Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Another Oscars Open Thread

Reader Interactions

406Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh32

    ooh cool.

    I really think that Anne Hathaway should get the chance to host the Oscars by herself. She has the right talent and dispostionh for this type of thing.

  12. 12.

    Comrade Mary

    Mr. Bale and his pet Irish Setter win! But why is Geoffrey Rush bald?

    EDIT: No one is every going to let Leo forget her slip, eh? This could become the NC-17 “You like me!” of the Oscars.

  14. 14.

    lamh32

    BTW, Helen Mirren looked fabulous. I hope to look half as good at her age!!!!

    Hell, I’d like to look half as good now…lol

  15. 15.

    jk

    @Mark S.:

    Is it just me or has this Oscars been painful to watch?

    For me, it’s Franco and Hathaway. I hope they get rightfully ripped to shreds by all of the tv critics.

  16. 16.

    hamletta

    @lamh32: Did you see the pics of her on vaca in some beachy place a while back? 60-something years old and lookin’ hot in a two-piece!

  18. 18.

    Mary G

    Yes, this first hour feels like three or four already. Why don’t they get good writers for the in-between stuff or better still, do away with it? I loved Ann Hathaway’s Judy Garland outfit and she can sing, but why spend the time? Just to have the excuse to put James Franco in drag? Ugh.

  25. 25.

    Martin

    Just got back from the wife’s concert. Skipping the Oscars. Our friend wasn’t nominated and he’s sending pics from the floor, so that’s good enough to save myself 4 hours.

  26. 26.

    lamh32

    I’m watching the Golden Girls between awards, does anyone know off hand if any of the Golden Girls have ever been nominated for Oscars?

  29. 29.

    lamh32

    @Mouse Tolliver:
    I agree with that. It’s the best part of Franco’s performance so far.

    I’m probably in the minority, but I think that Hathaway couldn’t have done the show on her own. I think that Anne having to “amp it” up to counter Franco’s laid back almost comatose performance and dragging Anne down.

  36. 36.

    alwhite

    @Mark S.:

    Nope, not just you. And not just this award so, no group is enjoyable to watch as they self-congratulate. What makes these particularly dreadful is that these people are supposed to be entertainers – they should be entertaining but almost never are.

  38. 38.

    lamh32

    TRON and Daft Punk was robbed for the original score nom.

    TRON may not have been the best movie ever, but that damn soundtrack had my heart pumping

  39. 39.

    Elizabelle

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Dogtooth,” an offbeat Greek comedy-drama that touches on incest in its depiction of a family cut off from the rest of the world, won the Academy Award for foreign language picture on Sunday.

    The Oscars long-shot becomes the first film from Greece to take the prize since it was instituted in 1956.

  40. 40.

    Mary G

    @lamh32: I don’t know, I saw him last year but that was kind of a fail too. Too many producers who don’t want to offend anyone, I’m guessing.

  44. 44.

    Mouse Tolliver

    I remember when Trent Reznor was kinda hot. Now he looks like my best friend from high school’s dad.

    Am I in the minority for kinda of hating The Social Network? (Don’t even remember the score.) I put it in my “one and done” file. I saw it once and will absolutely never watch it again. Didn’t like the characters or care about the outcome. Found myself wishing the movie would end about twenty minutes before it finally did.

  45. 45.

    lamh32

    TRON and Daft Punk was robbed for the original score nom.

    TRON may not have been the best movie ever, but that damn soundtrack had my heart @pumping

  46. 46.

    jk

    @Mike Kay (Chief of Staff):

    Franco and Hathaway = Ishtar/Hudson Hawk/Heaven’s Gate/Battlefield Earth x 10 to the Vigintillionth power

    Why the hell did the Academy decide that this year it had to deviate from the time honored tradition of having a Goddamn Fucking COMEDIAN host the Oscars? The explanation about reaching a younger demographic with Franco and Hathaway is the biggest bunch of goddamn bullshit I’ve ever heard considering the millions and millions of people that tune into this event every single year.

  48. 48.

    lamh32

    @Comrade Mary:

    Oh right, but wasn’t Ellen really bad though. I just remember that the Academy kinda made her wear a dress for the whole thing right? and Ellen does not do dresses

  50. 50.

    lamh32

    Ughh…editing fail!!

    What I meant to say was:

    I’m probably in the minority, but I think that Hathaway COULD have done the show on her own. I think that Anne having to “amp it” up to counter Franco’s laid back almost comatose performance and dragging Anne down.

  51. 51.

    The Dangerman

    @alwhite:

    What makes these particularly dreadful is that these people are supposed to be entertainers – they should be entertaining but almost never are.

    They should eliminate those people that don’t do live performances as part of their day job. Just now an example; Matthew M. (I won’t try to spell his last name) is a talent on film, but live? Not so much (or perhaps I was just staring at Scarlett J. too much).

  52. 52.

    Comrade Mary

    @hamletta: I think she may have had very subtle de-jowlization, as has Meryl Streep. Neither has gone crazy trying to look like plastinated 30 year olds, and have left their wrinkles and crows feet in all their glory, but those are some awesomely smooth jawlines for women over 50.

  53. 53.

    Mary G

    @lamh32: According to teh Google, Whoopie did it three times and Ellen Degeneres once, in 2006. Otherwise, there’s always been a man involved.

  55. 55.

    hamletta

    Salon’s live Twitter stream is pretty amusing:

    RT @AlexKoppelman: Thank god for Matthew McConaughey — finally, someone on stage is more stoned than James Franco.

  58. 58.

    The Dangerman

    @Mouse Tolliver:

    Am I in the minority for kinda of hating The Social Network? (Don’t even remember the score.)

