I Want To Thank the Academy

Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards were announced this morning, so I want to thank the Academy for recognizing some of my favorite films and performances. First of all, as the world’s most avid movie musical fan, I’m especially pleased about those 8 nominations for Les Misérables -- including Best Picture, Best Actor (Hugh Jackman, be still my heart) and Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway).

And I’m also happy about an equal number of nods for Silver Linings Playbook as well as the Best Supporting Actor nomination for Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained. Plus I was pleasantly surprised to see A Royal Affair on the list for Best Foreign Language film. But the greatest relief for me this morning came when I heard Naomi Watts’ name called as one of the nominees for Best Actress. I would have been soooo disappointed if she hadn’t met the cut for her outstanding performance as a mother struggling to be united with her family in the aftermath of a Tsunami in The Impossible (which should have been nominated for Best Picture, in my humble opinion.)

As expected, Lincoln emerged as the leader in this year’s field with a total of 12 nominations in important categories like Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field). We’ll find out who the Oscar winners are on Sunday, February 24, during the traditional ABC televised Academy Awards show. Check out the complete list of nominees by clicking on the link below.

http://www.imdb.com/oscars/nominations/?ref_=rto_nb_acd

Favorite Oscar® Moments

The Oscars are coming! The Oscars are coming! So, of course, all movie addicts like me will be glued to our TV sets on Sunday, February 26, to watch Billy Crystal host the 84th Annual Academy Awards® telecast on ABC -- which motivates me to list my favorite Oscar moments from the past. Here they are, but in no particular order:

2009 – Host Hugh Jackman opening the show with a musical number poking fun at nominated films like Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader and Frost/Nixon.

1974 -- David Niven’s impressive composure when a streaker interrupted his comments during the 46th Academy Awards ceremony.

2002 -- Whoopee Goldberg’s outrageous costume changes (inspired by nominated films like Moulin Rouge!) while hosting the Oscars.

1985 -- Sally Field’s exuberant “You like me!” speech upon winning Best Actress for Places in the Heart.

1999 -- Roberto Benigni running on top of the theater seats to accept his Best Actor award for A Beautiful Life.

1992 – Seventy-three-year-old Jack Palance doing push-ups after being awarded the Best Supporting Oscar for City Slickers.

1964 – Winning Best Actor for Lilies of the Field, Sidney Poitier makes history as the first African-American male to receive an Oscar.

1989 – The dreadful, but great fun to watch, Snow White musical number with Rob Lowe (!).

1997 – Cuba Gooding Jr.’s enthusiastic “I love everybody” acceptance speech after winning Best Supporting Actor for Jerry Maguire.

1973 – Sacheen Littlefeather condemning treatment of Native Americans while accepting Marlon Brando’s Best Actor Award for The Godfather.

Honorable Mention: Any of Billy Crystal’s movie parody songs from his eight previous Oscar-hosting gigs.

Always the eternal optimist, I’m expecting to see more memorable moments while watching this year’s Academy Awards® show.

(Photo: Cuba Gooding Jr.)

Oscar® Afterthoughts

Although bleary eyed after watching the entire 83rd Annual Academy Awards televised show last night, I can’t resist posting an early morning rant and rave about the proceedings. My hubby and I dressed for the occasion. I wore a robe by Chenille, but he refused to divulge his bizarre wardrobe designer. We have to admit Natalie Portman and Christian Bale put both of us to shame. Natalie with her gorgeous deep purple gown and matching string earrings; Christian with his elegant black tuxedo. We decided to bestow our “Cutest Award” to co-host James Franco, mostly because of his engaging smile, which he flashed as often as possible while bantering with his dazzling co-host Anne Hathaway, who’s best moment came with her one amusing song performance. Too bad Anne didn’t perform more musical numbers and that Hugh Jackman (be still my heart) refused to join her for a duet.

Speaking of music, my biggest complaint involves its de-emphasis at the Oscars. I agree with Randy Newman (composer of the Best Song winner, “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3) when he asked how hard could it be to find a fifth song to nominate. Not hard at all in my book. “You Haven’t Heard the Last of Me” and “Bound to You” from Burlesque should have been nominated. The whole show would’ve benefitted by adding more singing and dancing -– and including fewer costume changes by Anne Hathaway, no matter how beautiful she looked in each one (except the funny brown duck outfit, of course).

Regarding the awards, there were no surprises. Although many fans expected
The Social Network to win Best Picture, The King’s Speech made an impressive stretch run during the past few weeks. Still, I can’t help being disappointed that my favorite 2010 film, The Fighter, didn’t end up winning that category. But I’m pleased about Christian Bale and Melissa Leo taking home the Best Supporting Actor statuettes for their brilliant work in that wonderful movie. Best Actress and Best Actor winners Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) gave excellent acceptance speeches. It’s about time Firth was recognized for his acting talent, and Portman put her heart and soul into the difficult role she played.

