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Oh, let’s start with the positive. The irony of the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner of all time coming in a year when the Academy did everything it could (right down to a hopelessly baiting horror film montage) to shove the Oscar telecast toward populist appeal couldn’t be more delicious. Much of the season was deceptively tame, but a final week push from all sides (including within) to unseat the perceived frontrunner either came too late or simply didn’t work.
“The Hurt Locker” claimed six trophies, including Best Picture, Best Director and best Original Screenplay. The latter became perhaps the tightest race of them all as The Weinstein Company worked aggressively to secure a prize for Quentin Tarantino, but again, it either came too late or didn’t work.
Kathryn Bigelow’s war saga wasn’t even daunted by its perceived competition as “Avatar” managed only three wins, for Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Only one of those races included competition from “The Hurt Locker.”
The biggest surprise of the night, no doubt, was Geoffrey Fletcher’s Best Adapted Screenplay win for “Precious,” an award that seemed to be pre-ordained for “Up in the Air” scribes Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner. How often we forget the Academy can be as unpredictable as not. And Fletcher, by the way, is the first African American winner of a screenplay Oscar. “Precious,” meanwhile, was one of three films (along with “Crazy Heart” and “Up”) to win two Oscars, and it seemed to receive a lot of respect and admiration in the room.
The acting categories also went as planned, with Sandra Bullock overcoming doubts in the end and proving the writing really was on the wall. But we’ll never know how truly close it was. I should also note that, whatever your feelings of her performance and win, whether they be sincere or from some hyperbolic pit of vitriol, hers was one of the finest Oscar acceptances speeches ever delivered. Perfection.
As for the telecast itself, and utter disaster in so many ways. The opening song and dance number bombed. It felt frivolous and even arbitrary. I don’t know how I feel about that American Idol line-up to kick of the show, either, by the way.
The orchestra was so trigger happy as to be embarrassing, the truly infuriating moment coming when Louie Psihoyos wasn’t able to deliver what would have been a profound and important address on a show that is the most watched program on Japanese television. I imagine Ric O’Barry’s sign got them nervous, but be educated about the damn season — it was calling for a simple text that has been a part of the film’s marketing. Jesus. They even started to play Jeff Bridges off the stage.
And can we all take a moment and consider that? Jeff Bridges is finally an Oscar winner. What a story. And I’m happy to say I called that as far back as November 4. But then again, who wouldn’t?
The interpretive dance numbers were asinine, and I hope a fine replacement for the opportunity to showcase fine young talent like Ryan Bingham, novelty like Anika Noni Rose and Dr. John lightening up the festivities, etc.
Then there was the moment the show hit a screeching halt: the lead acting categories. If you didn’t already notice the lifting of last year’s title designs, the show ran out of steam and just lifted this aspect of last year’s show, too. Only it was more drawn out, feeling entirely inorganic. Lazy.
The hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin? Inconsequential. Things started out okay, some of the jokes worked. But ultimately the style overstayed its welcome. The best bits in the show were probably the animated feature sequence and Ben Stiller’s Sacha Baron Coen-less Na’vi sketch. And those were still a bit lukewarm.
As for predictions, it looks like, after a quick glance, Steve Pond and our own Guy Lodge leading the field guessing 20 of 24 categories correct. I nailed down 19 (22 with alternates) and there seem to be a few 18s out there, too. The shorts tripped me up severely. I missed all three, and I’m truly flummoxed at how they turned out. I also missed Best Adapted Screenplay (Who didn’t?) and Best Sound Editing, which surprisingly went to “The Hurt Locker” in a sweep of the sound categories.
(Oddly enough, the day of the nominations, I correctly foresaw 20 of the 24 categories. Maybe that’s indicative of how predictable the race because in phase two.)
Check out the full list of winners at The Circuit, and back tomorrow for a special season wrap-up edition of Oscar Talk.
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104 responses so far
1 3-07-2010 at 9:13 pm
Ed said...
Oscars is predictable! No element of surprise. I just wasted 3.5 hours of my time. I could have just relied on the critics blogs here! This will be the last time I will watch the Oscars. Get this, Bullock defeating Streep? Really? Really now Academy members? It’s a pure joke!
2 3-07-2010 at 9:15 pm
JP said...
Meh. I was hoping for some real upsets other than Hurt Locker siphoning tech awards off of Avatar.
3 3-07-2010 at 9:17 pm
Nigel Bridgeman said...
I liked the show. The Adapted Screenplay win for Precious made things a bit more interesting than they might have been.
4 3-07-2010 at 9:17 pm
JasonR said...
@Ed
The people I was watching with were shocked that Avatar/James Cameron actually lost, even though Hurt Locker had dominated the categories where they went head to head.
If you follow the Oscars through these blogs, it becomes really predictable. If you don’t, then it’s not (sometimes).
5 3-07-2010 at 9:18 pm
Madally Wurlpiz said...
Bad predictions on my side but at least I had the three Bs spot on: Bigelow, Bridges, Bullock.
6 3-07-2010 at 9:18 pm
Glenn said...
I think Geoffrey Fletcher’s Adapted Screenplay win counts as a surprise. I actually gasped. I thought that “Up in the Air” no ifs or buts about it.
7 3-07-2010 at 9:20 pm
Speaking English said...
By far my least favorite Best Picture winner ever. But I’m very happy for Bigelow and her team. They should feel proud.
And yeah, Adapted Screenplay? What the heck happened there? Very sad that “Up in the Air” couldn’t win anything.