    I enjoyed it. As for the score, it was lovely, but … not a film that highlighted the score like, say, Star Wars.

  59. 59.

    Mike Kay (Chief of Staff)

    @hamletta: oh, in the sense that they use facials, expensive creams, and hi-tech laser/ultrasound therapy to stimulate collegian and new cell production.

  60. 60.

    RossInDetroit

    I’ve been trying to read something for 90 minutes with the TV on in the room, which happens in this house only once every 6 weeks or so.
    I’ve printed it out and I’m taking it upstairs out of earshot, where the liquor is.
    I must have something wrong with my brain because TV, even the innocuous stuff, annoys me a great deal.

  61. 61.

    kamalokitty

    And while I’m at it, did Marisa Tomei just get an entire head transplant. Who the hell is that?

  64. 64.

    Comrade Mary

    Brilliant – a disaster – brilliant – a disaster – a disaster — OMG Cate Blanchett, what were you thinking?

  66. 66.

    lamh32

    @jk:

    I was just trying to think of a female comedian that they could use, and Wanda Sykes would be awesome.

    Kathy G I like, but I just don’t think she’d be a good fit.

  67. 67.

    RossInDetroit

    Maybe I’ll hang around after all. I just remembered Documentary can’t be far off & I want to see Banksy get some credit. For the lulz.

  69. 69.

    Mouse Tolliver

    Rick Baker wins another makeup Oscar. I think he won the very first Best Makeup Oscar for American Werewolf in London.

  70. 70.

    Mary G

    @jk: Oh, I would pay to see that. Even better, Joan Rivers. She is back on “E” on the Fashion Police and letting it all hang out, shocking the youngsters appearing with her.

  75. 75.

    Comrade Mary

    Wait — I thought I was going to break the thread with my stupid single hyphen use, but it looks OK on all my browsers. Was that bug fixed?

  76. 76.

    4jkb4ia

    Knicks down by one, end of third quarter!

    /Beside self. This is what the Oscars liveblog at nytimes.com is for anyway.

  77. 77.

    Mouse Tolliver

    Colleen Atwood’s acceptance speech was directed by the same people who gave us Michele Bachmann’s State of the Union response.

  78. 78.

    lamh32

    The woman who won costume design for Alice in Wonderland also designed Helena Bonham Carter’s dress tonight…i kid you not.

  80. 80.

    jk

    @Martin:

    Louis CK to host next year!

    NOW you’re talking. I think Ricky Gervais, Larry David, Denis Leary, Bill Maher, Eddie Izzard, Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Lewis Black, Jimmy Kimmel, Kathy Griffin, and Wanda Sykes should all be on the short list of possible Oscar hosts.

  82. 82.

    Mary G

    Roger Ebert’s Tweet:

    @ebertchicago Roger Ebert
    If Bruce Vilanch is within 50 miles of the Kodak Pavilion, they should helicopter his ass in there and put him to work rewriting this dreck.

  85. 85.

    Comrade Mary

    Declaring that any song except As Time Goes By is the best Oscar song ever would be unconstitutional.

  88. 88.

    Spaghetti Lee

    Over-under on how quickly some wingnut writes an article tearing up Casablanca as unAmerican soshulizm? I say 12 hours.

  90. 90.

    kamalokitty

    Cate’s dress= Grandma’s seat cushion. And I stole that from my friend Lauren H. She nailed that one, but good.

  93. 93.

    Elia

    Oh man The Atlantic is so fucked now.

    I’d love to see their internals a few months after Sully’s move…probably like the stock market right around bear stearns’ collapse.

  94. 94.

    jk

    @Mary G:

    I’ll second Joan Rivers. I just resent the fact that there are so many great comedians who’ve never been given a chance to host the Oscars, but these fucking assholes at the Academy thought Franco and Hathaway made perfect sense.

  96. 96.

    lamh32

    alright, fav movie song winner?

    Say you, say me – Lionel Ritchie (White Nights)

    (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” — Dirty Dancing

    A Whole New World” — Aladdin

    and

    “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp” — Hustle & Flow…just because it was cool to see 3-6 Mafia win and John Stewart’s reaction afterwards.

    As for all time winner for “score” Purple Rain. I still think it’s one of the best albums of all time, and I still listen to it oday.

  97. 97.

    Mouse Tolliver

    @Comrade Mary:

    Declaring that any song except As Time Goes By is the best Oscar song ever would be unconstitutional.

    As Time Goes By wasn’t eligible for an Oscar because it was a pre-existing song, not written specifically for the movie.

  101. 101.

    Mike in NC

    @Jamey:

    I liked the Oscars better when they were unafraid to be the Gay Super Bowl.

    I liked them better when they automatically included GOP tax cuts for Hollywood multimillionaires.

  104. 104.

    MikeJ

    Best song in a movie? Oh, that’s just something they throw in kids movies so they can sell a soundtrack.

    Seriously, fuck best song until they start putting good songs in. Better to say, “sorry folks, nothing deserving this year.”

  106. 106.

    Anonne

    Sorry, Best Score Ever goes to Star Wars.

    But in recent memory, Lose Yourself is my favorite for Best Original Song.

  110. 110.

    lamh32

    Hmmm…Jake G on stage Reese W in the audience would love to be a fly on the wall if they somehow crossed paths.

  114. 114.

    Steeplejack

    I looked on Wikipedia, and I had to go back to Keith Carradine’s “I’m Easy” in 1975 for a song that didn’t make my stomach churn. Was hoping that “Suicide Is Painless” from M*A*S*H won, but no luck. Not even nominated.

