Academy Awards Blog February 2008 Archive

If An Oscar Falls in the Woods
And there's no one there to hear it... You know the rest of that saying. This year's Oscars, hosted for the second year running by Jon Stewart, now holds ... Read More

Thursday February 28, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

That's a Wrap
It's over and you know what? The ceremony itself seemed to fly by this year thanks in large part to the lack of paired celebs presenting. When it's just one ... Read More

Monday February 25, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

'No Country' Rules
Denzel Washington had the chance to greet the Coen Brothers as they took to the stage one more time (their third trip of the night) to accept the Best Picture ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

The Coen Brothers Earn Top Honors
Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese (The Departed) said to trust him that the award of Best Director will mean a lot to the recipient. If anyone should know about waiting for an ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

A Sure Thing Really is a Sure Thing
As we near the end of this year's Oscars, The Queen aka Helen Mirren blazed onto the stage in a vibrant red dress to tick off the Best Actor nominees. ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (2)

From Stripper to Oscar Winner
The star of the upcoming Indiana Jones film, Harrison Ford, was very sedate as he read off the nominees for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. Oh yeah, another personal ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Documentary Films Have Their Moment in the Sun
Tom Hanks stayed on stage to name the Best Documentary Film winner which was the Taxi to the Dark Side team. Alex Gibney thanked all documentary filmmakers and said his ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Short and Sweet
Tom Hanks (an Oscar fav) talked about the men and women who haven't been home in a while and then introduced a batch of military personnel who did the job ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

Score One for 'Atonement'
Amy Adams (an Oscar nominee in 2005 for Junebug) presented the Best Original Score Oscar (I'm crossing my fingers for Atonement as I type this). And the Oscar goes ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

In Memoriam
Two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry, Million Dollar Baby) introduced the segment of the Oscar broadcast that honors those who passed away the previous year. The audience held ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (18)

There Will Be Oscars
The beautiful Cameron Diaz stumbled her way through the word cinematography, but recovered by making fun of herself. The second time she pronounced the word slowly and carefully, with a ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

'Once' in a Lifetime
John Travolta - not in drag - danced his way onto the stage and almost slipped in the same spot as Colin Farrell had earlier in the evening while introducing ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

The Austrians Take One Home
Stewart said the next presenter's a beautiful actress who speaks four languages who, earlier in the evening, taught him the phrase "I'm calling security" in all of them. Academy Award ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

The Return of 'Bourne'
Jack Nicholson said he loves movies. I think we knew that, Jack. That proclamation was followed by clips from the 79 films that have won in the Best ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

Edith Piaf Lives On
Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker (Last King of Scotland) looked handsome and proud to be announcing the winner of the Best Actress Oscar: Marion Cotillard for La Vie En ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Bourne's Back
Hill and Rogen remained on the stage, still arguing over who's Halle Berry and who is Judi Dench. And the winner is The Bourne Ultimatum again. Two Oscars for the ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Did You Hear That?
Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen took the stage after Stewart announced Dame Judi Dench and Halle Berry were up next. Hill and Rogen said Dench and Berry couldn't be ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

'No Country' Wins Its Second Oscar
Josh Brolin from No Country for Old Men and James McAvoy from Atonement tossed famous movie lines back and forth at each other and then got to hand off an ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Let's Hear It for the Technical People
Jessica Alba came onstage looking adorable and pregnant. Alba hosted The Scientific and Technical Awards which are given out in a ceremony way before the Oscars. The techies don't ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

The First Big Surprise of the Night
Alan Arkin, looking quite debonaire, had the pleasure of reading off the Best Supporting Actress nominees (which included the glowing and very pregnant Cate Blanchett). And the winner is ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Who's Afraid of 'The Wolf'?
Jerry Seinfeld's bee character from Bee Movie, of course, showed off some of his earlier film credits and then introduced the nominees for Best Animated Short Film. The Peter ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

'Pickpockets' Didn't Need to Steal One
Owen Wilson looked great (did you know he's back at work finally on Marley & Me?) and announced the nominees for Best Live Action Short Film. No one in ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Oscar-Winning Looks and One Weird Hairstyle
Can I say I dislike my DVR system? For some reason the darn thing just decided to catch itself up while I was typing and I missed Javier Bardem's acceptance ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

