly ghostwritten by Craig Rice, so she doesn't count.)
It was definitely ghostwritten. Since the 80s, there's been some doubt as to whether it was Rice who actually wrote it. (She *did* ghostwrite a book for George Sanders, and, when they asked Sanders what "author's dedication" to put on it, he said "Hell, she wrote it, let her do that too" and the book wound up being dedicated to Craig Rice "Without whom it woulkd not have been possible" or words to that effect.)
Posted by: roger Tang
Nothing against Jon Stewart by any means, but everyone here seems certain that he made and enforced the decision to bring that woman back out, which does not strike me as necessarily true.
True...at the very least, the director had to check off on it.
But every so often the person out there on stage, in front of the cameras where the director can't get at him, get contrary.
As at the Country Music Awards a few years back, when George Jones (considered pretty much an obsolete has-been by the Industry) was up for Best Song, and they told him that he could do like one verse of his song as part of a medley. He declined.
So on comes Alan Jackson and his band to do his song - and he called Jones up on stage and they did *his* song, instead...
I think Jack Nicholson should give out Best Picture every year. They did it last time and it had this wonderful air of "Jack's done. Party's over. Let's all head home."
No surprise they missed some of the actors who passed this year; they missed Jimmy Doohan the other year. Still, that pic of Heath Ledger hurt.
With regard to the question of co-directors, according to this:
http://www.dga.org/dga_members/ai_au_spring03_pg3.php3
the DGA's basic position is that there will be only one director for any picture. Co-directing is only allowed via a waiver fromthe DGA when the co-directors are deemed to be a "bona fide" team, functioning as a single unit (i.e. not dividing up responsibilities.) Many of the teams given DGA waivers, it is noted, are siblings: the Bros. Wachowski, Farrelly, Hughes, etc.
For whatever reason, the DGA didn't think that Rodriguez and Miller comprised a "bona fide" directing team for SIN CITY, which lead to Rodriguez's withdrawal from the DGA.
Anyway, it does seem that the designation of co-directors is the kind of thing the DGA (theoretically) addresses on a case-by-case basis.
I actually recorded the Oscars and watched them this morning. I wasn't planning to watch them at all, but the blog added more entertainment value. I fast forwarded over everything except Jon Stewart's bits and the parts that the blog made sound interesting.
Thanks, PAD.
I know it's a very old comment, but I had to comment on this:
Thank you, Academy, for proving why ghettoizing the animated features to their own category is fucking stupid. I knew that one day, someone would make a movie like Persepolis (I personally imagined someone making an animated adaptation of Art Spiegelman's Maus), and it would go up against the typical Disney fare, which is a joke.
Of course, one can quibble about any particular award goes--who should've won, who shouldn't have--that's part of the fun, after all.
But I'm not quite ready to agree that that's a reason to decry the whole "Best Animated Feature" cateogry. PERSEPOLIS is a great movie, no doubt. But if there were no Best Animated Feature category, it's very possible that it would have gotten no Oscar nominations at all. Yes, the Best Animated Feature category is going to be dominated by the Disneys and Pixars of the world, but since the category exists, it might always shine some light on other animated work like PERSEPOLIS or THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE or HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE. Even if those pictures don't win the award, it's nice that the Best Animated Feature category exists to get them a bit of notice; if the category didn't exist, there would surely be many, many years where no animated feature gets any Oscar attention (just as there were before the category was established.)
Luigi Novi,
Internet or not, show some respect. Be an adult once in a while.
11:11: How marvelously inclusive: our folks serving in Baghdad announcing short subject. Of course, there's some irony in that considering Iraq is in fact unending rather than short, but...
For my money the irony is that members of our "don't ask, don't tell, get drummed out anyway" military announcing the winner, Freeheld, a movie about gay rights.
This insistence that Luigi Novi "show some respect" sounds quite a bit like "You have the right to agree with what I just said." I've thought he was completely off-base in some comments made in the past, but nothing he said on this string was the least bit risible.
There was far less embarrassingly bad material on this Oscars show than most, and Jon Stewart did well - much better than two years ago.
"Jon Stewart did well - much better than two years ago."
The 2006 Oscars, or as John Oliver called it, "the unpleasantness."
I agree with the others... Once is an absolutely wonderful movie, and I was really happy it won over the normal studio fare. But if you prefer the classic over-the-top musical numbers, it won't be for you. It's a great little love story based on indie-rock/folk music. If you don't like that music, PAD, you'll probably sleep through the film. Personally, it was one of my favorites of last year, by far.
Yeah, I don't really get Luigi's comment about the animation category, either. Why does Ratatouille's win over Persepolis mean that there shouldn't be an animation category at all? If it wasn't for that category, neither film would have been nominated at all. Ratatouille was also a beloved and highly acclaimed movie, so its win was perfectly understandable (although personally, I didn't like either one of those movies).