    “Theme from Shaft” in 1971 was solid. And the ’60s was probably the best decade for consistently good Oscar songs, e.g., “Moon River,” “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “Born Free,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.”

  115. 115.

    Comrade Mary

    Oh, I LOVE fluffy Jeff Goldblum who won best short doc. He even thanked his Mom for craft services. (And a sweet signoff to his girlfriend.)

  116. 116.

    kamalokitty

    I think Franco is stoned. He’s got the same stupid grin. Maybe he should have cut back on the Xanax.

  117. 117.

    lamh32

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    I think they realize that the “big moneys” on the major acting/directing/moive categories.

    it’s a shame cause as we all know, it takes more than just actress/actors and directors to make a movie. From the lowliest personal assistant to grip guy to the cameraman, EVERY movie needs them all. and I contend they are just as important as “the talent”

  123. 123.

    Anonne

    James Franco looks like he’s sleeping through this. Next time give Anne Hathaway her own show, solo.

  127. 127.

    lamh32

    @Steeplejack:

    I’ll admit though, having a younger singer and even younger nephews, cousins, step-cousins etc, I do have a soft spot for Disney’s movie musicals.

  128. 128.

    Southern Beale

    Conflicting reports that Wisconsin Republican State Senator Dale Schulz has said he will NOT support the anti-union bill. Hope it’s true.

    I’m staying away from blogs and Twitter ‘cuz we’re behind on the Oscars and don’t want any spoilers until we catch up …

  133. 133.

    Mouse Tolliver

    @Steeplejack:

    “Theme from Shaft” in 1971 was solid. And the ‘60s was probably the best decade for consistently good Oscar songs, e.g., “Moon River,” “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “Born Free,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.”

    John Barry won for this (plus Dances with Wolves and Out of Africa [I think]) but was never even nominated for any of his Bond scores.

  135. 135.

    Steeplejack

    @jk:

    Yeah. I’ve even heard a couple of good jazz versions of it on the cable jazz channel in the last year or so.

  138. 138.

    Mary G

    Awesome! “Not a single financial executive has gone to jail.”
    I hope this win makes more people educate themselves on the financial meltdown.

  143. 143.

    Alex S.

    Remember when the orchestra silenced Michael Moore when he began to rant against Bush during his Bowling for Columbine speech? Now they know better.

  145. 145.

    RossInDetroit

    Does Jeff Bridges voice over 30% of all commercials or are they cloning him or something? I’m fine with it, but it seems like he’s the most prominent voice in advertising these days.

  146. 146.

    Texas Dem

    Is Franco being treated for glaucoma or something? His eyes are so red he must be smoking up a storm back stage. This is one of the worst Oscar shows I’ve ever seen. I’d like to see someone run naked across the stage just to liven things up.

  147. 147.

    Spaghetti Lee

    Look, Oscar people, if you’re reading this: I don’t mind old and stuffy, alright? I freely accept that an ancient and prestigious awards show is going to be old and stuffy, and so should you. And here you are putting together a fucking Autotune montage? Guys, there’s trying to attract younger viewers, and then there’s groveling for attention, and you’re doing the latter right now.

  149. 149.

    lamh32

    @Steeplejack:

    Oh, I know that. I am aware of the brainwash, and yet, i gladly accept it…lol.

    I recently bought Disney’s sing Along for my wii, and it’s amazing how many of Disney’s songs I actually know. And not just recent one either.

    I can literally sing ever word to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and felt damn proud that I still could almost 35 years since I last saw it as a child.

    Nickelodeon and Disney have mass marketing down packed.

  153. 153.

    Mike in NC

    Oprah is going to change the name from the Oscars to the Oprahs. Cuz she can. Money talks and bullshit walks in Hollyweird.

  156. 156.

    jk

    Having Billy Crystal on now is just adding insult to injury. Franco and Hathaway should just fall thru a trap door right now and let Crystal take over for the rest of the show.

  159. 159.

    lamh32

    @Mike in NC:

    This is not directed at you Mike, but what IS with the Oprah hate. I’m following another blog and the commentors are completely panning Oprah.

  160. 160.

    Comrade Mary

    Oh God, they’ve dug up poor Bob Hope.

    I love Franco in films, I love Hathaway in films and in little bits at the Oscars, but no more of this please.

  161. 161.

    Garbo

    Here’s a thought, no host. Do the prepared montages and funny bits, have the announce introduce the presenters, done.

  165. 165.

    Steeplejack

    @lamh32:

    I don’t hate Oprah. I just don’t see her as “presenter material”–should be a big, or at least semi-big or recently hot, actor. I know Oprah has been in movies, but that’s not her main thing. It just kind of jangles.

  168. 168.

    Mouse Tolliver

    @Garbo:

    Here’s a thought, no host. Do the prepared montages and funny bits, have the announce introduce the presenters, done.

    They did that in ’89. It was the year of the infamous Rob Lowe/Snow White production number that was so bad you would think I was high if I described it to you.

  169. 169.

    Steeplejack

    @Mary G:

    Yeah. Hey, I love Bob Hope–best timing evah!–but this is not going to win that elusive younger demographic, if that’s their goal. Hell, Billy Crystal is not going to win that demographic.

  171. 171.

    lamh32

    @Steeplejack:

    well she has been nominated for an Academy Award herself. And she host the after Oscar’s special now instead of Barbara Walters. Also, it’s been 25 years since the Color Purple was released, so I think those are at least 3 good reason why she might have been asked.

    Plus…it’s Oprah

  172. 172.

    Mike G

    Gawd, this show is awful.
    Do they not know any decent scriptwriters?
    The presenters’ and hosts’ dialogue sounds about as leaden and humorous as Fox and Friends.