8 3-07-2010 at 9:21 pm
Chris138 said...
I was also (pleasantly) surprised that Precious won for best adapted screenplay. I thought Up in the Air was going to win that one.
I like how people on the IMDB boards are complaining about The Hurt Locker winning best picture tonight, even going as far as comparing it as being as weak as Crash or Shakespeare in Love. *shakes head*
9 3-07-2010 at 9:24 pm
ninja said...
Original Script win is for the Hall of Shame. But what to expect from ditiest campaign in history of dirty campaigns?
Great for Bigelow, can live with BP win since it`s in line with AMPAS taste for forgettable but overhyped stuff but Original Script win is unforgivable. Studio bought it big time. Words cannot desribe this disgrace.
10 3-07-2010 at 9:28 pm
Robert Hamer said...
It couldn’t have gone to a more deserving film, or director. Congratulations Bigelow. You earned it, and time will prove me right and the haters wrong.
11 3-07-2010 at 9:28 pm
Speaking English said...
Oh, and does anyone know what was up with that woman who came up and brutally interrupted the black man who had won for Documentary Short? Very strange.
12 3-07-2010 at 9:28 pm
head_wizard said...
Very good night, deserving wins for Kathryn Bigelow, Christoph Waltz, Up, and The Hurt Locker!
13 3-07-2010 at 9:29 pm
Douglas said...
Yeh its a really unsatisfying Best Picture Win, the again they all are for some reason. I havent been fully satisfied since Lord of the Rings in 2003.
Favourite moments:
-Sandra Bullock’s acceptance speech (in my opinion the best of the night)
-the shock around the room as Geoffrey Fletcher won for Precious (thank god)
-Ben Stiller coming up with another hilarious Oscar sketch, this time as an Avatar.
Least Favourite moments:
-Neil Patrick Harris’ opening (I’m sick of singing and dancing opening numbers of awards shows let alone with NPH)
-Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as hosts. They were no where near as mesmerising and entertaining as Hugh Jackman last year.
14 3-07-2010 at 9:31 pm
JP said...
I personally was glad to see a song number at the top. Wish there had been more songs (original that is).
15 3-07-2010 at 9:31 pm
aaron said...
oh noes, a movie i didn’t like won best picture! what ever will i do? how ever will i go on?
*clutches pearls*
can we get over calling a movie we don’t like “overrated”? the hurt locker is overrated? really? compared to what? avatar? every movie in the universe is overrated/underrated depending on whether you like it or not. grow up, man up, get the fuck over it.
16 3-07-2010 at 9:31 pm
Chris138 said...
Tonight was the most satisfying best picture and best director wins for me in years. Hats off to the Academy for not going the box office route.
17 3-07-2010 at 9:33 pm
Edmond Dantes said...
speaking english, i was wondering the same thing. WTF was that woman?
18 3-07-2010 at 9:41 pm
Craig said...
Speaking English
Your least favorite ever? I’d call near the top of the last ten years, and probably top 20 ever…
19 3-07-2010 at 9:46 pm
/3rtfu11 said...
I’m glad that a woman over 40 won Best Actress — Carey will return, so will Meryl, and Gabby may return (of course in the Supporting Actress category).
I love that a African American won a writing Oscar — that’s major. I also happen to like the screenplay for Precious.
The only upset for me was Quentin not winning Original Screenplay — don’t know what they’re waiting for — they already ignored Jackie Brown and he has no plans on making another “serious” picture again.
20 3-07-2010 at 9:47 pm
Douglas said...
aaron whoever said the hurt locker is overrated?
21 3-07-2010 at 9:48 pm
Paul said...
Lowest-earning BP winner in 54 years (Marty made $8m by the time it won in ’55). The wrong film won. The Golden Globes stood alone – and got it right.
22 3-07-2010 at 9:51 pm
Robert Hamer said...
@ /3rtfu11: “I love that a African American won a writing Oscar — that’s major.”
Yeah, that’s definitely one of the quiet milestones that I hope doesn’t get lost over the celebration of Kathryn Bigelow’s achievement. Hopefully an African-American winning Best Director isn’t too far off…
23 3-07-2010 at 9:54 pm
Robert Hamer said...
@ Paul: Yeah, because money = quality, right? That’s why Transformers 2 was robbed of a Best Picture nomination, Blade Runner is Ridley Scott’s least remembered film, and James Cameron should have won Best Director for a remake of Dances with Wolves transplanted over a Roger Dean album cover.
24 3-07-2010 at 9:55 pm
Sieben said...
I enjoyed this ceremony. A few moments of spontaneity – the Kanye West-esque interrupting woman, Ben Stiller staring wildly at the audience, Sandra Bullock’s really lovely speech that almost makes me forget about her undeserving win for a minute – and, for the most part, a fairly well-oiled and tight ceremony.
Aside from some unnecessary interpretive dancing and an unpleasant upset in adapted screenplay (although Geoffrey Fletcher gave one of the most emotional, sincere speeches), I thought it was nice enough. Baldwin and Martin were better than I had expected.
25 3-07-2010 at 9:59 pm
Ed D. said...
19 out of 24 for me too, Kris. I guessed Logorama and you guessed Hurt Locker (for Mixing).
Overall, I preferred last year’s show to this one, but I will say that I thought what they did with Original Score was GREAT (having the dancers perform while a substantial portion of the score actually PLAYS—brilliant!), and I liked how the leading actors’ previous collaborators introduced them.
26 3-07-2010 at 10:00 pm
James The Greatest said...