On the other hand, I do think having a "Best Animated Feature" award is a bit like having a "Best Black Golfer" award. But so what?
"Jon Stewart did well - much better than two years ago"
I thought he was awful, maybe second to David Letterman for Worst Oscar Host Ever. I don't really see why they invited him back, when he seems completely out of his element. And he's not funny.
Ah! I found the Daily Show clip about last year's Oscars.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=82747&title=movie-award-program
I love thedailyshow.com
I would assume that Luigi Novi's comments about "Persepolis" and "Ratatouille" meant that they are two polar opposites in purpose and execution - one a dark look at recent history with serious intent and the other a rousing funny animal caper. I'm not sure I agree with Luigi that serious work will be stigmatized by being relegated to the "ghetto" of "Best Animated Feature" along with more child-intensive work - nor sure that "Ratatouille" is all that childish - but he raises a very important point regarding the way animation is separated from other cinema at the Oscars.
"but he raises a very important point regarding the way animation is separated from other cinema at the Oscars."
But so are documentaries. When only one animated film in history is nominated for Best Picture, I don't think it hurts to give them their own category (and they're still eligible for the Best Picture category anyway). Not that I really care either way.
Oh, and yes, Persepolis and Ratatouille are two polar opposites in purpose and execution. But so are No Country for Old Men and Juno.
Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think they are polar opposites in purpose or execution. They're both animated character studies about the protagonist's efforts to find themselves. And Persepolis isn't all that dark. It almost qualifies as a comedy.
Alan Coil: Luigi Novi, Internet or not, show some respect. Be an adult once in a while.
Luigi Novi: Excuse me, Alan, but making a joke regarding how one finds something boring, particularly when it's not in an in-person situation, is hardly mutually exclusive from adulthood, nor is having such an expression censored "respect". If you don't like my opinion, then too bad.
There is nothing wrong with opining that I found that guy's speech snore-inducing, nor am I required to regard it the same way that you do. I also notice that you didn't respond to my pointing out that Peter himself opined when he found certain aspects of the ceremony boring.
If you don't like uncensored expressions of certain opinions, kindly go elsewhere.
Luigi,
While on the whole I agree with you that you didn't really do anything wrong with "ZZZZZ", I've got a real concern with your last statement above to Alan. It's not your place to disinvite someone from a semi-public forum. Peter can certainly do so if he chooses (though I'd personally be surprised if he did in this case), but for you to say it is somewhat ... inappropriate, to say the least.
TWL
Whether or not a rat is permitted to become a fine chef seems a much less serious subject than a young woman growing up in the shadow of the Iranian Revolution. I would defend the grouping of documentaries in their own category because they are not (or at least aren't supposed to be) fictional products of their creators' imaginations. Separating animated from live action films is a distinction of media, rather than kind. I suppose it's true that animated features are eligible to be nominated for Best Picture, but so long as there is a special category reserved for them there will be a disincentive to do so. The distinction between animation and live action (which is more tenuous than it may seem, given the prevalence of digital and other special effects in "live" film) is no more intuitive than separating comedy from drama, attractive from unattractive casts, or tall from short actors.
Tim Lynch: To misunderstand Luigi Novi's warning to those who dislike opposing viewpoints is somewhat...inappropriate, to say somewhat more than the least.
Rrrrrrrright. Given your track record, Jeffrey, I think I'll let Luigi respond to this himself.
TWL
Tim Lynch - Wouldn't it be much better if you wrote something that actually substantiated any of your fevered opinions? Your thinking is something like this:
Someone (not Luigi, but an amazing duplicate): I dislike X.
Someone else (not Tim, but pretty similar): You're an asshole to say that! Screw you! Stop doing that!!
Jeff (really - not someone else, but me): Hey, pseudo-Tim, would you care to back that up a bit? I think you're wrong.
Pseudo-Tim: WELL, come on! It's Jeff!!! Pfffft.
No, Jeffrey, that's not even remotely what my thinking is "something like", unless you use the phrase in the same sense as the Pacific Ocean being something like the surface of Mars.
I've already said, or at least implied, that Alan's criticism was at best way over the top, although your caricature of it is rather loony.
Luigi responded by defending himself (which I didn't object to in the least) and by telling Alan to leave if he didn't like Luigi expressing opinions.
That last statement, IMO, was a stronger reaction and a more offensive statement than the rest of the conversation leading up to it, so I spoke up.
If you were hoping to make me sorry I did so, you've succeeded -- because frankly, I generally regret getting into the muck with any mammals of the porcine variety. It's not a mistake I intend to make again for a while -- life's too short.