  173. 173.

    lamh32

    NOT a Jude Law fan too pretty for my taste, but he IS easy on the eyes aint’ he…receding hairline and all.

  176. 176.

    Garbo

    @Mouse Tolliver: I would have been okay with the Franco/Hathaway film montage at the top as their sole contribution. I think they forget that actors these days rarely work live. That’s why comedians are so much better, they can adjust their material and delivery on the fly.

  177. 177.

    PaulW

    One other thing I’m saying. To everyone complaining about how this is the worst Oscars presentation ever. YOU ALL SAID THAT LAST YEAR. And the year before. And the year before that. It’s because everyone’s stuck watching the glamor and everyone hates how tedious just sitting here all is. Let’s get rid of the commercials, get the nominees lined up, make the announcements, hand off the awards and get it done in under an hour. People might enjoy it then.

  178. 178.

    jk

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    Better Bob Hope than Bob Dole.

    Better Bob Hope or Billy Crystal than James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Better Kathleen Parker and Elliot Spitzer or Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski than Franco and Hathaway.

  181. 181.

    mai naem

    The music score for The Mission was very good. James Franco almost looks like hes dissing Ann Hathaway.

  182. 182.

    4jkb4ia

    Knicks by 5, 1 second left. Made last 16 free throws. Ballgame. Announcer: “This is an embarrassing loss.”

  183. 183.

    jaywillie

    I think it’s sad that we look to the Oscars for a political speech. When people say that the left is out of touch, for me anyway, there’s no better example of it than how we on the left go ga-ga for the culture of celebrity. You have ppl in Wisconsin fighting for their livelihoods juxtaposed with a bunch of posh, Hollywood assholes engaged in a collective circle jerk, many of whom (aside from production crews) never worked a labor-intensive job in their lives. Maybe I just need to lighten up, but does no one else see the dissonance between championing working class values/economics while simultaneously puffing up a bunch of Hollywood flakes, who would no sooner abandon their pampered lives than the most rightwing oligarch?

  184. 184.

    Fwiffo

    Have they announced best picture yet? I can’t handle watching, but as long as Inception doesn’t win, I can die happy. Easily the worst movie ever nominated.

  185. 185.

    Texas Dem

    Better Kathleen Parker and Elliot Spitzer or Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski than Franco and Hathaway.

    Well hold on there, friend. Let’s not get carried away. Franco and Hathaway are bad, but are they THAT BAD?

  188. 188.

    BR

    @jaywillie:

    When people say that the left is out of touch, for me anyway, there’s no better example of it than how we on the left go ga-ga for the culture of celebrity.

    Maybe some small subset of the left, but equally on the right. I could care less about the oscars, never have watched them, and usually don’t know who won until months afterwards. Just thought I’d get that out there.

  189. 189.

    Yutsano

    @gwangung: It’s the difference between having charisma oozing out your pores and barely able to construct two lines to earn a paycheck. I think Franco may have peaked with “128 Hours”. He is still kinda adorable though. In the lost puppy sense.

  190. 190.

    Steeplejack

    Uh-oh. Gwyneth Paltrow is singing. Country music! Not sure how I feel about this. Are vertigo and vision loss good or bad?

  192. 192.

    The Dangerman

    @mai naem:

    James Franco almost looks like hes dissing Ann Hathaway.

    His check musta bounced; he’s mailing it in. In this era of twitter, et al, he may have already heard he’s not getting the gig again next year.

    Very odd production. That bit of sampling and some bit about ABC are who gives a shit moments.

  197. 197.

    MikeJ

    @freelancer:

    Death, errr Jail to the Bankstas!

    I really wanted him to win. Sooo disappointed we didn’t get to see him.

    Oooooh. BankSTERS. I meant BanksY.

  198. 198.

    Yutsano

    @lamh32: Just to note for the record: my old British boss HATES Anne Hathaway. If his wife is forcing him to watch this tonight I shall haz mad giggles.

  200. 200.

    lamh32

    @lamh32:

    Okay why am I having trouble with the editing function…

    anyway, Randy Newman has been nominated 20 TIMES, and this is just his 2nd win.

    I know he’s become cliched, but damn even I expected him to have won more than twice?

  202. 202.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, “those who died” after the commercial. Glad I didn’t miss this. I always end up tallying my personal score on “Oh, he/she died?” vs. “Oh, he/she wasn’t already dead?”

  204. 204.

    Nicole

    @Fwiffo:

    but as long as Inception doesn’t win, I can die happy. Easily the worst movie ever nominated.

    Eh, I see your Inception and raise you a Ghost and a Prince of Tides.

  207. 207.

    Yutsano

    @lamh32: And IIRC his other win was for another Toy Story iteration, though I forget which.

    On a side note but related to Pixar: I saw the trailer for Cars II. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT PIXAR??

  208. 208.

    Mary G

    Shows like “Undercover Boss” and this new “Secret Millionaire” make me sick; pure propaganda: Look how nice the rich people are! They’re just like you and me! They admire the little man and woman!

  214. 214.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @Yutsano:

    Toy and merchandising money. But frankly, after a string of films that did such a good job resisting that, I can spot them a cash-in or two, as long as it isn’t the start of a long decline.

  215. 215.

    lamh32

    @Yutsano:

    CARS wasn’t my favorite PIXAR movie and I won’t be seeing this one.

    Besides, I Randy Newman wrote 2 of my fav songs from “The Princess and The Frog” which was nominated last year, so I do love him for that.

  219. 219.

    Comrade Mary

    I’m not a Celine fan at all, but that was the best singing we heard all night. Not overdone at all.