Speaking English and Edmont:
That woman was the film’s producer; I know this because I saw her a Q&A event. (She was just as eccentric and out there as you could expect. Ha.)
Tonight’s only real surprise was the Adapted Screenplay category. I’m sad that my favorite film of the year (Up In The Air) went home empty-handed. Was that was Clooney seemed so pissed off? Ugh.
27 3-07-2010 at 10:02 pm
ninja said...
Imdb.com gets it right. This is political win like Crash all over again.
28 3-07-2010 at 10:06 pm
Robert Hamer said...
Yeah, it’s just like Crash. You know, because The Hurt Locker had such an OBVIOUS political message that every review touched on, and Avatar won every single precursor and was the critical darling before The Hurt Locker swooped in for a stunning upset.
I know you’re upset, but please, try to act somewhat rational.
29 3-07-2010 at 10:07 pm
red_wine said...
I think 20 might be the highest this year. That Precious win was way out of the blue. Also The Hurt Locker sound editing win was not expected.
It seemed weird to me that the consensus was that Tarantino was gonna win screenplay even though it was quite obvious that Boal was gonna win.
The shorts kinda seemed all over the place.
30 3-07-2010 at 10:09 pm
ninja said...
@28
You are HL fanboy which is OK. I meant like Crash as in yet another seemingly important yet forgettable BP winner.
31 3-07-2010 at 10:16 pm
Douglas said...
Yeh George Clooney pissed me off the whole ceremony
just smile for fucks sake
32 3-07-2010 at 10:31 pm
Chris138 said...
What was up with that one who rudely interrupted that man who won an Oscar for best short film or whatever it was? Since when did the Academy Awards turn into the VMA’s?
33 3-07-2010 at 10:34 pm
Marshall1 said...
is it too early to campaign for Glenn Close? lol
34 3-07-2010 at 10:43 pm
Corey said...
Got 21 correct (missed Adapted Screenplay, Documentary Short and Sound Mixing) — and this is the year I decided NOT to enter the pool, as I wasn’t sure about THE HURT LOCKER winning. Of course.
35 3-07-2010 at 10:46 pm
ninja said...
Oscars bring best in some people and the worst in other. Total newcomers who undeservedly win everything are an example of the latter. When great class act Sandra won, she paid tribute to Meryl since many felt Meryl should`ve won. When Cameron won Director at GGs, he gracefully acknowledged that Bigelow should`ve won. But when Boal robbed Tarantino he didn`t bother to acknowledge that Tarantino should`ve won. Oh,no. He took the credit like he owns the place. Oh, well, arrogance goes with a win that happened thanks to those foul emails and who knows what other dirty tricks. he won`t last., That`s a promise.
36 3-07-2010 at 10:50 pm
Filmoholic said...
Well, I’m glad this over so we can move on with our lives.
Kris, can we now get a Green Zone review please?
37 3-07-2010 at 10:53 pm
Danny King said...
Great coverage once again to the entire In Contention team! You guys do such a great job.
Can we expect a list of contenders for the 2011 Academy Awards by the end of the week?
Kidding.
38 3-07-2010 at 11:03 pm
ninja said...
@37 “Can we expect a list of contenders for the 2011 Academy Awards by the end of the week?”
Inception. Sci fi winner will happen. It will.It will.It will.
39 3-07-2010 at 11:08 pm
Chad Hartigan said...
I disagree with Kris on almost everything. Loved the show, thought Baldwin and Martin were amazing. Loved the dance to the scores, glad there were no songs performed and think most nominees got a reasonable amount of time to speak. If Fisher Stevens didn’t hog the mic, Louis would have had his chance. Liked the long, montage clips for the supporting nominees and the personal stories for the leads. The only thing I didn’t like was Neil Patrick Harris and the useless opening number.
Great show! (It really helps to not care about any of the films people)
40 3-07-2010 at 11:15 pm
adam said...
The directing was awful.
They stayed on a wide crowd for 10 SECONDS after Kathryn Bigelow won.
I want to see the reactions. Not some wide shot where I can’t make out what is happening.
41 3-07-2010 at 11:16 pm
Danny King said...
@ ninja: I hope it’s in the mix.
I agree with Chad on a couple things as well. Harris’ opening was pointless, and after the initial surprise of seeing him onstage, it just got annoying.
I also thought Baldwin and Martin did a great job. Roger Ebert also expressed some disappointment towards the hosts, and I’m not sure what they did wrong. I thought their jokes went over very well — How did you not love the Paranormal spoof?
I have to agree with Kris though that the orchestra tuned in way too quickly on many categories, although in the case of The Cove, Louis definitely should have taken the mic from the start. I feel terrible for O’Barry.
One thing that confused me was the horror montage. I didn’t get the point of featuring clips from past horror movies. I figured they were gonna showcase horror movies from 2009 that weren’t nominated, but once I saw clips from The Shining and Nightmare on Elm Street, all I could say to myself was, “I’ve seen this all before.”
42 3-07-2010 at 11:34 pm
Glenn said...
Agreed with Kris re the show. It was a disaster from start to finish, which is a shame since almost all the winners were so good (I would’ve prefered Tarantino over Boal and Fiore to not win cinematography, but thems the breaks). Just a horribly produced and directed show. Adam Shankman destroyed it after the class act that was last year.
43 3-07-2010 at 11:37 pm
Sally said...
i’m so disappointed that inglorious basterds didn’t win best screenplay — that just seems like anti – harvey weinstein.
