The first time I stumbled into this labyrinth of Oscar coverage and analysis, it wasn’t a labyrinth. It was a handful of dedicated Oscarphiles and movie fans. It was Thanksgiving break, 2000, and I discovered Sasha Stone’s Oscarwatch (now Awards Daily). At the time, it was such an interesting, novel endeavor. No one was really doing this, at least from the angle she was doing it.
Well, what a difference a decade makes.
Over at Awards Daily, Stone lays out her 10 most memorable Oscar moments of the decade. For me, the biggest moment was George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Steve Spielberg calling out Martin Scorsese’s name at the 2007 ceremony. To say nothing of the fact that his win for Best Director and his film, “The Departed,” taking Best Picture, capped off the tightest race of the decade, seeing Marty hold that statue, finally — it would make any Oscarwatcher slightly emotional. His name was finally removed from the rank of the unrecognized.
Of that particular moment, Stone agrees, writing that “seeing Martin Scorsese finally win after two crushing losses was the high point thus far of my experience Oscar watching.”
What were your Oscar moments of the decade?
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31 responses to “The most memorable Oscar moments of the decade”
Roman Polanski winning Best Director for The Pianist.
Off topic: I think the banner adds might be causing the sight to run slower today.
I mean “site”….lol!! Still haven’t had my cup of joe yet this morning.
Oh? Seems to be moving fine for me. I’ll rotate them around anyway.
I, like so many, am a huge kate winslet fan. Though we pretty much knew she was going to win best actress…it’s always those last few seconds before the name is called that you start to ‘doubt’ everything. (Especially with meryl streep in the catagory) When marion called out kate winslets name I was literally jumping up and down and screaming her entire acceptance speech. (i’ve got to youtube it because my sister inlaw recorded it without me knowing) The moment was so surreal and elegant and just really special for any kate winslet fan.
Has to be the Brokeback loss…devastating!
Most memorable moment? ROTK’s sweep.
I wasn’t as invested emotionally when Titanic destroyed the Oscars, so ROTK was the moment I realized one great film could truly rule them all.
memorable because they’re disappointing oscar moments 2000-2009
julia roberts over ellen burstyn. reese witherspoon over felicity huffman. alan arkin over eddie murphy. crash. kate winslet over melissa leo.
memorable because they’re enjoyable
denzel/halle. decent hosting by ellen, chris rock and jon stewart. scorcese gets his makeup oscar. the 5 past winners honoring the nominees. tina fey/steve martin.
Seeing Marion Cotillard win was pretty nice.
You can call it a “makeup” Oscar if you want I guess, but I think The Departed really was one of Scorsese’s best directing jobs (not to mention his best film of the decade).
Adrien Brody’s surprise victory. So deserved.
When Spielberg said “it’s a clean sweep.”
Not mention the famous smooch shortly afterwards, Michael.
Besides those already mentioned (man, the Crash victory still stings), one that surprisingly stick out for me was seeing Cate Blanchet cringe at her own Oscar clip for Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
When Kate Winslet won her Oscar I cried like a baby. For so long I thought she would be our Deborah Kerr, nominated so many times yet never winning. I’m glad that someone who is so talented and such an inspiration finally gets what she was always destined to have.
I was happy to see Brokeback lose (and the hilarious outrage that followed, with special mention of Pulitzer-winning Annie Proulx out-angsting even the lowliest internet trolls).
George Clooney’s puke-inducing acceptance speech, because of the South Park episode that attacked it.
Julia Roberts winning, then totally rubbing angsty internet fanboys’ (ie. the pro-Burstyn gang’s) faces in it by making a really long boring acceptance speech. Fabulous creature.
Bill Murray working the BITCH PLEASE unimpressed look when (the much inferior) Sean Penn beat him.