  221. 221.

    Studly Pantload

    Where the heck was I when all these great names passed on? I think Leslie Nielson’s passing was the only one on my radar.

    Dennis Hopper? Really?

  225. 225.

    gogol's wife

    @Anonne:

    Agree. This show is excruciating, but she redeemed it for a moment. And the fact that she was singing meant they couldn’t do the applause-o-meter for the dead people.

  226. 226.

    lamh32

    I hear Franco is posting behind the stage videos and pictures on his twitter or facebook. maybe that’s where all his “passion” is going.

  227. 227.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, “In Memorian” infinitely worsified by having Celine Dion sing a shmaltzy song over it.

    Didn’t realize Blake Edwards had died. I was just admiring The Pink Panther earlier today. Really good in that ’60s candy-colored Technicolor way, with great kitschy Euro-jazz music and both Capucine and Claudia Cardinale exuding the sultry. Surprised that Clouseau was not in it as much as I remembered.

  228. 228.

    PaulW

    The problem with Pixar Cars? It was a movie made more for kids than adults. Nearly every other Pixar movie has something that adults accept/admire. I mean, c’mon, Ratatoouie?… As a result, there’s more derision for Cars than for most of the other works.

    I give Pixar some slack for Cars. You can’t expect Citizen Kane with every work. As long as we get The Incredibles and Toy Story 3 in return.

  230. 230.

    Yutsano

    @MikeJ: Mnemosyne called. She’ll want your heart on a platter later. Preferably with a sausage stuffing.

    @lamh32: Cars wasn’t horrible. I think for the material it was pretty creative for a finding yourself story. But the next version goes way off the rails. I can’t even call it a James Bond parody.

  231. 231.

    mai naem

    I will forever remember Celine Dion dissing Bush the Two for letting crap happen to NOLA during Katrina.

  236. 236.

    lamh32

    With all the allegations of a “blackout” in this years Oscars, this choice of singling out Lena Horne while interesting seems like a bit of a consolation prize.

    Still, love Lena Horne.

  243. 243.

    Southern Beale

    @jk:

    Fuck the goddamn “reaching a younger demographic” argument. This show needs a comedian as a host

    You know I don’t even mind that it’s kinda straightforward but it’s just too dry. I think Anne Hathaway is doing a better job than Franco is.

  244. 244.

    zmullls

    They got Oprah because they wanted to get people to pay a little attention to the Documentary category and not just go to the bathroom. And Oprah probably prefers doing the “serious” category where something meaningful is getting done.

    Loved Randy Newman zinging the academy for only nominated four songs while every other category gets either 3 or 5 (mostly 5).

    Tina Fey would be brilliant. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin would be better. (But you won’t catch ABC letting NBC’s stars host the Oscars…)

  245. 245.

    TooManyJens

    @Yutsano: I think Cars is cute, plus I have to have a soft spot for anything my daughter likes that much. But it sounds like maybe I should neglect to mention to her that they’re making a sequel. (She’s three, so I can still get away with that for now.)

  248. 248.

    jk

    @PaulW:

    Damn, nothing against Tom Hooper, but I was really pulling for The Social Network to win best picture and with Hooper winning for Best Director, it’s a done deal that The King’s Speech will win for Best Picture.

  250. 250.

    PaulW

    so far King’s Speech is winning most of the major awards leading up to Best Picture… If Firth gets Best Actor, odds are Speech gets Picture.

    if Fincher won Best Director, Social Network would be the odds-on at this point.

    I’d prefer seeing Toy Story 3 winning though. ‘Cause it IS the best picture of the year…

  251. 251.

    gogol's wife

    @lamh32:

    If I’ve suffered through Franco and Hathaway, some of the most witless badinage I’ve ever heard (even on the Oscars), and that stupid auto-tune thing, and Colin Firth doesn’t win . . . I’ll be very unhappy, let’s just leave it at that.

  252. 252.

    CaseyL

    Well. It could be one of those years that one movie wins all the “biggies.” Or it could be one of those years where the wealth gets spread around.

    That’s my fearless prediction.

  253. 253.

    Anonne

    I wouldn’t mind Anne Hathaway again solo. Can you believe that she’s going to be Selina Kyle/Catwoman? She’s very pretty but I never got her as the dangerfun sexy type.

  254. 254.

    Mike Kay (Chief of Staff)

    I used to like when they would present the honorarily Oscars and Thalberg awards. It was a chance those who never won but achieved greatness, like Charlie Chaplin, Groucho Marx, Akira Kurosawa, etc.

    this abbreviated segment is wrong.

  255. 255.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @MikeJ:

    Well, there’s Cars since 2006, but there’s also Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, and TS3. On the balance, I’d say that’s a stronger lineup than before they were bought up, although the near future looks pretty bleak.

  256. 256.

    jk

    @zmullls:

    But you won’t catch ABC letting NBC’s stars host the Oscars…

    What’s the deal with ABC having a virtual lock on broadcasting the Oscars? With an event this big, why isn’t it rotated among networks like the Super Bowl?

  257. 257.

    Ija

    Witness the mighty politicking and campaigning of the Weinstein brothers. I can’t even feel good about Colin Firth finally winning an Oscar (probably), I’m so disgusted by the whole thing. His win will be tainted for me.

  259. 259.

    Steeplejack

    @Anonne:

    She could possibly make it work. She was surprisingly good in (the surprisingly funny) Get Smart, which was sort of in the danger/fun/sexy ball park.

  262. 262.

    MikeJ

    @PaulW: The official argument is that by putting honorary oscars on another night they can 1) have four instead of one and 2) spend more time on each.