Sandra Bullock’s acceptance speech was hands down the best and most emotional and she deserves it —
shocked that up in the air didn’t win either. It made me believe that maybe precious was gonna win best pic!
44 3-07-2010 at 11:39 pm
Jake said...
LOVED LOVED the way they did the actor scenes — it was not just one scene but multiple scenes, created the suspense — even if we all knew who was gonna win.
45 3-07-2010 at 11:39 pm
Paul Outlaw said...
Disappointing show, but excellent set of winners for the most part. I went 18/24–and I am sick of the shorts dragging down my score and/or costing me the pool (tonight I lost on our tie-breaker question). Most years I just guess and get at least one right, this year I consulted the experts and got all three shorts wrong.
But these numbers I can live with: The Hurt Locker – 6; Precious – 3; Up in The Air, An Education, Nine – 0. But it’s odd to know that The Blind Side is an Oscar winner while A Serious Man is not.
46 3-07-2010 at 11:39 pm
adam said...
Adam Shankman took all the brand new stuff from last year and actually made it bad.
47 3-07-2010 at 11:41 pm
Paul Outlaw said...
Wishful thinking there – Gabby did not win Best Actress. That’s only 2 for Precious. ;-)
48 3-08-2010 at 12:03 am
Marshall1 said...
people commenting in the forums here are more civilized and less biased than awardsdaily.com…how refreshing…..
i love both blogs and read it regularly, even if it’s NOT oscar season….
can’t wait for 2010/2011 preview!!!!!
49 3-08-2010 at 12:26 am
chul sung kim said...
congrats Guy for best predictor of the season!
and thanks to Kris for being a good indicator through the season and carry this wonderful site!
50 3-08-2010 at 12:43 am
Nick Davis said...
Tim Brayton at Antagony & Ecstasy got 20/24 also.
I thought Martin and Baldwin were just catastrophic, with their absurd Bigelow/Cameron ex-spouses joke being pretty close to the pits. I love that the room stonewalled them for it. But really, all night they were stale. The NPH number, the horror montage, the needlessly protracted John Hughes segment, and the Score dances were all mind-blowingly awful. The orchestra was embarrassingly peremptory, especially at the moments Kris specifies: God forbid Psihoyos get to talk at exactly the moment the Oscars might accomplish something real for a small movie with a big message.
Loved all four of the acting speeches, though, and of course the Bigelow moment was sublime in multiple ways. In other words: good job, voters; great work, winners; and to everyone who worked on the show, please fire yourselves.
51 3-08-2010 at 12:48 am
David said...
Unless I’m really off base here, Geoffrey Fletcher is NOT the first African American Screenplay winner. Wasn’t Julius Epstein and his brother (who won for a little film called “Casablanca” a few years back) an African American? If I’m wrong, mea culpa…but I think I’m right.
52 3-08-2010 at 12:53 am
Robert Hamer said...
@ Nick: So, how many times have you said “Academy Award-winner Kathryn Bigelow” so far? I’ve clocked it in at twenty so far. It’s just amazing.
@ ninja: Funny you call me a fanboy, because I don’t think I’ve seen a more immature reaction to one’s favorite movie losing. Mark Boal is an asshole for not “admitting” that Tarantino should have won? For cryin’ out loud, grow the fuck up.
53 3-08-2010 at 12:56 am
Kevin said...
@ ninja: Dude, take some fucking codeine, you’re going to give yourself a brain aneurysm with all your immature whining.
54 3-08-2010 at 1:07 am
Nick Davis said...
@David: I’d never heard this about the Epsteins, and I’m inclined to doubt it, but I don’t really know. Where are you getting your info?
I think Fletcher is both the first African-American winner of a Screenplay Oscar and the first to win for adapting a text by an African-American writer. Both feel like huge breakthroughs to me. (Even if I’m wrong, I can’t be wrong by much: they’re rare enough achievements that they deserve being excited about.)
55 3-08-2010 at 1:29 am
Nel said...
The Highs:
Fletcher winning for adapted screen play. Always good to have such heart felt surprise.
Sandra Bullock – Amazing Speech, such a classy dame.
Boal Winning for original screenplay Locker – IB had only three good chapters imho.
Jeff Bridges winning. – Fearless remains my favourite performance.
Lows
The show seemed rather disjointed to me
Waltz’s speech, I think his speeches lost their charm for me at Bafta, the uber bingo stuff was just lame.
The tributes and homages to the actors and screen – less said the better.
But congrats to all the winners and nominees.
56 3-08-2010 at 3:08 am
jlu said...
agreed… most. uncomfortable. telecast. ever. nph opening = wha?! steve and alec = eh. horror montage = really?! why?! john hughes mega-segment = um… yeah, but… interpretive dance to score nominees = good idea, but… no. anti-climactic ending = ridonkulous.
how in the world did it seem like this went on waaay longer than previous telecasts, and they made soooo many cuts to the schedule? no song nominees performed, no honorary oscars presented live, shortened speeches, even nixing the costume nominees showcases and best picture award presentation SHOULD mean MORE MEAT to the telecast. right? but instead they insert really ODD and out of place mega-segments for hughes and horror and interpretive dance… i dunno!
57 3-08-2010 at 3:16 am
jlu said...
and don’t even get me started on “and the WINNER is” disaster! hooray for kate winslet “going off script!”
58 3-08-2010 at 4:45 am
josh said...
i told all you sandra nay sayers you had best give it up weeks ago.
59 3-08-2010 at 4:49 am
TJK said...
They had some of the most unfunny jokes I ever heard.