While the 83rd Academy Awards may not have been the best Oscar show ever, it wasn’t the worst either. I found it more entertaining than last year, but I can’t help hoping Hugh Jackman will return soon as the singing/dancing/funny host his fans love so much.

Oscar® Highlights

Although getting off to an awkward start, last night’s 82nd Annual Academy Awards Show included some interesting highlights. Here’s a list of my favorite moments:

■ Christoph Waltz, Best Supporting Actor winner, delivering an exceptionally well-thought-out acceptance speech about his exciting Inglourious Basterd’s journey under the direction of Quentin Tarrantino.

■ Sandra Bullock, Best Actress winner, giving the most gracious (and amusing) acceptance speech of the evening while looking so beautiful in her sparkly lace-trimmed silver gown.

■ Mo’Nique, Best Supporting Actress winner, reminding everyone how important it is to “do what’s right instead of what’s popular.”

■ Presenters Robert Downey Jr. and Tiny Fey humorously bantering about the different ways an actor and a writer look at screenplays.

■ The dynamic group dance number performed to the nominated musical scores.

■ Funnyman Ben Stiller, made-up as a Na’Vi from Avatar, presenting the Best Make-Up Award to the Star Trek folks.

■ A woman, Kathryn Bigelow, finally being named Best Director.


Unfortunately, some parts of the show didn’t work for me. Am I alone in this, or was there too much George Clooney teasing going on? Sure, George is a good sport, but co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin went overboard in this regard. And I’m disappointed about not hearing the original song nominees. While clips of them from the movies helped, I would prefer longer versions sung live during the show. And, most of all, I desperately missed Hugh Jackman.

Legacy and The Oscars®

Remember the charismatic dancer “Legacy” from last season’s So You Think You Can Dance? I’m happy to report he will be performing at the televised 82nd Annual Academy Awards® Ceremony on March 7.

AND -- a drum roll please -- Legacy has agreed to be a guest on my Movie Addict Headquarters show on the following Tuesday, March 9. I’m hoping he’ll talk about his experience at the Oscars® as well as his new movies, including the third Step-Up film, which is being released in 3-D.

When my husband and I first saw Legacy dancing on SYTYCD, we both thought he had the potential to make it big in the movies. Evidently, so did some perceptive Hollywood VIPs. Congrats, Legacy!

Legacy’s interview on MAHQ will air on BlogTalkRadio at 1 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. Eastern Time). During the live show, listeners are invited to call in and to participate in a chat. An archived segment will also be available. The call-in number is 646-478-5668.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/movieaddictheadquarters

Grand and Glorious Awards Show

“Too much of a good thing can be …wonderful,” Mae West once declared. That describes how I felt last night while watching the 81st Annual Academy Awards show. What a grand and glorious showbiz celebration!

Much of the credit goes to host Hugh Jackman for his wonderful song and dance numbers. Besides being “the sexiest man alive,” he’s a consummate entertainer. I loved it when Hugh announced that Mamma Mia! (my favorite film of 2008) has now surpassed Titanic in money earned throughout the United Kingdom -- and I cheered when he shouted, “The musical is back!” at the end of that splashy, sensational Baz Luhrmann tribute to film musicals.

Without a doubt, this year’s Oscars® show turned out to be the best one ever. It was well-organized, informative, glamorous and -- like Mary Poppins -- practically perfect. Here are some of the highlights for me:

Queen Latifah performing a tender rendition of "I’ll Be Seeing You" while clips of actors and other film personnel who passed away during 2008 flashed on the big screen behind her.

Steve Martin and Tina Fey showing off their marvelous comic talents as presenters of the screenplay awards. “Don’t you fall in love with me,” Steve warned Tina when he sensed she was staring at him.

Kate Winslet, in her acceptance speech, teasing fellow nominee Meryl Streep by saying, "Suck it up, Meryl.”

Winner of two music awards for Slumdog Millionaire, A. R. Rachman, explaining that in a world where the choice is between love and hate, he chose love.

All the Slumdog Millionaire folks displaying such pride and joy with each of the eight awards won by this impressive film.

Danny Boyle, who beamed throughout the entire evening, giving a most heartfelt acceptance speech for his Best Director Award (Slumdog Millionaire) and commending the Academy for putting on such a terrific show.

I couldn’t agree with you more, Danny. Bravo to everyone connected with the 81st Annual Academy Awards Ceremony.

Hugh Jackman To Host Oscars

If anyone can enliven an Oscar Awards Ceremony, it's Hugh Jackman. He wowed everyone as a Tony Awards host -- and now he's signed on to host the Oscars in February. I'm convinced Jackman will do a great job. In addition to being easy on the eye, he can sing and dance plus tell amusing stories with the best of them.

As one of Jackman's many fans, I can hardly wait to see him class up the Oscars. Too bad he probably won't also be one of the nominees. His wonderful performance in Australia has failed to garner much critical acclaim -- but he's definitely on my short list for Best Actor.