  263. 263.

    lamh32

    @Steeplejack:

    I was just thinking about her work in Get Smart. She definitely played up the sexy for that movie. But I don’t know if she’d have enough of the “scary” sexy that is Selin/Catwoman

  264. 264.

    CaseyL

    Watching those vignettes makes me want to lock myself up with those movies and watch them all at once.

  270. 270.

    Comrade Mary

    I know the new gimmick of complimenting each actor nominee at length is meant well, and tonight is certainly an improvement on version one, where they had a whole crowd on stage taking turns, but MAN, is this awkward.

  276. 276.

    jk

    @PaulW:

    They had to in order to speed up the award show

    Put me down for cutting out the pathetic, nauseating banter between Franco and Hathaway. Thankfully, this embarrassment is almost over.

  278. 278.

    Nicole

    Oh God, how many more years are they going to do this fellating the actor/actress nominees with endless praise about how they cured cancer with the power of their acting?

    At least Jeff Bridges acted it well.

  279. 279.

    Anonne

    Natalie Portman was the best part of Beautiful Girls, and has been a notable actress since The Professional. She’s more talented than some people have given her credit for. Big up for her performance in V for Vendetta.

  280. 280.

    Elizabelle

    @gogol’s wife:

    Fingers and toes crossed for Colin Firth.

    PS: In that blue dress, in that pose:

    Anne Hathaway looks like a human Oscar.

    If he were female and had hair.

  288. 288.

    jk

    @Nicole:

    How many more years are they going to do this fellating the actor/actress nominees with endless praise about how they cured cancer with the power of their acting?

    WTF is wrong with simply reading the names of the nominees and then announcing the winner? Why has this become an alien concept to the morons running the Academy?

  289. 289.

    CaseyL

    What I said about the actresses? Ditto the vignette for the men. Like a few quick shots of good booze.

  293. 293.

    Elizabelle

    The Brits and Aussies are doing way better with good acceptance speeches.

    COLIN FIRTH!

    FOR THE WIN!

  294. 294.

    Comrade Mary

    Bullock was somewhat less embarrassing in the praise you portion of the best actor award just because she’s naturally loose and funny. Makes the glurge more tolerable.

    There ya go, Colin. You’ve come a long way from defending a pig.

  300. 300.

    jk

    @4jkb4ia:

    To get the show moving, the movie legends you were supposedly honoring had to be run off the stage.

    That’s because the people overseeing this event are fucking morons on a level comparable to Sarah Palin.

  301. 301.

    CaseyL

    I think Jesse should have won, but have no quarrel with Colin getting the award because I love him in a very non-Platonic way.

  307. 307.

    CaseyL

    They’re definitely letting the winners talk longer. I seem to recall in years past the shut-up music would start in 30 seconds. I think we’re getting better speeches because they’re not frantically trying to cram in so many thank-yous in a teeny tiny splot of time.

  309. 309.

    jk

    @Texas Dem:

    When this is over, who is going to give the Republican response?

    John Ratzenberger and Victoria Jackson will deliver it jointly as a tribute to Franco and Hathaway.

  310. 310.

    Nicole

    I confess, it’s hard for me to dislike Bullock. Any actress who shows up to accept her Razzie is okay in my book.

  313. 313.

    gogol's wife

    @Elizabelle:

    YAY COLIN FIRTH!!!!

    Isn’t it amazing that we can’t expect American professional actors to get up and say a few prepared words clearly and articulately, and only British and Australian professional actors seem to be able to perform that task?

  315. 315.

    Martin

    @Mary G: You are aware that Bruce co-wrote the Star Wars Holiday Special. I agree he’s talented, but some things are quite simply inexcusable.

  316. 316.

    lamh32

    @Texas Dem:

    Agreed. Now I’m really biased since I would seriously comtemplate drinking Colin Firth’s bath water… but I thought that was one of the best speeches of the night.

  317. 317.

    Comrade Mary

    I’m predicting King’s Speech now. Really, a Firth v/o accompanying all the scenes from the nominated movies. Well edited, but geez …

  322. 322.

    Mouse Tolliver

    The King’s Speech only cost $15,000,000. This is the exact same budget as Atlas Shrugged Pt. 1. Useful talking point to remember when the Randroids start making excuses for why their pet project doesn’t have any stars and looks like straight-to-video dreck.

  323. 323.

    PaulW

    @Comrade Mary:

    I’m predicting King’s Speech now. Really, a Firth v/o accompanying all the scenes from the nominated movies. Well edited, but geez

    concur. when I heard the speech over the clip, I figured it was the winner. Otherwise they’d have used a v/o from another film that did win.

  324. 324.

    jk

    Which Beethoven or other composer’s symphony was being played behind Colin Firth during the montage of Best Picture nominees?

  326. 326.

    rikyrah

    Agreed. Now I’m really biased since I would seriously comtemplate drinking Colin Firth’s bath water… but I thought that was one of the best speeches of the night.

    BWA HA HA H AH HA HA HA HA

    I’ve said it before…most men don’t understand the female crushing on Colin Firth….most guys who realize just how much I love him are like ‘ HUH’?

  330. 330.

    JMY

    I kind of annoyed that they played that speech in the movie before they announce the winner. They just had to make it even more obvious who was winning.

  332. 332.

    Elizabelle

    Actually, loved Tom Hooper’s acceptance speech too. Listen to your mom.

    And Charles Ferguson (“Inside Job”) noting that, 3 years after the US’s worst financial fraud, no bankster has gone to jail.

  335. 335.

    MikeJ

    Next up on TCM: the movie Dudley Nichols refused the Oscar for because the writer’s guild was on strike.