– Brokeback Mountain not winning Best Picture
– Ledger winning Best Supporting Actor
– Penn winning Best Actor for Milk
– Berry/Washington winning the same night
– March 26, 2000 & February 27, 2005: Swank winning Best Actress twice (fans of Meryl Streep, Annette Bening, Deborah Kerr, Irene Dunne and Barbara Stanwyck scream or roll over in their graves)
Not precisely a win but none the less a moment:
Woody Allen’s surprise appearance in 2002 to honor New York. The standing ovation, the jokes, the montage… Truly memorable.
Maybe it’s only because I love the movie so much, but my fondest memory is watching Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from Once sing and win for “Falling Slowly.”
@ Aleksis: Yeah, can’t be having them fag movies win, even when they deserve it!
I’m a “fag” and thought that “fag movie” was godawful and shouldn’t have come anywhere near an Oscar.
I wanted Capote to win (and Munich). Does that count as a “fag movie”?
Marion Cotillard winning. I was thrilled beyond words.
Helen Mirren and Martin Scorsese winning. Woody Allen appearing. Ellen hosting. Eddie Murphy losing. Oh, and Michael Moore’s speech.
Hamer: I have to say, that was quite an insulting (and presumptuous) dismissal of opinion. Aleksis was quick to counter with the facts of his/her situation, but let me say it as clear as day: It’s pretty God damn juvenile to chalk that kind of thing up to homophobia. If you want to go there as it pertains to speculating the Academy’s decision, whatever, that’s fine. But to leap to the conclusion that a detractor has a problem with the subject matter: low.
Halle Berry – her Oscar speech gets subjected to parody but in truth everything she said had to be said – it was a big fucking deal – women of color (Latino, Asian, etc) have it doubly difficult to get recognized for (lead) nominations let alone getting shot in Hell at a win.
Berry is still the only African American actress to be nominated this decade for best actress – like Bigelow this year being the first female director who will likely win – it’s a big fucking deal.
For me, I will never forget the nomination announcement for 2003. It was a snow day, so I didn’t have to go to school, and I remember watching the nominations. First it was Djimon Honsou. Then Samantha Morton. Then Keisha Castle-Hughes in Actress. Then there was City of God’s HUGE showing. And finally, the Cold Mountain snub. Mix ’em all together for, far and away, the most exciting nomination announcement of the decade.
For me, the memorable Oscar moments are as follows:
Watching The Return of the King sweep all 11 Oscars it was nominated for.
Adrien Brody winning Best Actor.
Jack Nicholson exclaiming in surprise when he announced that Crash was the Best Picture winner.
City of God snagging 4 nominations a year after being snubbed for a Best Foreign Film nomination. I wonder how close it came to getting a Best Picture nomination?
Martin Scorsese finally winning the Best Director Oscar. I put The Departed alongside Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, so I don’t consider it a makeup Oscar.
Charlize Theron rightfully winning the Oscar for the best performance of the decade, male or female.
Crash winning over Brokeback is definitely the most memorable in my opinion.
I remember a lot of shock when The Lives of Others won over Pan’s Labyrinth as well.
Best moments were Martin Scorsese and Ang Lee winning best director and Kate Winslet finally winning best actress. Oh and the Coen Brothers winning all the big awards for No Country. LOTR sweep was awesome too. I’m probably forgetting a ton but oh well.
I read it on Awards Daily, but it’s worth reiterating: the exact moment when Steven Spielberg said “It’s a clean sweep” was pretty thrilling, even if it was a forgone conclusion by that point.
Though this year’s Oscar ceremony was DEFINITELY the most boring of the decade.
Three things for me:
1. Denzel getting Best Actor at the 2002 awards for Training Day over Russell Crowe. I like Denzel, but that was a joke.
2. Robert Redfored accepts lifetime achievement award same night.
3. the snub of TDK in the major categories.
Tilda Swinton winning. “Happy birthday, man.”
“Water” *evil glare*
I loved that moment. All the other truly memorble stuff has been mentioned, I think.
Kate Winslet winning and getting a standing ovation.