Live Bloggin' The 2009 Oscars

Because I'm Stoked:

I woke at 8:00am and started warming the cheese dip for the Oscar-show snacks. Even though the red carpet extravaganza starts early, I think I may have jumped the gun...

I caught Penelope Cruz's nominated role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona this weekend. It was a fine performance, but short. To be fair, a whoooole lotta dialogue was packed into her few minutes on screen.

Politics, gimmicky flicks and good old fashioned story-telling: the list of nominations this year is as eclectic as I can recall.

The nominated movie I most regret not seeing this year: Doubt.

The Best Actor nominee I most hope wins: Richard Jenkins, star of The Visitor.

Word is, Angelina Jolie will be wearing a $20 million dollar necklace to the awards ceremony. No word yet on how valuable is the chain she has attached to Brad Pitt's choke collar.

The cheese is cooling, so I'm going back to bed. I need to get in a nap before the hoopla.

E!'s Countdown To The Red Carpet had WWE superstar John Cena giving a run-down on pro rasslin' moves as insight into the realism of The Wrestler. Wonder why E! couldn't find a real pro wrestler to give the tutorial?

The Red Carpet Edition:

Shouldn't Live From The Red Carpet producer and host Ryan Seacrest own Hollywood by now? The DJ/American Idol host/TV producer is this generation's Dick Clark. 'Cept, he already looks older than Clark.

Miley Cyrus' entrance seemed to draw the biggest excitement among the C-listers doing the early press walk. Typing that just made my stomach flop.

The list of nominees for acting roles contains personalities that seem pretty tame fare, so guessing which winner will have that Cuba Gooding, Jr. moment is gonna be rough. My prediction: Penelope Cruz, should she win, will go off into an incoherent rant during her speech. Bonus prediction: she will not thank Tom Cruise.

Dev Patel, from Slumdog Millionaire, has to be the most excited celeb at the awards tonight. His performance in the flick was sensational, and it's a shame he wasn't nominated for an acting award. He could have been in Brad Pitt's slot, and the quality of the nominee list wouldn't suffer.

Where's Gary Busey?!?

I can't help but imagine how horrible life would be if people videotaped and broadcast my trek to work every day, and illustrated on a "glamastrator" how well or how poorly my slacks and shirt fit that day.

Red Carpet Tip O' The Day: A full explanation on how Kate Winslet's hair style isn't retro but is, in fact, futuristic. Who knew?

Hey, God, if you exist: Please, please! let Mickey Rourke win Best Actor tonight, so I can hear him thank his recently deceased chihuahua, Loki. Rourke's necklace, an homage to the dog, is a harbinger of what the speech will entail!

The Show:

Wolverine is hosting!

Hugh Jackman's a good song and dance man. The opening bit ain't so bad. "I'm Wolverine!" Ha! Awesome.

I like the new way of announcing the nominations, by talking about the actors and their performances. It's intimate, nice. Penelope Cruz wins and gives a speech filled with dignity and passion, and stays coherent, which means I lose my bet.

(By the way, my years-long crush on Goldie Hawn is now officially over.)

Film Geek Quote Of The Night: When Lavatory Love Story is announced as a nominated short film, Mrs. Film Geek asks aloud: "Is that movie about Larry Craig?"

Make-up and design awards: time to make myself a sandwich.

Ben Stiller effen rocks!! His Joaquin Phoenix bit was pure comic brilliance. I'm reminded of how funny Stiller was starring in his early TV series, The Ben Stiller Show, on FOX.

I'm so glad the Slumdog cinematographer won an Oscar. That movie was a wonderful work of visual art.


Heath Ledger wins! Health Ledger wins! A well deserved posthumous award--Ledger's Joker was the best part of The Dark Knight, and really took the audience into a twisted mind of a sociopath.



I agree with Bill Maher a lot when it comes to political and social issues, but goddamn it I can't stand the guy! I hate smug, and Maher's got a huge case of it. He reminds me of people who suddenly have an epiphany, then feel as though they are the only ones in the world who ever had the thought. To come out and whine about his documentary not getting nominated was just classless.

I'm shocked the visual effects Oscar went to Benjamin Buttons over The Dark Knight and Iron Man. Those two comic book flicks heavily relied on effects to tell the minute-by-minute story, while the effects in Buttons just made Brad Pitt de-age. Strange.

"Laaayyyydeeeee": Oh, that Jerry Lewis. I thought the Academy was gonna do a tribute to the rocker who sang Great Balls Of Fire. For those who know Jerry Lewis only from his Labor Day telethons, he was once one of the greatest comic actors ever. His movie, Visit To A Small Planet, is my all-time favorite of his flicks.

Every year, during the portion of the show where they show clips of those who have died, I find out someone passed on this year that I didn't know died. This year it was Richard Widmark. I knew Widmark mostly from television, but his role as Jim Bowie in The Alamo was a personal favorite. As a kid, I wanted to be able to use a knife like Bowie, and practiced all the time after I saw The Alamo. Widmark was terrific in the role.

Kate Winslet is the new Meryl Streep. Without the overblown ego.

[Crossing my fingers for Richard Jenkins.] Best Actor is: Sean Penn. Well, I haven't seen Milk yet, but the buzz about his work has been high. Penn is great in every role I've seen him take on, so I'm eager to see the film ASAP.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire! It was this little movie's night, for sure. A brilliant movie, with a message of hope and optimism that we here in America could learn from. If we paid better attention.

I liked the scaled-back production this year. More intimate, less bling. Hope the trend continues in 2010.