Oscars 2009

[Emperor]

The 81st Annual Academy Awards have just wrapped with a classy take on the annual soiree thanks to new producers Bill Condon and Larry Mark.

 

Armed with a beautiful new stage, punchier pace and Hugh Jackman classing up the proceedings with his self-deprecating song and dance routine, it was the most interesting ceremony setup in years (even if the speeches themselves proved a bit dull).

 

All the musical numbers were surprisingly strong, the incorporation of five previous winners in the big awards categories to present the acting awards was a great touch, and the compression of tech awards into pre and post-production categories worked well.

 

Not so great were the comedy routines with Ben Stiller's Joaquin Phoenix bit and the "Pineapple Express" comedy montage falling flat. While there was no cringe-inducing awards banter, a couple of the team-ups like Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black flopped. Tina Fey & Steve Martin proved the best presenters, while Kate Winslet and Sean Penn had the best speeches.

 

"Slumdog Millionaire" easily dominated the ceremony with eight wins, way above nearest rival "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" which took in three. Mild surprises came in the form of Sean Penn beating Mickey Rourke and "Departures" beating "Waltz with Bashir", but it was otherwise a very predictable ceremony.

 

Here's the complete list of this year's winners:

 

BEST PICTURE

Slumdog Millionaire

 

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Sean Penn ("Milk")

 

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Kate Winslet ("The Reader")

 

DIRECTING

Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire)

 

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Heath Ledger ("The Dark Knight")

 

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Penelope Cruz ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona")

 

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Departures

 

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

"Wall-E"

 

SCREENPLAY (Adapted)

"Slumdog Millionaire"

 

SCREENPLAY (Original)

"Milk"

 

ART DIRECTION

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

 

CINEMATOGRAPHY

"Slumdog Millionaire"

 

COSTUME DESIGN

''The Duchess"

 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

''Man on Wire"

 

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

''Smile Pinki"

 

FILM EDITING

"Slumdog Millionaire"

 

MAKEUP

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

 

 

 

MUSIC (SCORE)

"Slumdog Millionaire" A.R. Rahman

 

MUSIC (SONG)

"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire"

 

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

"La Maison en Petits Cubes"

 

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

''Spielzeugland (Toyland)"

 

SOUND EDITING

"The Dark Knight"

 

 

SOUND MIXING

"Slumdog Millionaire"

 

VISUAL EFFECTS

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

 

[Emperor]

Now what should have won... by Emp the Eror.

 

BEST PICTURE

Slumdog Millionaire

 

Agree.  I think Doubt should have been nominated over The Reader though.

 

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Sean Penn ("Milk")

 

Penn was excellent.  Richard Jenkins was awesome.  Frank Langella was stunning.  Mickey Rourke was great.  Brad Pitt.... eh... Really I think Rourke should have taken this honor.

 

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Kate Winslet ("The Reader")

 

Kate, while deserves an Oscar for her body of work, probably should not have beat out Streep.  I haven't seen Rachel Getting Married though so Hathaway may have been a strong contender too.  Streep's performance in Doubt was the best I saw though.

 

 

[Dunbar]

I pretty much agree, except I'm really disappointed Rourke didn't win and I felt, personally, that Streep did a superior job to Winslet, and if Winslet was to be nominated it should have been for Revolutionary Road. I do, however, feel glad that she finally won one. Hathaway was good, but not that good.

[Emperor]

Dunbar, you complete me.

[Far Dareis Mai]

I thought Hathaway was excellent. She did such a great job, considering all the squeaky clean roles she has done in the past. I am glad though the Winslet got it, I think that she has deserved it so many other times. Streep did well, though her performance kinda creeped me out in Doubt...and I never finished watching it. Heh.

 

Never saw The Wrestler or Milk. I think Slumdog Millionaire deserved all the props it got though. That movie was amazing.

 

I didn't get to watch the ceremonies though. Who accepted Heath's award? Was it all emotional and stuff?