60 3-08-2010 at 5:23 am
Megan said...
The good:
-Christoph Waltz’s win
-Ben Stiller as a Navi. I laughed HARD.
-The Paranormal activity spoof and the couch-long snuggie
The bad:
-Neil Patrick Harris-the snazzy song/dance numbers are wearing thin, and he is tone-deaf
The ugly:
-The break dancing/pop ‘n’ locking to the original scores. Holy shit, was that bad.
-Just about everything else.
61 3-08-2010 at 5:32 am
aspect ratio said...
I thought it was fair of the show producers to cut away from The Cove’s speech when he unwrapped that banner. It’s one thing to say a few sharply worded things, another to wrap out a tacky banner no matter how worthy or deserving that agenda is. If they hadn’t been so hellbent on being tacky, Psihoyos could’ve actually said some smart, important things. Definitely the Nicolas Chartier moment of the Oscar show, just stupid.
The dancing, my god. Horrifying. Not because of dancing itself, but it had no connection to the music or the films. What the fuck does The Robot (LOL in itself) have to do with Up? Absolutely ridiculous, especially in light of cutting out song performances and not even giving the Cinematography nominees clips to showcase their work.
Overall though, I thought the show was better than I had expected. I really liked Baldwin and Martin, and Bullock’s speech was indeed one for the ages.
62 3-08-2010 at 5:39 am
aspect ratio said...
Also, with three of the four acting winners accepting their award in such a (relatively) stoic, unemotional way it’s more obvious than ever that there are simply way too many precursor awards. Christoph Waltz (who thankfully kept his analogy short this time) could just as well have been picking up his dry-cleaning or something.
Just imagine if there was nothing (or very little) ahead of the Oscars, just how fantastically surprised and amazed the winners would be. They must’ve been amazing back when there was pretty much nothing except for the Golden Globes and the Oscars.
63 3-08-2010 at 5:41 am
Perry said...
I thought the actual show part was pretty bland, they could have definitely had better hosts I feel, even though Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin both had some funny moments, but as a whole they did not emcee the night as well as Hugh Jackman or Ellen Degeneres. As for the opening number, I actually liked it, I’m a sucker for big, splashy musicals. I also loved how they did Best Original Score, I’ve always wished the Oscars would do something special for this category showcasing the music, and this year they did, and I was amazed by it, to be honest, very entertaining. I do think it was a mistake to cut out the Best Original Song performances, it could have really livened up the evening other than it being award, award, award. And was it just me, or did it seem as if Martin and Baldwin really did way less than the Oscar hosts usually do throughout the night? Just my thought.
64 3-08-2010 at 5:56 am
Joseph said...
I thought the show was great. Very old Hollywood. Liked having the top acting nominees on stage at the beginning being escorted to their seats. Thought Martin and Baldwin were a fine comedy duo. Showing the Original Song clips was just enough of the song and I was totally fine with that. The score presentation was fine. It wasn’t an unneccessary dance number. Liked the supporting acting montage clips and the lead friend presentations. Liked how they tried to get people interested in short film by showing previous winners who went on to make features. Having Carey Mulligan and Zoe present all three short categories worked. Liked how they explained to the audience the difference between sound editing and mixing. The time spent on the speeches was fine except for The Cove.
The only gripes I can think of:
They didn’t show a single clip or a shot on the screen behind during the cinematography presentation. The very category about images.
And I actually thought the Stiller Avatar joke went on too long.
65 3-08-2010 at 6:00 am
Louis said...
Well, I did say that Nick Park had peaked and was staying in his seat last night. Some creds for that (considering 99% of ppl pick Loaf & Death).
66 3-08-2010 at 6:11 am
ninja said...
Boring show, one of the worst ever, which is fitting for the Best Picture winner. Hopefully, next year, the winner won`t be of ABM/Crash/Slumdog/HL variety but something that AMPAS won`t regret. Enough with safe, made-for-Oscars winners that appeal only to old voters. Their giving middle finger to Tarantino in favor of that Nia Vardalos lookalike who is a guy, apparently, is one of major travesties ever.
67 3-08-2010 at 6:34 am
JJ said...
- Got 18/24. The 3 shorts really screwed me.
- Only things I liked: a) actors on stage in the beginning b) liked extended acting clips, and c) because I love dance … the dancing to the original scores was very nice; at least something to watch – onstead of staring at an orchestra.
- Almost everything else … FAIL.
- VERY disappointed in the telecast. Last year was much, much better; as was Hugh Jackman.
- The telecast was elegant, but borrrrrring.
- Steve and Alec did a good job; but I preferred the Jackman last year.
- And I liked last years formatting of the show with the screenplay-cin-art d-cost-editing. how a movie is made format. This one was just elegant, straightforward, and boring.
- Show stalled when Actor and Actress was handed out.
-What was with the horror segment? For Twilight? Worst.
- The Hurt Locker with 6 wins including BP. Really?? Maybe, maybe it deserved 3.
- Sandra over Meryl. I just still can’t believe she won the majority. I can’t. Love her. Happy for her. But that’s an awful win.
- Precious over Up in the Air and Jason Reitman in Adapted? WHAT!!???? Completely out of left field. Hapy for the guy. But, wow. Big surprise. Best surprise of the night.
- Avatar winning cinematography – for its visual effects.
And now …. my biggest rant ………. foreign film ………………….
