award shows start pretty much the same way every time. the pre-show shows off the stars' gowns and tux's which the fashion police will later criticize. but what i like about pre-shows are that's where they narrate to you the production process and what you will be seeing.
This year, the floor of the stage was decorated like michaelangelo designed a plaza in Rome. A curtain made out of more than a thousand swarovski crystals, every crystal having a different cut, hung from the ceiling. The orchestra which played a modernized version of classics like moonriver, songs of sing sing sing and a whole lot more, was taken out of the pit and placed in the stage. Beyond these preparations, the academy was obviously cost-cutting.
again like the grammy's, the oscar's showcased the mix of the old and the new generation of actors.
OPENING ACT
WOW! Hugh jackman was sooo good. He basically sang a musicl parody of the best motion picture nominees, slum dog millionaire, milk, benjamin button, the wrestler, frost/nixon. And the coolest part was when he carried "surprised" yet scripted anne hathaway to the stage where jackman was frost and hathaway played nixon. Jackman's hosting was definetly different from the previous hostings, singing and dancing on stage as opposed to doing stand up comedy.
PRESENTATION OF THE NOMINEES
this was done only to the 5 best actress/actor andsupporting actress/actor. A collection of clips of the previous dead or alive winners of their category was shown. Then stars(twinkling stars) explode and the screen breaks to five, like an artwork, the broken screen shows 5 previous alive winners who will present the nominees and winners for the said category. The broken screen is lifted and the presentor walks forward. Each presentor was assigned to give a speech/chat/crack a joke to their assigned nominee and when everyone's through, the actor in the middle announce this year's winner.
And what is a better way to present the best motion picture nominees than having steven spielberg to do it.
MID-SHOW MUSICAL
this was the highlight of the show. hugh jackman singing about how the muscial is back. Consistent with the theme (classic made modern) jackman, with vanessa hudgens, zac efron, amanda seyfried, dominic cooper and beyonce, sang top hat, white tie and tails, big spender, singing in the rain, maria, you're the one I want, all that jazz, lady marmalade, one night only, you can't stop the beat, last chance, at last, don't cry for me argentina, mamma mia, over the rainbow.
WINNERS
i never realized penelope cruz had such a thick spanish accent. between kate winslet and cruz, i really thought winslet would faint, she was trembling as she made her acceptance speech. and sean penn, of course the gay film always has an award. It's probably because films under this topic show so much emotion. And I couldn't believe how nervous I was for slumdog millionaire for the best motion picture, but they did win. the stars of slumdog millionaire cheered like kids everytime one of their cast/crew won that when they finally won as a whole, it was just so fun to see. in fact speilberg was lost in the sea of the cast and crew of slumdog during their acceptance speech. wall-e winning of course! heath ledger winning and his family accepting the award in behalf of matilda.
UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS
tina fey and steve martin presenting- it was so natural that even if the didn't intend to make the audience laugh, well they did
jack black and jennifer anniston- how very awkward, not for the both of the them but because the cameras zoomed in on angelina jolie (black's co-star in kung fu panda) and brad pitt (ex-husband)
amanda seyfried and robert pattinson- he still looked like a very pale bloodsucker.
natalie portman and ben stiller- stiller dressed as joaquin phoenix
tribute to jerry louis
the animated film collection video. the one where wall-e chooses a video tape over the academy's trophy and after watching he's surprised to see that panda and the rest of the people in the video collection were watching too. the video ending with the roach winning
seth rogen, janusz kaminski and james franco video with franco stapling rogen
and one of the funniest moments: pattinson was sitting behind mickey rourke when rourke's nomination was announced, and he looked dead bored.
PEOPLE.COM'S 10 MOST OUTRAGEOUS QUOTES
- "You look like you work in a Hasidic meth lab."
– Natalie Portman, to Ben Stiller - "Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one."
– Penélope Cruz - "Say whatever is on your mind because you know we have a seven-second delay. But if you win, we switch to a 20-minute delay."
– Host Hugh Jackman, to Best Actor nominee Mickey Rourke - "She's beautiful, and I love her, and she can like, adopt me if she wants to."
– Miley Cyrus, on Best Actress nominee Angelina Jolie, to E! host Ryan Seacrest - "Don't fall in love with me."
– Steve Martin to Tina Fey, playing out their own form of a soap opera while presenting Best Screenplay Adaptation - "I had to become a vampire to find the right woman."
– Twilight star Robert Pattinson, presenting a montage of romantic moments in the year's films - "Think I could make this into a pipe?"
– Pineapple Express star Seth Rogen, marveling at the Oscar statuette in a skit with famed cinematographer Janusz Kaminski and James Franco (not pictured) about the year's comedy films - "On set they can be your mother, your father, even your therapist. They can even manage hostage negotiations when a certain actor is having trouble coming out of their trailer. Not that I'm speaking about myself. But you know who you are, Ben Stiller."
– Reese Witherspoon, praising the leadership of directors before presenting the Best Director Oscar - "How did he do it? How for so many years did Sean Penn get all those jobs playing straight men?"
– Robert De Niro, introducing Penn's Best Actor nomination as gay politican Harvey Milk - "I want to be very clear that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me, often."
– Sean Penn, referring to his reputation as being notoriously difficult, while accepting the Best Actor award for Milk
at the end, the academy showed a list of the upcoming movies everyone should look forward to watching this year:
sherlock holmes
public enemies
julie and julia
funny people
the soloist
up
fame
terminator salvation
500 days of summer
amelia
whatever works
inglorious basterds
night at the museum2
monsters vs. aliens
harry potter and the hald lood prine
angels and demons
old dogs
ice age: dawn of the dinosaurs
the boat that rocked
an education
state of play
imagine that
g-gorce-hamster in bolt
i'm hungry and want sweet corn!
xoxo,
kL
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