Oscar 2

Some Oscar thoughts.
First from the E! coverage:
Miley Cyrus sounds like total traaaaaash – just missing some gum to chew on. When will the public learn that the dumber the celeb, the easier it is to get them to work?

Gary Bussey is full on nuts.

Jennifer Garner and Laura Linney were so cute! I adore LL and she made me like Garner for the first time. She looked less Praying Mantis than usual.

Ryan Seacrest was flirting with Clooney and Patrick Dempsey and giving Daniel Day Louis, perennial worst dressed, a run for his money. He practically pushed John Travolta out of the way to interview Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Did Keri Russell really tell a young E! Viewer that math wasn’t that important? YIKES!

New rule: Cameron Diaz doesn’t get to dress herself anymore.

Tilda Swinton I love, but is she human? She seems more like a Greek Goddess to me.

Kimora Lee wasn’t far enough away.

Note to the E! staff, reading the tabloids is not preparation. I felt bad for Ryan asking people to confirm fake tabloid stories.

From ABC Coverage:
Not much to say. What a waste of time. Regis called Javier Bardem Xavier, but other than that, it was the usual ABC Disney suck up. ITS A MOVIE THING, people, not a TV promo. But Reg had that, I’ll say it, glassy old man look that makes me think we might not be seeing too much more of him.

The Show:
Good to see they saved the sets from some bad 1970’s musical number and those introductory voice overs? Can we hire someone besides Gil Cates to produce this show? PLEASE?
Costume design and that Barbra interstitial to start? How anti-climactic. If I had only watched the ABC coverage, I'd be a little bored by now.
No complaining about the length of the show if the first 20 minutes is a near throw-away. 80 years of Oscar video and it seems to be have been the last 25 years with a few other other clips for good measure.
Katherine Heigl is GORGEOUS (and very sincere from my short time with her), but babe, dont take the gig if you cant speak in public!

OK, were 30 mins in and I havent found anything to not complain about. Jon Stewart and George Clooney? What could go wrong? What happened to giving the acting awards out right away to draw us in and draw it out?

OYE! A musical number? And surprise, its a Disney number. Might have to pause and DVR my way through this truly boring show. I thought the writers were back?

And we're back...
Jennifer Hudson proving that maybe you don't give Oscars to first timers who sang half their roles when she couldnt read the prompter believably.

Oh, thank God for Tilda Swintons win. Now I do think she's a goddess. That clip of Cate Blanchett made me wonder why she was nominated. She looked like a woman playing a man - self consciously at that. But Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton was a very nuanced performance all the way to her break down at the end that is hardly even shown. Good solid film.

ENOUGH Jack Nicholson. And did I miss the Heath Ledger love?

Even the Cohens were boring. Maybe they should start drinking before hand like the Globes.

So what I said earlier about the film industry not caring about women - with Marion Cotilliard win - had you even heard about her or this film? I live in LA and think Im a bit of a film nerd and couldnt find it to go see it.

I feel like all Im doing is bitching, but even the music is boring this year! LOVE Kristin Chenowith, but these songs dont seem to have any soul. Andrea Corr singing Time Enough for Tears. Bette Midler and The Rose. Even the old Disney songs like Be My Guest. Once had some soul, but August Rush seemed like manufactured soul. Once was a sleeper film people really should see.

Maybe this is what you get when you throw together a show in 3 weeks.

Renee Zellweger you have to love and looked amazing, but couldnt Nicole Kidman have accessorized BOTH her boobs?

Back to Once. Make art. Make art. Make art. Thats what this show needs to remember. Old people pandering to young people just makes no sense. Remember when the 'elite' thought it was their duty to raise standards and teach people, while entertaining them. Seems the first rule of making a show like this is out the window. What's your product? Its not the films or the art of films. Its ratings and promotion for ABC/Disney. Get back to your core and people will watch.

Kudos to whomever brought her back out to say that for Once. Clearly they are running short...

OMG, Im bored with this. Barring someone blowing up, literally, I think Im done tonight. To paraphrase Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons which Id prefer to watch right now, 'Worst Oscars Ever'.

That didn't take long. Diablo Coty! Now I really think Jon Stewart is out of line for stripper jokes. She might be the most honest person in that room!

Thats it. FIRE GIL CATES NOW. 2:45 of sheer boredom and jam everything into 15 mins and run over... And retire Bill Conte while you're at it.

Oscar

OK, I am late getting my picks on here, but want to go on the record before the show starts.

Supporting Actress: I have to admit, I just dont care about the actresses this year. But, only because I dont think the film business does. But buzz for Cate Blanchett, so ok.

Best Actress: Just for my friend John I see at Starbucks, whose wife won an Oscar for animated short, Marion Cotilliard for La Vie En Rose. But it has to be said, I love Laura Linney. If Cate Blanchett can play Bob Dylan, I want Laura Linney to play me. Her films lately have been about messed up families, so she has the experience already.

Supporting Actor: Hal Holbrook was my emotional favorite, but since the NYTimes seems to think there's no one else but Javier Bardem... I just dont get it. Economy in a performance, like heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain is amazing. This was a limp and haircut, IMHO.

Best Actor: Tommy Lee Jones got me with In the Valley Of Elah (now on DVD) and he carries No Country for Old Men. I dont think there is much of a race here. Though, Viggo Mortenson was amazing in Eastern Promises. Full on naked and fighting is courageous at a minimum.

Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen, of course.

Best Picture: No Country for Old Men. To me, it channeled the culture this year. A country on the precipice and in danger of becoming what it says it is fighting against.

VOICE-OVER ... More than that, I don't want to know. A man would have to put his soul at hazard ... He would have to say, O.K., I'll be part of this world.