They Found Their Way
Dwayne 'Don't Call Me The Rock When I'm Acting' Johnson had the honor of presenting the Visual Effects Oscar. Johnson joked he thought the face-melting scene in Raiders of ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

A Rose is a Rose
Katherine Heigl was nervous beyond belief as she took on presenting duties. Thankfully, her bit was short and then it was on to the film clips highlighting makeup work. ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Rats!
Jon Stewart introduced the next two presenters: "One of the next presenters is one of the funniest people I've ever met in my entire life, and I believe she's ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

The 1st Oscar of the Night Goes To...
Gorgeous Jennifer Garner was the first presenter of the night and listed off the attributes needed to be a costume designer. Alexadra Byrne for Elizabeth: The Golden Age took ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Jon Stewart's a Glutton for Punishment
Two times in a row...wow! Stewart has (to keep this G-rated) a lot of nerve handling hosting duty back-to-back years. Stewart started the night off by referencing the ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

And They're Off...
Despite the rain and crispy weather, the stars got all glammed up in fabulous attire (reds, greens, pinks, and blacks were popular choices) and the red carpet sparkled with millions ... Read More

Sunday February 24, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

Two Final Predictions
So far I've concentrated on the acting honors and have revealed my predictions for who will win the Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress Oscars. As the ... Read More

Friday February 22, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

Crystal Ball Gazing
Two days before the nominees were announced I published my first blog entry covering this year's Oscars. In that blog post, I predicted the winners in the four acting ... Read More

Thursday February 21, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

It's Crunch Time
It’s over! The deadline for turning in completed Oscar ballots has passed and it’s up to the accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers to tally up 5,829 (give or take a few) ballots. ... Read More

Wednesday February 20, 2008 | permalink | comments (2)

Red Carpet Fashion
Who cares who wins? Isn't it really all about what the stars are wearing? Quick, answer this question off the top of your head: Who won the ... Read More

Tuesday February 19, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

It's All a Matter of Opinion
So I get this press release from Blockbuster declaring that the 'people' have spoken. Okay, sounds interesting, and I love it when the 'people' speak so I read on. ... Read More

Monday February 18, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Celebs Line Up to Present
Academy President Sid Ganis took the stage at a press conference held on Valentine's Day and said the show is moving "full-steam ahead" on a crunched schedule. Writers will be ... Read More

Friday February 15, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Party for a Good Cause
Head writer Bruce Vilanch (you know, the guy who looks like a shaggy-haired muppet) is back at work pounding out jokes for actors to murder before announcing Oscar winners during ... Read More

Thursday February 14, 2008 | permalink | comments (1)

It's Official - The Strike is Over!
Oscar producer Gil Cates and all the rest of the behind-the-camera Academy Awards people are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Finally, after 14 weeks of striking, writers are ... Read More

Tuesday February 12, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Brits Love La Vie en Rose
I'm sure it makes the British film community cringe whenever someone calls their annual Orange British Academy Film Awards 'England's version of America's Oscars'. The comparison's not meant to denigrate ... Read More

Monday February 11, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Writers Guild Announces Its Winners
Although members of the Writers Guild of America had more pressing matters on their hands when they met tonight, the striking writers took time out to announce the winners of ... Read More

Saturday February 9, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Party Poopers
That sniffling you heard emanating from America's west coast was caused by the news Vanity Fair won't be hosting their annual Academy Awards soiree this year. The Vanity Fair ... Read More

Thursday February 7, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

Nominees Do Lunch
The atmosphere at the annual Nominees Luncheon was upbeat as news of a possible end to the strike circulated. The current round of talks between the studios and the Writers ... Read More

Tuesday February 5, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)

PGA Agrees with DGA
The Producers Guild of America fell in line with the Directors Guild and chose No Country for Old Men as the best of 2007. The Coen Bros are on ... Read More

Monday February 4, 2008 | permalink | comments (0)