If Luigi thinks that I misrepresented him or that my comment was out of line, I'll listen to him and will take it seriously. (I'm not at all sure he'd agree with you.) The end of my conversation dealing with you, however, is done. Bye now.
TWL
Luigi said:
"If you don't like uncensored expressions of certain opinions, kindly go elsewhere."
-----
I don't mind if you invite me to go away. It is to be expected at some point on the internet.
What is totally ironic is that you got the censored version of my post, not the uncensored version. That uncensored version got lost somewhere in the Ethernet.
I wish I could read lips, just I could 'hear' what Helen Mirren was saying to Daniel Day Lewis as they left the stage together.
Joe - I do read lips. I haven't watched the awards yet, but I'll pay attention to this part and letcha know if I can see what she's saying to him.
Tim, it's remarkably dishonest for you to pretend Luigi Novi's suggestion was at all appalling. What he said is entirely true:
This is the internet. Some of the sad people on it do not share Tim Lynch's opinions on all issues, and some of them are impudent enough to say what they think - those poor imbeciles! If the situation offends him, he may be well advised to go away - but that's his own decision.
ok... am I the only person who remembers the gaydolf titler joke already being on the daily show? I swear i've seen jon stewart deliver the exact same joke before, but no blog I've found mentions it being a repeat...
Tim Lynch: While on the whole I agree with you that you didn't really do anything wrong with "ZZZZZ", I've got a real concern with your last statement above to Alan. It's not your place to disinvite someone from a semi-public forum. Peter can certainly do so if he chooses (though I'd personally be surprised if he did in this case), but for you to say it is somewhat ... inappropriate, to say the least.
Luigi Novi: Strictly speaking, that's true, but I think those like you who've known me long enough can guess that I wasn't making a literal claim to any authority on this site, since I'm not the type of person who presumes authority on other people's property. It was a shorthand way of saying something to the effect of "Since Peter generally does not condone censorship of opinions he does not like on his site, particularly on the basis of mere aesthetics, I don't think it's your place to police what I say, especially with insults." I could've just as well said something like "Buzz off, Alan", or "To each his own", but I simply didn't think a response to his statement required that much complex thought or deliberation. Perhaps I erred in that regard.
And in assent of Jason's completely appropriate sentiment.......
Alan, I have no ill will to you, however, I do think it was inappropriate for you to insult me (and yes, it did come across as such) by accusing me of immaturity, simply because I made a facetious remark about a Oscar speech I found boring (What? A boring Oscar speech? Why, that's MADNESS!!!). This blog entry was a rather light-hearted one, one which we mused on various aspects of Oscar history, lore, traditions and cliches of the Oscars, and did so with a mixed dollop of humor, anticipation, hope, love of the medium, and yes, a bit of sarcasm. Others like Peter mentioned how certain aspects of the night were rather boring, and my comment was perfectly in keeping with that atmosphere. Given that, I found your comment to be uncalled for. Nonetheless, I'm guessing that you did not intend offense, as I've never noticed any such sentiment from you, so I propose that we got our wires crossed, and let bygones be bygones, okay? Peace, brother.
"ok... am I the only person who remembers the gaydolf titler joke already being on the daily show? I swear i've seen jon stewart deliver the exact same joke before, but no blog I've found mentions it being a repeat..."
He's at least made a similar joke, but with a different fake name.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=87095&title=right-wing-off
Skip ahead to 3:20 into the video.
I think those like you who've known me long enough can guess that I wasn't making a literal claim to any authority on this site
Fair enough. I think it was just something about the phrasing that bugged me, since I've seen plenty of people who DO presume such authority (many of them here). Had you said something like "nobody's forcing you to stay" as your final clause, I doubt I'd have batted an eye.
No big deal; apologies if I misread things.
TWL
Hi, Tim. Relevant to nothing, but your wife being Doc Hazard inspired me (with all apologies to Waylon Jennings)
She's a real good doc,
Never do ya no harm,
Ya say ya feel sore,
Aches, pains and more,
Since the day you were born.
Straighten you out,
Reasonable bill,
Someday Medicaid might get 'er,
or yer HMO will.
Writin' a scrip,
the only way she knows how,
Illegible but legal somehow.
Just a real fine doc,
Fix you up in a pinch,
her name's Hazard,
the hubby's called Lynch.
(I need a hobby)
I don't think it's fair to indict someone just because they thought the show was boring. For one thing, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and that being said, judging from the reviews, an awful lot of people seem to share that opinion, including me. Whether it was the over-reliance on clips, Stewart's lack of good material or just an overall lack of excitement, it wasn't exactly a barn burner. Personally, I think they just get rid of everybody involved for the past several years and just start from scratch with a new producer, director, host and definitely a bunch of new writers. Ditch the over-produced musical numbers (did the song from Once, which was basically done with a piano and guitar, need a backing orchestra?), eliminate the applause for those who passed away, so it doesn't feel like a popularity contest, and for goodness sake, eliminate any of the filler involving the president of the Academy explaining how voting is conducted!