I don’t get it. In 06, Pans Labyrinth gets nominated for 6 awards, wins 3 of them , but loses to Lives of Others (which was excellent). in 07, 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days isn’t even NOMINATED. In 08, Waltz with Bashir and The Class lose to … Departures (what a bland movie). And now, The White Ribbon and A Prophet lose to Argentina’s entry which is – apparently – a pretty good sentimental melodrama. WHY IN THE HELL ARE ALL THESE MOVIES WINNING FOREIGN FILM EACH YEAR? Why do frontrunners win in almost all other categories every year, but when you get to foreign … you know there’s gonna be a whack choice. DON’T GET IT.
- Ugh. I just think the show was cut and sanitized so much that I craved the crazyness that Oscar’s brought in the past.
68 3-08-2010 at 6:37 am
Morgan said...
Still can’t figure out why Bullock won, except for being a nice lady. Was The Blind Side really the best female performance of the year? If not, for what great performances in her past body of work was she being honored?
What was with Clooney’s attitude? (Did he have advance knowledge of how Up in the Air was about to be totally shafted in all categories?)
The whole thing was boring from start to finish. This was my first year following thru Oscar blogs during the runup season, and I’ve learned my lesson — bail after the nominees are announced. There’s no suspense for the actual awards. Now I’m going through the task of removing a great deal of Oscar blogs from my feed reader. In Contention will be one of the few that stay.
Also, the Oscars seemed really light on stars this year.
69 3-08-2010 at 6:38 am
JJ said...
No idea how the ratings will pan out. Anyone know yet?
70 3-08-2010 at 6:39 am
Robert Hamer said...
Translation of ninja’s posts: WAAAAAA! WAAAAAA! WAAAAA!
71 3-08-2010 at 6:39 am
Morgan said...
As for foreign film… please explain how “The Lives of Others” was a “wack choice.” ???
What people aren’t realizing is that foreign film category is more susceptible to a single favorite being hyped because so few people have seen all five nominees.
72 3-08-2010 at 6:47 am
JJ said...
I don’t think ‘Lives of Others’ is a whack movie.
I mentioned in my commentary that it’s an excellent movie. It just stunned me that Pans didn’t win that year when Pans was EVERYWHERE, and had 6 noms and 3 other wins.
So the “choice” of win, I feel, was a bit whack. Not the movie itself.
I really liked ‘The Lives of Others’. Great movie. But there are always great movies in Foreign race (like Lives of Others), and they don’t win. That was my whack comment; in regards to the year it won.
73 3-08-2010 at 6:48 am
geha714 said...
Damn, I got it wrong last night. It was 6, not 7.
I was tired and BORED. No more Shankman, please.
To whoever wrote than The Lives of Others was a wack choice. HOW DARE YOU SIR?
74 3-08-2010 at 6:50 am
Morgan said...
Also… why the tribute to horror films? I thought this was supposed to be “the year of sci-fi.”
75 3-08-2010 at 6:55 am
Morgan said...
I do think this year was unusual with foreign film because we had two (“A Prophet” and “White Ribbon”) highly touted movies, not just one… and yet, there still was a spoiler.
That said, I’ve heard great things about “The Secret in Their Eyes,” saw a clip or two and can’t wait to see it.
76 3-08-2010 at 6:57 am
JJ said...
Again, I don’t think the movie is whack. It’s a great, great film. But there are great films every year. And the year it won when Pans Labyrinth was everywhere, winning eveyryhing at precursors, getting top spot at Best Lists, won BAFTA, had the 6 noms, had 3 wins, so nearly everybody who votes saw it and loved it …
so the “whack” is that Lives of Others, though a very well respected movie, came in and just won.
My room of 10 people (and I) were like … WHAT? I just remember it being the same reaction as we had last night when Reitman lost Screenplay.
The decision isn’t whack to me. The ideology that it won that year when Pans was so very dominant is what I meant by whack.
Whack “movies” winning would be Departures.
77 3-08-2010 at 6:57 am
Matthew Lingo said...
This is one of those times I wish I had a time machine, so I could go back to 1994, and tell the young Texan making the Bottle Rocket short that in 16 years, a bunch of dancers would be interpreting the score of his Roald Dahl adaptation at the Academy Awards.
78 3-08-2010 at 6:58 am
JJ said...
Forgive my use of whackage.
79 3-08-2010 at 7:24 am
RJL said...
Still not sure I like the idea of former winners (2008) or friends (2009) introducing the acting nominees. Stanley Tucci was wonderful for Meryl. But what was with Colin Farrell introducing Jeremy Renner when Colin was a co-star of Jeff Bridges? In his acceptance Bridges thanked Farrell but was there bad blood? Farrell, in introducing Renner, wished the latter luck. If they continue this practice, they need to make sure there’s more than one degree of separation between the person introducing and any of the other nominees. Or am I the only person who found this strange?
80 3-08-2010 at 7:32 am
Pam said...
I really loved the horror segment, and couldn’t care less that it was pandering. It did feel out of place, though, and I wish the drivel writers had done a bit of research – or perhaps collaborated with the person collecting the clips. The Academy hasn’t honored horror since The Exorcist? What about The Omen, Misery, and Silence of the Lambs – all Oscar winners and all represented in the montage?
81 3-08-2010 at 8:11 am
Craig said...
I only got 17/24, but 23/24 with alternates. I made some truly stupid calls…
82 3-08-2010 at 8:19 am
Pete said...