[Emperor]

His mom, sister and dad accepted.  The audience was tearful.

 

They did a great thing presenting acting honors this year in having 5 past winners on stage talking about the nominees. 

[Far Dareis Mai]

Yeah...I watch a clip of Kate Winslet's acceptance speech and wondered why all those women were up there.

[Moghedian]

They didn't actually show the ceremony on TV here... ::) I am currently downloading some of the acceptance speeches off the Oscars Website though. It's not a good sign that the only movie I saw out of the 'Best Picture' nominees was 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', is it? ::)

[ChronoCrosS]

I need to see more movies, I didn't see any of the best pictures.  :-[

[Yveva]

Honestly, I thought Frank L. from Frost/Nixon might win, and Sean Penn was my third choice for the win, but I really dug the speech he gave, so that was worth it.  I didn't think Slumdog should win Best Picture.  It was good, but lacked depth.  Empy is going to divorce me now.

[Tenshin_Xo]

"I said to myself, 'I would rather have Loki for another two years than have an Oscar,' and I told her that, you know. But she stayed as long as she could."

—Mickey Rourke, still mourning the death six days ago of his beloved dog

 

"I said to my daughter, 'If I did win the big prize, what do you think I should say?' And she said, 'I just think you should be really crazy and emotional'. I thought, 'You're no good.' "

—Kate Winslet, nominated for her performance in The Reader

 

"I thought it was a joke. First of all, how can I play his mother? I'm black. He's white."

—Taraji P. Henson, on being cast as Brad Pitt's mom in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

 

"I've been sitting on one butt cheek the whole ride over here, which is difficult. People don't have a clue what goes into it."

—Heidi Klum, on high fashion

 

"He doesn't speak English. He isn't saying anything."

—One of the little kids from Slumdog Millionaire, translating on behalf of another little kid from Slumdog Millionaire

 

"She just said, 'Don't let anything affect you; enjoy, this is your moment.' "

—Freida Pinto, relaying advice she received from Angelina Jolie at the SAG Awards

 

"I just wanted to go 15 rounds with her and still be on my feet. I didn't want to stink."

—Viola Davis, on acting alongside Meryl Streep, the "500-pound gorilla of acting

 

"I did a rehearsal and messed it up. I am probably going to be the letdown of the entire show."

—Robert Pattinson, not really getting it

 

"It came together very, very quickly, so it's not too demanding, but it is very exciting."

—Zac Efron, doing his best to sell the hell out of...whatever it is he's doing there

 

"Angelina Jolie—she can adopt me if she wants to."

—Miley Cyrus, when asked by Ryan Seacrest what star she was excited to see tonight

 

"It's like swimming with dolphins, working with Ron Howard, good for the soul."

—Frost/Nixon actor Michael Sheen

 

"Someone put a black bag over my head and took me somewhere and hypnotized me. It might have been a rehearsal, but I can't say for sure."

—Kevin Kline, reacting to the cloak-and-dagger secrecy of this year's awards

 

Courtesy of an article on Comcast.net

[Dunbar]

Dunbar, you complete me.

 

Colour me flattered

 

Anyhows, I was extremely disappointed when I figured out the Oscars wouldn't be broadcast on any of the channels available to me, and all I'll get is a shortened version this thursday. This angers me. I'm hoping some raunchy pirate will upload it >.<

 

I'm still angry Rourke didn't win. I really like Sean Penn, but NOW I'M ANGRY TOO.

[Majsju]

My favourite part of the whole thing was Jackmans opening act, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPgAQ_SW_Wk

 

Other than that...

Bit disappointed that Rourke did not get best actor, even if Sean Penn always is brilliant.

I am ok with Winslet getting best actress. The movie was insanely overrated, but she was good. Of course, in that category I would have accepted anyone except Jolie.

Another disappointment concerning The Wrestler is that Tomei did not get best supporting act. Ok, Penelope was good in Vicky Christina Barcelona, but I have seen her so much better (In pretty much all Almodovar movies she is in).