Internet or not, show some respect. Be an adult once in a while.If you don't like uncensored expressions of certain opinions, kindly go elsewhere.
...I've got a real concern with your last statement above to Alan. It's not your place to disinvite someone from a semi-public forum. Peter can certainly do so if he chooses (though I'd personally be surprised if he did in this case), but for you to say it is somewhat ... inappropriate, to say the least.
I think those like you who've known me long enough can guess that I wasn't making a literal claim to any authority on this site...Fair enough. I think it was just something about the phrasing that bugged me, since I've seen plenty of people who DO presume such authority (many of them here). Had you said something like "nobody's forcing you to stay" as your final clause, I doubt I'd have batted an eye.
Why does Luigi have to answer for rejecting orders from Alan, but Alan doesn't have to answer for issuing them?
Well, of course the show was boring to some. I didn't find it boring, but it was a bit bland and the reason it was bland is because those in charge ordered it to be so. That is what the current atmosphere in this country has been forced to be. They simply can't afford to take a chance on being fined. The latest fines that were levied for so-called "indecency" were to shows that aired legally 5 years ago.
Actually, as I stated above, I thought the show breezed by pretty briskly, in part due to the attention needed to focus on the blog, and I thought Stewart did a good job too. It was just that one guy's speech I found boring.
I enjoyed Jon Stewart's parts, but as I said earlier, I fast forwarded over almost everything else. Stewart was all I wanted to see.
I would like to point out the fact that the show was not put together in a normal fashion. A month ago they didn't even know there was going to *be* an Oscars. They might not have started production at all until they were sure the strike was going to end in time.
That could have caused a lot of problems. Maybe they were running so late that they got approval for the songs in Enchanted and said, "Screw it, we don't have time to wait and see if we can get songs from other movies. Just use three songs from this one."
Jerry Seinfeld promoting Bee Movie again? To do animation, even just basic lip synching on an existing model, you have to record the voice first. That means once the writers came back, they had to find a star of an animated movie, write something, record it, and get the animators working on it immediately. They might have used Jerry Seinfeld purely because they could get him quick.
I could think of other things that probably suffered from the last minute nature of the show. I'm sure I'd get some of them wrong, but I bet at least a few things that people didn't like happened because they didn't have much time to prepare. So if you found the show sub par, that doesn't mean a Jon Stewart hosted Oscars would necessarily be the same next year.
The songs that were sung were the nominated songs.
All the nominations had been made well before the strike was settled.
I have always felt that the weakest part of the show was the singing of the nominated songs.
Peter,
Watch ONCE. It was one of my favorite films of the year. The song may have been putting you to sleep out of context of the film, but please, watch the actual movie, and then you'll see why it won.
-John
The songs that were sung were the nominated songs.
All the nominations had been made well before the strike was settled.
Yeah, rights clearance issues almost certainly aren't a real issue as to what songs got nominated and therefore performed.
I note that the general Academy Award submission rules include language stating that the act of sumitting a film conveys to the Academy the right to use excerpts in the telecast. I imagine there may be analagous arrangement for submitted songs--that the act of submitting a song for Oscar consideration conveys permission to perform it should it be nominated--though that may be somewhat more complicated by all the other issues that generally surround song rights.
For what it's worth, the list of 59 movie songs deemed eligible for the award is at http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2007/07.12.12.html I'm not enough of a music-phile to recognize any of them that I'd prefer be nominated in place of what was nominated, but others will surely have stronger opinions.
I have to add my support for Once. It's a wonderful movie, and that song really is beautiful, and absolutely deserved to win. And I'm not even normally a fan of that folksy, acoustic guitar type of music.
Not that anyone's necessarily still interested, but with regard to Stewart bringing back Markéta Irglová to deliever her acceptance speech, according to Entertainment Weekly's follow up Oscar coverage, it wasn't Stewart who decided to bring her back, but rather executive producer Gilbert Cates. (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20180773_8,00.html )
Still a nice guesture, whomever initiated it.
Just so you know, Best Cinematography winners are rarely Best Picture winners, unless they are epic spectacle Best Pictures.
Cinematography gets lumped in with the technical awards, so when you've got a movie like 'Titanic' or 'The English Patient' -- which does well in the "technical" categories, but not the above-the-line ones -- yeah, it tends to win. But more often, Best Picture will be the less technical movie, but one movie will win most/all of the technical awards, culminating with Cinematography, which is kind of the "Best Picture" of below-the-line awards. That's why 'Pan's Labyrinth' beat 'Children of Men' last year, for istance.