It was a very disappointing show in terms of pace and production values. The opening song bit was worthy of a high school production. It was as amateurish as it was flat. The interminable dance number to the nominated scores slowed the show; it was not even clear which score was which. Do they think that break dancing is still fresh? The low wattage or no wattage presenters gave the evening a K-Mart look. It was almost as if Hollywood royalty boycotted the show or weren’t even invited to be on stage. The homage to John Hughes was absurd; I don’t recall that he ever garnered a nomination for himself or his films. And the tribute to horror films seemed to include clips from several films not usually consigned to this category. I liked the use of the five actor to pay tribute to the nominees but wonder what Tim Robbins intended with his comments. Morgan Freeman must have been squirming with embarrassment. Clearly, most of the winners ignored the advice not to acknowledge lists of people. Michael Giacchino, however, listened and gave one of the best speeches of the night. The decision not to ask Shankman back should be made today. The Academy deserves better than this very mediocre effort.
83 3-08-2010 at 8:52 am
Andrew F said...
The Bad
-Random shots of actors/actresses starting off into the distance, clearly bored. Why would they cut to Cameron Diaz chewing gum like a cow?
-Skipping the Original Song performances, yet having…
-Interpretative hip-hop dance to the Original Score nominees. Why?
-Horrible writing: apparently “The Exorcist” was the last horror film recognized.
-Alec and Steve’s opening monologue pointing out every acting nominee in great detail, except Carey Mulligan. (Or did I miss this? I’d be very relieved.)
-”Logorama” winning Animated Short. Ugh.
The Good
-Knowing that these producers won’t be hired again. (Please!)
-Mo’nqiue’s wonderful acceptance speech.
-Kathryn Bigelow’s win, and Barbra Streisand presenting it.
The Bizarre
-Kanye moment during the acceptance for “Music by Prudence”.
-Tom Hanks pulling an “Amadeus”. Thrilling and unexpected!
-Ben Stiller. Can’t decide whether or not that worked or not! Funny, but awkward.
84 3-08-2010 at 8:55 am
Andrew F said...
Oh, and Kristen Stewart. Awful.
85 3-08-2010 at 9:00 am
Leone said...
I think most of America is scratching their head right now going “what’s THE HURT LOCKER?” and the real crime is that unless they rent it, they really won’t have a chance to see the movie as it was meant to be seen — on the big screen — and that’s disappointing. The Oscars should be a forum for celebrating great art, but it’s also a great marketing tool to open the public’s eyes to films that should be seen. Frankly, the distribution pattern for this movie was really bizarre and the film is now not positioned to take advantage of their six wins at the Oscars last night by actually upping their box office take and getting more eyeballs on the movie. How is that a win for independent filmmaking or filmmaking in general? The answer is that it’s not. Sorry, I know that is not a popular opinion.
86 3-08-2010 at 9:19 am
goodvibe61 said...
The show itself was horrible. the opening 6 minutes were as bad as anything i’ve ever seen on the Oscar telecasts. But the worst offense was having to sit through 10 minutes of dancers that have absolutely nothing to do with anything, taking up all that valuable time, and then, the director of perhaps the best film of the year (The Cove), not being able to speak on stage, the Academy playing him off the stage without the chance to say a single word. That is so screwed up I can’t even believe it.
Also: The Mark Boal win: what an incredible head scratcher. I guess the bottom line is this: I will be looking forward to Mr. Boal’s next 3 original screenplays with significantly more anticipation that I would have. Perhaps there will be more there than just the surface story telling that Hurt Locker supplied; but being an Oscar winner now, I’ll be awaiting his next few original works with great interest, that’s for certain.
87 3-08-2010 at 9:45 am
Ripley said...
The show was pretty bizarre at times, I don’t think it was an improvement on last year. I am happy for Bigelow, obviously it was a tremendous moment for her and other women directors. But obviously scifi is still not the Oscars cup of tea, Avatar would and should have won with a younger group of voters. Before its time, maybe they’ll give it to the sequel?
88 3-08-2010 at 9:49 am
Al said...
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were possibly the worst hosts the oscars have had since Daivd Letterman “Uma Oprah” anyone? I like them both but their wasnt a single laugh out of anything they said. The jokes were just lazy
Besides the fact that those dancers were groovin to best scores, it really had little relevance, or at least much less than memorable moments that could have been with best song performances.
Other than the obvious, it was plan old disappointing in terms of excitement. There was little too keep me entertained. I love the awards, but there needs to be a change of pace in between categories, especially during a predictable year. What usually glides the show along nicely is, infact, the song performances. Go figure.
No more Shankman. No more Mechanic.
89 3-08-2010 at 9:54 am
Robert Hamer said...
@ Ripley: Maybe they wanted to wait for a film with an original plot and interesting characters.
90 3-08-2010 at 10:13 am
Al said...
Anyone else caught of guard by Tom Hanks not rereading the nominees and just abruptly opening the monologue after a few seconds of banter? Im not a particular fan of the word flabbergasted but….I was flabbergasted.
91 3-08-2010 at 10:37 am
M said...
Hopefullu Shankman never asked to be a producer again.
The Bad
Some of the jokes were boring.
Stiller was good in the beginning then it went south.
No more of the little kiddies, Miley making an idiot of herself, and of course the Twilight idiots and Zac Efron, just no.
They need more star power presenting the awards. Some of the presenters were WTF like the kiddies, Chris Pine, to name a few.
The dance montage was long and boring. Bring back the singing!!
The show seemed extra long this year.
I don’t like the 5 presenter to actresses/actors thing, unless the actresses are accomplished. First time nominees who are young really shouldn’t be doted upon.
