Oscar Night is Here. Live-Tweeting
Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 6:43PM Each year we stress ourselves out with live blogging of all the big events but for Oscar... Since it's my favorite holiday I usually throw a party and recap later right here. Tonight I'm taking a cue from the fatigue I see all over the red carpet. As I turned on the TV Berenice Bejo had the microphone in her face. Why are the Oscars so special?
Because it's the last one."
While that's a genuine truth, "the last one" came out with something like a squinting faraway desperation for a week in bed. The cast and crew of The Artist have been working it for months you have to admit.
They're so committed I wouldn't be surprised to have seen them helping to roll out the red carpet. Bejo's high heel imprints are still faintly visible on red carpets all over the state.
I am party-less so I'll be live tweeting. Something more low key. I miss so much when I'm typing and photoshopping and polling and everything all at once. And I don't wanna miss the Oscars. I'll update this post a few times during the night with my tweets as guide so remember to refresh your screens.
Red Carpet
• Tate Taylor (The Help) so handsome. And I just noticed for the 1st time this morning that he's one of Steenburgen's sycophants in The Help.
• E! Claims "Total Departure!" for Rooney Mara because she's in white not black. Get back to me when she's in a pink ball gown
It's a little chilly"
-Rooney Mara
• Tate Taylor (The Help) so handsome. And I just noticed for the 1st time this morning that he's one of Steenburgen's sycophants in THE HELP
• "the man who loved best actresses too much" that'll be the title of my self-help book if i ever get help.
• Jessica Chastain looks amazing but better than the dress is that unexpectedly girlie bouncy personality . she brought her Nana!
"I love the energy, the light, the american faces and the cinammon rolls"-Jean Dujardin
• It'll be hard to top Jean Dujardin's red carpet quote about his awards season experience.
• I'm really quite annoyed that ABC asked Nick Nolte about his pet crows and then they didn't let him finish talking about them. one is named "John David" but the other one is named....? NOoooooo I must forever wonder.
• BREAKING: Cameron Diaz still invited to Oscars
The stars seem to be filing in...
• Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie would totally look like twin superheroes. Let's name them!
• The crowd is totally enjoying Billy's return. There's also a lot of Tom Hanks already. Old White Guys for the wins I guess.
• Speaking of Old White (Haired) Guys...
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Robert Richardson for Hugo
BEST ART DIRECTION Dante Ferretti (sans hair) for Hugo
• I'm so going to lose the Oscar pool.
• More Fabulous Old White Guys!
BEST COSTUME DESIGN Mark Bridges for The Artist
BEST MAKEUP The Iron Lady. Meryl looked so happy for her longtime collaborator.
Two biggies in a row
BEST FOREIGN FILM A Separation
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSS Octavia Spencer, The Help.
First standing ovation of the night. Tate Taylor took every step up with her. Train dresses are dangerous on staircase, don'cha know.
See it just moves too fast. Too fast. People complain that the Oscars are too long but I can never keep up. Feels great to watch it again instead of typing it. We shall discuss in greater detail the rest of week. I approve of these little clips of the craft fields.
I loved the idea of that Wizard of Oz test screening skit (execution not quite so much) but I sure miss the Christopher Guest crew.
EDITING The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall are the first back-to-back winners since 1935/1936.
SOUND EDITING Hugo
The sound editors thank Thelma Schoonmaker first.
SOUND MIXING Hugo
Hugo is really doing well. It was tonight's true wild card in terms of number of statues.
I was prepared to be all snarky about Cirque Du Soleil but it was kind of cool. Too bad about the direction/editing. When people are dancing you leave the camera in longshot, dumbasses. Sometimes you couldn't even tell what clip their dancing was related to. Argh.
DOCUMENTARY Undefeated
ANIMATED FEATURE Rango
• And that win was followed by a commercial for Brave. Wow They're letting movies advertise finally at the Oscars?
This is my first time presenting an award. Hiiiii."
-Emma Stone
• Emma Stone is joy and hilarity. Can she just host the rest of the night? Please?
VISUAL EFFECTS, Hugo
Wow. It's just magnetized for trophies tonight.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER BEGINNERS.