    At least somebody once understood that in union there is strength.

  337. 337.

    Yutsano

    I can’t believe y’all have gone 327 comments without saying how Jennifer Hudson looks STUNNING tonight.

    (And I’m only commenting now because I just saw her. WOW!!)

  338. 338.

    Elizabelle

    Thanks re Beethoven 7.

    What was the music for the first montage of the night? Does anyone remember?

  341. 341.

    Mike Kay (Chief of Staff)

    @MattR: the movie was released on 4-3-03, just two weeks after bush invaded iraq and the corporate media was in full chest-beatng, blood thirst mode.

  342. 342.

    You Don't Say

    Odd ending. I think James Franco’s indomitable self-confidence may have taken a hit tonight.

    Worse dress: Melissa Leo. Best? Hmmm, not sure. Maybe Reese.

  345. 345.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @MattR:

    People stupid enough to complain about such a thing are generally incapable of understanding that they’re wrong.

  346. 346.

    jk

    @gogol’s wife:

    Beethoven 7

    Thank you. That melody makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Which movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony is it? I apologize for being a pest, but I have it to hear it again ASAP to take my mind of off that exceptionally nauseating co-hosting performance of Franco and Hathaway.

  348. 348.

    lamh32

    @You Don’t Say: I like the ending though.

    I also just like hathaway. it may be an act, but she is good. I loved how she “wooh-ed” every presenter that she was excited to introduce.

    I also like how she high-fived the kids after their performance.

    I’ve said it earlier, but I still believe that Anne Hathaway was weighted down by Franco.

  349. 349.

    gogol's wife

    @jk:

    It’s the second movement (allegretto), I think. I love the way it works with the speech, and the way the ordeal the country is about to go through is foreshadowed both by the music and by his struggle to get the words out. Very beautiful and subtle.

  350. 350.

    Alex S.

    @Texas Dem:

    by the conservative Baldwin, I guess. Adam? Daniel?

    Re: King’s Speech, a solid movie, very well-acted. But also a little boring. I would have preferred The Social Network since it’s a more daring movie, or even Inception or Toy Story 3 for something different.

  351. 351.

    Yutsano

    @lamh32: I admire her a lot. She goes through hell by losing half her family then takes that loss as an opportunity to totally reshape her life. That takes a shit ton of inner strength I bet she never even knew she had.

  353. 353.

    Studly Pantload

    My only problem with Shakespeare in Love is that LA Confidential was freaking *robbed.*

    Oh, Ann Hathaway ending the broadcast shouting “WOOOOOO!! !” — uhm, yeah.

  354. 354.

    Comrade Mary

    @You Don’t Say: Worst dress: Cate Blanchett. It looked like one of her kid’s crafts projects. All that was missing were the popsicle sticks. And that’s quite a fall for someone who had an amazing dress at her first Oscars years ago.

  355. 355.

    Texas Dem

    Oh, Ann Hathaway ending the broadcast shouting “WOOOOOO”

    She was clearly pleased that it’s finally over. If you were in her place, wouldn’t you give a shout for joy?

  356. 356.

    jk

    @JMY:

    I was kind of annoyed that they played that speech in the movie before they announce the winner. They just had to make it even more obvious who was winning.

    I thought that was a ridiculous idea. I can’t think of a more novel way to denigrate or disparage the other Best Picture nominees than to play a voiceover from The King’s Speech while showing clips from those other films.

  359. 359.

    You Don't Say

    @lamh32: Act or not, she’s a trouper. (I think it’s genuine.) Franco looked like he gave up halfway through. Not the right venue for him, no idea why he agreed to do it.

    Now I’m going to go put A Single Man in my Netflix queue.

  361. 361.

    Mouse Tolliver

    There was also a controversy over Susan Sarandon flashing a peace sign on the red carpet at the ’03 Oscars. The righties used that as proof that she wanted American soldiers to die.

  362. 362.

    Ija

    @gogol’s wife:

    It is a trivial film. Entertaining, but trivial, thus not worthy of a Best Picture award. And Gwyneth Paltrow was annoying. That woman will sink any picture she is in.

  366. 366.

    lamh32

    @You Don’t Say:

    Agreed again…lol.

    From what I hear, Franco spent half the time posting to twitter and facebook during the ceremony as a part of the “demographic push” of this year’s Oscars. His pics and video seemed more animated than his on-screen performance.

    Personally, this makes me think much less of Franco. He agreed to the hosting duties. If you are gonna go for it, then go for it, he seriously began dialing it in before the ceremony even began.

  367. 367.

    jk

    @gogol’s wife:

    Hearing that excerpt from Beethoven’s 7th Symphony paired with the montage of Best Picture nominees was the highlight of this broadcast for me. I just wish they had used Beethoven’s music by itself without Colin Firth’s voiceover because I found it incredibly disrespectful to the other Best Picture nominees.

  369. 369.

    GregB

    Franco should have cut off his arm and then texted about that. It would have been far more riveting than his half-baked performance.

    Also, James dude, Tony Curtis was doing drag shtick 50 years ago. Lame.

  370. 370.

    MikeJ

    @Ija: There just weren’t any good transgender conscientious objector overdoses after an abortion movies that year.

    The best movie of the year isn’t always the most serious. You have the Oscars confused with the Plath awards.

  372. 372.

    Steeplejack

    @lamh32:

    No, I don’t think so. And I’ve been wondering about this recent trend where everybody remotely associated with the winning picture piles up on the stage at the end of the show. It used to be just the winning (named) producers.

  374. 374.