The Good
The Horrow montage was cool, as was Tina Fey
How about they get some good producer for the shows. Also Star Power was lacking esp for the presenters. Shankman must have thought this was hip to have so many popular young people present, but umm no.
92 3-08-2010 at 10:55 am
Speaking English said...
What was up with the Cinematography announcement? It seemed to me there were some technical difficulties, as they didn’t show any clips. Any confirmation about this?
93 3-08-2010 at 11:01 am
Speaking English said...
***@ Ripley: Maybe they wanted to wait for a film with an original plot and interesting characters.***
Then why did they award “The Hurt Locker?”
94 3-08-2010 at 11:18 am
Pete said...
Agree with Al regarding Tom Hanks–either he went off script or was drunk. The 10 nominees needed to be recapped.
Anyone agree that Oprah went way over the top in praising Gaby? She has no career in films of any consequence ahead of her. Think Jennifer Hudson, Jaye Davidson, Haing Ngor and any number of others dragged from near obscurity into the limelight.
It’s a travesty that Up in the Air lost in the Adapted Screenplay category.
I wonder what the voters in the Short Animated and Live Action films were thinking when they cast their votes. The winners were odd to say the least.
95 3-08-2010 at 11:57 am
Marshall1 said...
First of all, I think all Avatar supporters should rent the DVD when it comes out without 3D and judge the movie based on the writing and other elements of the movie before they claim how original it is. Yes, visual effects and good directing does not necessary equal a good movie. No, Hurt Locker isn’t my favourite movie of the year, but it’s higher than Avatar because repeated viewings and THINKING about the movie did not diminish its power.
I’m actually reading Precious (the novel) now, and as I’ve seen the movie, I think it rivals Up in the Air as a screenplay. It is harder to adapt because of the rough narrative of the protagnist. To make sense out of that is like Precious finally finding a voice and being able to stand up for herself.
96 3-08-2010 at 12:12 pm
Marshall1 said...
btw, I do like Avatar, it’s a good movie with flaws, but I would like 1 Avatars instead of 10 Transformer+ romantic comedy+ teenage rom com any time.
97 3-08-2010 at 12:28 pm
Jason Travis said...
Meryl will never win again. Last night proved it. If they weren’t going to honor her for the best reviewed female performance of the year with box-office and precursors, they’ll never honor her. Period. It’s just getting ridiculous.
98 3-08-2010 at 12:40 pm
Craig said...
@Speaking English
Because The Hurt Locker has an original plot and interesting characters. Duh.
99 3-08-2010 at 2:08 pm
/3rtfu11 said...
“Meryl will never win again. Last night proved it. If they weren’t going to honor her for the best reviewed female performance of the year with box-office and precursors, they’ll never honor her. Period. It’s just getting ridiculous.”
I believe Meryl Streep will win another Oscar will she reaches the 20s in the number of her nominations.
100 3-08-2010 at 2:30 pm
josh said...
meryl meryl meryl.
bore bore bore.
get over your meryl obsession.
when she deserves she’ll win.
yadayadayada.
it’s over
finished.
let it rest in peace.
oy vay!
101 3-08-2010 at 5:02 pm
Me. said...
Yay! I loved watching the Oscars yesterday. I had 19 out of 24 (I ended up predicting Avatar for cinematography in the end and I had all the shorts wrong… haha). Here were my thoughts:
THE GOOD:
“The Hurt Locker” taking Best Picture and Directing. Ok, my heart was with “Avatar” for Best Picture but I REALLY wanted Bigelow to win because her directing was spectacular and “The Hurt Locker” was my second favorite nominee so I was really happy to see it win.
Jeff Bridges, Christoph Waltz and Mo’Nique winning Oscars. Really deserved.
The dancing numbers during the best score presentation. Amazing!
Having clips for the performances. How I missed them last year!
“Avatar” taking Visual Effects. I loved how the winner said something along the lines of: The world you live in is as beautiful as the one we created for you.
THE BAD
Sandra Bullock winning. Yes, I knew it would happen, but SHE DID NOT DESERVE IT. I would have prefered to see her being emotional in THE BLIND SIDE rather than in her Oscar speech. Gabourey Sidibe should have won. It was the best PERFORMANCE
102 3-08-2010 at 5:34 pm
Benito Delicias said...
The show was awful, the race was predictable, two surprises, but hey, we knew it would happen and we still love it and we’ll be back next year too.
As for Tina Fey, she was great during those minutes, bring her in next year and we’ll be complaining about her too. Something happens to these hosts, maybe because Tina is a fresh writer it could be different, even if writing doesn’t seem to be 100% of the problem with Steve and Alec.
Just wanted to thank Kris and Guy for the whole coverage. I’m obsessed with this site and Awards Daily so thanks to both of you.
103 3-08-2010 at 5:59 pm
sam said...
I actually hate all you bullock haters who forced me to be in suspense about this show — thinking that she would not win — and not getting the benefit of the three other nominees who were sure things — even though all four won every award before this. All you Bullock haters can now suck it, but at least, it made me savor her win even more.
Ugh,what happened to basterds — backlash to harvey? Hurt locker winning screenplay was the ultimate slap in the face — sorry there is no comparison. Love the hurt locker, but basterds script was so multilayered.
104 3-08-2010 at 10:08 pm
daveylow said...
This was one of the worst Oscar shows ever. The pacing was so slow and everyone look lost on that vast stage.
I think the Academy should think twice about 10 nominees. It makes no sense to include the more popular films in the Best Film category if you’re going to dismiss them as not “artful” enough in the end.