You're only two years older than me. Where have you been all my life"
-Christopher Plummer to Oscar.
LOVE. He's the oldest person to win an Oscar.
Humorous Billy Crystal bit about reading people's thoughts by looking at them. Punchline was Nick Nolte Growling.
• Funny. That's just what I'm thinking half the time anyone wins an Oscar.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE, The Artist
I was going to get worried if they lost that one.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG, Man or Muppet
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY, The Descendants
Lots of cheers for that one.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Angelina accepted on behalf of the Academy accepting for Woody Allen who never shows to collect.
Woody Allen is the male version of Katharine Hepburn the only idol they're okay with being ignored by.
LIVE ACTION SHORT The Shore by Terry George
DOCUMENTARY SHORT Saving Face by Daniel Young
ANIMATED SHORT The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
• The Bridesmaids cast (presenting all three) made this entire year so much better. Someone throw them a pizza party or something.
• "SCORSESE!" [gulps back drink] Apparently Martin Scorsese doesn't watch the SAG Awards as that joke entirely confused him.
• They cut to commercial with "Best Director coming up" while showing a Hugo clip...
• psyche! It's still MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS, THE ARTIST for BEST DIRECTOR
• Honorary Oscars. you're so important you get to stand up while we pan up to a violinist and cut to commercial.
• In particular I'm pissed we didn't get to see that Dick Smith makeup artist tribute because he looks so genuinely touched.
• IN MEMORIAM: all the white fade to white photographs were like the beginning of a very special episode of Six Feet Under
• The "In Memorium" ended with Liz Taylor's Oscar speech "thank you with all my heart" followed by a Cleopatra wink. Great.
BEST ACTOR Jean Dujardin
I love your country."
He tap danced on his way off the stage but they didn't cut to the camera that would see it well. What is up with the direction tonight?
BEST ACTRESS Meryl Streep
When they called me I had this feeling I could hear half of America going 'Oh no. Oh come on why? Her. Again?' You know. But, whatever."
-Meryl's funny intro.
Beautiful speech as per always.
BEST PICTURE The Artist
Taking my prediction score to a decent but unspectacular 17/24... t'was Hugo that threw me.
My new phone suddenly stopped taking pictures / working just as Meryl won which is surely a sign that I should sleep on it and come back tomorrow evening with a clear head, and final words... and quite possibly a new new phone. Not that I blog from my phone. I need all ten fingers to type like the wind.
Good night.
Best Actress, Oscar Night, Oscars (11), The Artist, Twitter
Reader Comments (137)
@BVR: Well, if it's not a travesty to give THE most lauded actor in the history of the award a third prize for this particular performance in this particular film instead of an actress who made a serviceable film seem like much more than it really is (one who clearly will not be gift-wrapped roles the same way Streep is for various reasons), then it's at minimum a disappointment.
@Troy: I actually had written it was a travesty. But i just didn't want all the streep fans to troll on me. LOL so I changed it. But it is a disappointment (a travesty!! there I said it) for Viola Davis, who was the best nominee. But I'm still happy for Meryl
"When people who don't even know much about movies are saying Viola deserved the award over the competition (on Facebook to boot), you know the Academy without a doubt missed a golden opportunity to do something major."
I've never completely understood how public support should utterly triumph over other aspects such as quality, range of difficulty, etc. This is why we have the People's Choice Awards, so the actual public can vote on the most popular films like Twilight and actors like Jennifer Aniston. Professionals in the film industry voted for Meryl, not random people updating their statuses on facebook.
I'm very happy for Meryl and I thought she was excellent in The Iron Lady and she by far gave the best speech of the night. Viola Davis is not going anywhere. Supposedly there are rumors that a Fences adaptation is in talks (for which she won a Lead Actress Tony Award), so I hope it comes to fruition and we can yet again see what Davis is capable of--especially when she's in the hands of a major American playwright like August Wilson. I think ultimately what hurt Viola this year (and what hurt Meryl Streep two years ago) is that she was a co-lead role. And going up against a gargantuan performance (and character) like Margaret Thatcher was too enticing for voters to ignore.
WORD.