Surprises at the 80th Academy Awards®

Yes, I admit to watching the entire Oscar show last night! Happily, the televised presentation was filled with glamour and glitz, because most of the stars tried to look their very best. Still, just as I feared, “No Country for Old Men” won in the big categories of Best Picture, Director and Supporting Actor. And the expected Best Actor Oscar went to the great Daniel Day-Lewis. But there were some surprises – both good and bad.

When Tilda Swinton’s name was called out for Best Supporting Actress, I could hardly believe my ears. But I cheered loudly – maybe too loudly. Can you believe my husband actually frowned at me? Never mind that. He was also happy about Swinton’s win. She’s such a terrific actress, and her tough-as-nails performance in “Michael Clayton” is a memorable one. I expected Ruby Dee or Cate Blanchett to pick up an Oscar in this category. Speaking of Blanchett, I really enjoyed Jon Stewart’s jokes about this chameleon-like actress. “Cate Blanchett is playing me right now,” Stewart quipped.

Marion Cotillard winning Best Actress also surprised and pleased me. Portraying legendary French singer Edith Piaf in “La Vie en Rose” couldn’t have been easy. She had to lypsynch and show Piaf aging as well as developing considerable infirmities. This was a role demanding great emotional as well as physical changes, and Cotillard delivered the goods. Did I expect Cotillard to go home with the Oscar? Not at all. I thought Julie Christie would be victorious here for "Away from Her."

My biggest disappointments involved “The Bourne Ultimatum” earning three Oscars, Alan Menken going away empty handed, and “Juno” winning only one golden statuette. With “Bourne” picking up two awards for sound and one for editing, this will probably encourage more loud, jerky filmmaking. Arrrrgh! In the original song category, I thought Menken and partner Stephen Schwartz were the likely winners. After all, they had three songs from the delightful “Enchanted” nominated – and I absolutely love all three of them, especially “So Close.” (Granted, the winning song, “Falling Slowly” from “Once,” is also lovely.) Although Diablo Cody received the “Best Original Screenplay” nod for “Juno,” I wish this practically perfect little movie had garnered more recognition last night.

Winners in the fashion department? Marion Cotillard, gorgeous in her lush ivory gown; Helen Mirren, glowing in red and silver; George Clooney, who’s born to wear tuxedos -- or anything else, for that matter; and Harrison Ford, proving he can be classy even without a bow tie.

Best acceptance speech? Tilda Swinton, who insisted the Oscar statuette looks just like her agent, so she plans to give it to him in thanks for obtaining the splendid "Michael Clayton" role for her.

NOTE: Swinton, in a one-armed velvet shroud, also tied with Diablo Cody for worst-dressed. Cody wore something hard to describe. Watch for photos.

Pre-Oscar Jitters

Only one more day until we find out who wins those coveted golden statuettes. As always, I'm on pins and needles because I fear my favorites might not win. We already know Daniel Day-Lewis is practically a sure thing for Best Actor for his powerful portrayal of that ruthless oil tycoon in "There Will Be Blood." I even found myself picking him over my all-time fave actor Johnny Depp (please forgive me, Johnny!). But most of the other categories seem up in the air to me.

By the way, did you know there are no new movies starring Johnny Depp being released during 2008? Bummer. Still, he has three in production for 2009. He plays John Dillinger in one of them. Maybe he'll get another Oscar nom for that role. I think he's destined to win an Academy Award or two in the future for his marvelous acting, don't you?

Back to this year's Oscars. I hope one of Alan Menken's ditties wins in the Best Song category, but I'm worried because Menken has three songs nominated ("The Happy Working Song," "That's How You Know," "So Close"). Remember the same was true of "Dreamgirls" last year, and a forgettable tune from "An Inconvenient Truth" won. Go figure!

I think it would also be a shame if "Ratatouille" lost out to another movie in the Best Animated Movie category. Still, stranger things have happened on previous Oscar nights -- such as Grace Kelly winning for "A Country Girl" instead of Judy Garland for "A Star Is Born." Sometimes there's no justice in the world.

I'll stand up and cheer for any awards given to "Juno." What an absolutely perfect little film. And I almost feel as supportive for "There Will Be Blood," "Michael Clayton," and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" -- all three are wonderful movies. My biggest fear? That "No Country for Old Men" will walk away with almost everything. I couldn't get into that violent picture anymore than I could follow the pretentious "Atonement."

Okay. I'm glad that's off my chest. Sharing all this has helped me calm down a bit. However...

Dear Oscar, please don't disappoint me too much.

Ellen at the Oscars

How did Ellen DeGeneres do as host of the Oscar show last night? Well, although Billy Crystal remains my favorite Academy Awards host, DeGeneres won me over with her easygoing charm and humor. I especially enjoyed the way she involved members of the audience with such playful antics as giving Martin Scorsese a script she wrote and having Steven Spielberg take a picture of her with Clint Eastwood. Granted, her recycled jokes from the 70s failed to evoke much laughter, but that disappointing bit only lasted a few seconds. All in all, I am happy to give DeGeneres a round of applause for her first Oscar gig. Surely, it will not be her last.