    4jkb4ia

    Nate, from earlier this evening:

    Knicks game is providing some of the excitement that Oscar ceremony has lacked. 85-84 Knicks with 1:16 to play.

    /social affirmation

  376. 376.

    gwangung

    Stolen from my twitter feed…

    ‎…Thank god for the kids of PS 22. Without them, it would have been white people for 3 hours straight…

  377. 377.

    jk

    @MikeJ:

    Speaking of Oscar injustices, what about Rocky beating out Network, All the President’s Men, and Taxi Driver for Best Picture and what about Manhattan not even receiving a Best Picture nomination several years later?

  378. 378.

    Anonne

    @jk: Respectfully disagree. Star Wars is probably the most recognizable musical score in all American film. You hear the horns and you can feel the rush of X-Wings, Tie Fighters, the Millenium Falcon, light saber battles and the chill of Darth Vader’s breath. It has joy, fear, love, anticipation, thrills, power and triumph all expressed in one beautiful package. John Williams may be the best film composer ever.

  379. 379.

    Ian

    @Mouse Tolliver: And it wouldn’t have got off the ground without support from the UK Film Council, so it has the taint of SOCIALISM too! (of course, our wonderful Tory Government has decided to kill it dead at its moment of glory)

  381. 381.

    MattR

    @Mark S.: I am no expert, but I think the executive producer runs the movie from a business side at a high level while the producer is involved with overseeing the creative/technical part of the movie.

  382. 382.

    jk

    @Cathie from Canada:

    I hope the assholes running the Academy learn some lessons from tonight’s broadcast.

    Lesson 1 – No more actors/actresses hosting the Oscars – COMEDIANS only.

    Lesson 2 – No more cloying, nauseating tributes or to the Best Actor and Best Actress nominees. Just read their damn names and announce the damn winner.

  383. 383.

    hamletta

    @Anonne: Oh, please. What about Alfred Newman? Elmer Bernstein? Miklos Rosza? Erich Korngold? John Barry? David Raksin? Henry Mancini? Ennio Morricone?

  384. 384.

    JMY

    @jk:

    One thing about the Oscars is that after the Golden Globes and other awards, the winners for the main categories are so predictable.

  385. 385.

    JMY

    Oh and how can I forget one thing: Christopher Nolan was robbed blind. Especially for not being nominated for best director.

  386. 386.

    jk

    @Anonne:

    Star Wars certainly has an impressive film score, but I’ll never budge from The Godfather Part II’s film score as my favorite.

    John Williams may be the best film composer ever.

    I enjoy John Williams as a film composer. I don’t have a favorite film composer. I think any discussion of the best film composer has to include Elmer Bernsteain, Bernard Hermann, Georges Delerue, and Ennio Morricone.

  388. 388.

    jk

    @JMY:

    You’re right. Beyond tonight’s winners and losers, I just can’t get past the fact that the people running the Academy thought James Franco and Anne Hathaway deserved to host this event.

  390. 390.

    hitchhiker

    Watched it with 3 23-yr-olds, all smart, educated, savvy people. They were fine with the Franco/Hathaway thing. Preferred it, even, to middle-aged comedians winking at their parents, i.e. me.

    I had fun seeing it w/them . . . best part was when we all fell over laughing at the faux music soundtracks.

  391. 391.

    Mouse Tolliver

    @gwangung:

    Stolen from my twitter feed…

    ‎…Thank god for the kids of PS 22. Without them, it would have been white people for 3 hours straight…

    Was Mo’Nique too fat or too black to present this year? Because usually the winners of the acting categories return the following year to present. They kept this tradition for the lead Oscars, but not supporting.

  392. 392.

    Mouse Tolliver

    @Ian:

    @Mouse Tolliver: And it wouldn’t have got off the ground without support from the UK Film Council, so it has the taint of SOCIALISM too! (of course, our wonderful Tory Government has decided to kill it dead at its moment of glory)

    It’s grossed $245,201,829 to date. It’ll probably clear $300 mill after winning Best Picture.

  393. 393.

    Anne Laurie

    They made a 16″ vinyl Barbie doll “character figure” of Anne Hathaway when the Get Smart movie came out. Only saw a few minutes near the end of tonight’s beeg shew, but my first thought was “Huh. Didn’t realize there was a 127 Hours character figure, too… “

  394. 394.

    Mike Kay (Chief of Staff)

    @jk: “Manhattan” was really, really creepy – with a dirty old man (woody allen) chasing an underage Mariel Hemingway.

  398. 398.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason (formerly frosty)

    @Nicole: Not only do I not dislike Bullock, she’s my fave. Wish she’d pick better movies to work on, though. About 2/3 of them aren’t worth her time.

  400. 400.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason (formerly frosty)

    @PaulW: Funny, that. CARS is one of my my mother’s (83 yo) favorite moves. Go figure.

  402. 402.

    PaulW

    @Studly Pantload:

    My only problem with Shakespeare in Love is that LA Confidential was freaking robbed.

    Um… Shakespeare in Love robbed Saving Private Ryan. It was Titanic that robbed LA Confidential.

  403. 403.

    Dennis SGMM

    I seem to have been born without the movie-appreciation gene. Most of the time I just get bored and want to go do something else. My wife and son love the movies but they learned not to take me after I fell asleep during “The Bourne Identity.”

  405. 405.

    "Fair and Balanced" Dave

    Annette Bening is on her way to becoming the Susan Lucci of the Oscars. She’s now 0-3. (IMO, she should have won for “Being Julia”).

  406. 406.

    Anonne

    “Fair and Balanced” Dave:

    She has a long way to go before she beats Martin Scorsese’s record.

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