Although I don't think a 4th is totally out of the question, knowing the Academy and Meryl, but that sucker isn't happening any time soon.
Harvey Weinstein is the scum of the fucking earth.
@Aaron: My point is that occasionally the general public's opinion regarding a performance or a film falls in line with the perceived quality of the work as indicated by those of us (critics, awards-giving bodies, and the like) with a greater depth of knowledge regarding the craft. It's not the same as the teens and tweens who think that "Twilight" is the best thing since the twist. One gets a sense that Davis's work in "The Help" was one of those defining criss-cross moments.
I feel great about Meryl finally winning! It was a very long time coming and I'm glad it FINALLY happened.
The outrage of the night is the rack of wins for Hugo. The sound guy got it right that he wouldn't have been there but for Scorcese...but for the buttkissing of Scorcese. That film was ridiculous and will not be remembered.
And it's time for ACademy memberships to come with term limits.
The next time Viola is nommed, she'll win. But at this the roles she's getting offered, I think she'll win for supporting. Sigh.
As a Viola Davis AND Meryl Streep fan, I would have struggled to be happy with any outcome, but... I think a Viola win would have been a bit nicer.
Lets just hope Viola gets some plum roles in the coming years (and Julianne, and Glenn, and Annette...). As much as I love Meryl, I think we can all agree that she sure as hell won't lack great parts and offers.
I am glad that Viola didnt win for her supporting role! Meryl's win was overwhelming! I think that today the world will be celebrating her win as she is probably the most beloved actress :) (extremely happy)
Aww...no love for The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore for Best Animated Short? Was the title too long for twitter?
@daniel b
Meryl was supporting in Prada, One True Thing, and Ironweed
@Troy H. I get what you are saying and there's no denying that Viola Davis really gave life and depth to a character that could have easily seeped into the background and become a one-note character. Her character and the film in general really connected with widespread, American audiences on the whole, but frankly I don't think the rampant twitter/facebook posts about her loss is really indicative of anything other than that she was starring in the most popular film that everyone has seen. How many people in the general public have actually seen The Iron Lady or Albert Nobbs? Or We Need to Talk About Kevin or Certified Copy? The people "who don't know much about movies" that I talked to two years ago were all unanimously rooting for Sandra Bullock. Had they seen The Last Station or An Education? No, but they had all seen and loved The Blind Side and were part of the reason it became such a massive box-office success.
I totally understand where you're coming from and I think Viola Davis would've been a worthy winner as well, but I'm very happy for Meryl that she won the Oscar for a very deserving performance in a film that doesn't have the box-office profits like The Help :)
Now I just want Fences to be made (a GOOD adaptation) so Viola can come in and get Best Actress for that. That's the only way she'll get a lead oscar, which she deserves. And at least that would be better than winning for The Help, I guess.
Either way we were guaranteed a wonderful speech. Meryl's speech actually almost made me cry.
Nathaniel---- I was pretty sure Meryl was gong to win. I read The Film Experience it's now almost 4 years and I realized that when you are rooting for someone, this one never wins... =)
Joking aside... I'm HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! Meryl deserved this Oscar and now that the mission is accomplished let's move to mission number 2: Oscar for Julienne Moore!
Terris -- Julianne/Michelle/Glenn/Annette/Viola etcetera are never going to win. They don't like actresses once they turn 50 -- another reason I am upset about Viola (since she's in her mid 40s and this was her best shot given that we usually see her in tiny parts -- and the only time they'll make an exception is the living legends (hepburn, streep) and women headlining baity best pictures (mirren, tandy) in their 60s.
Philip -- i'd feel better about that if we knew that Fences was being made. But with my luck with actresses i love they'd fuck Viola over and offer the role to Beyonce or something.
Don't give up on Glenn, Nathaniel. She will win one day. She must.
Meryl Streep won because she gave the best LEAD performance of the year for an entire film. She literally played two different characters for 90% of the film. Her performance was astounding. Viola Davis was in a supporting role with a great ensemble cast. That's no way to win Best Lead Actress.
Every so often Oscar gets it right, and tonight they did BIG TIME!
brandz -- seriously? your team won. can't you be a little gracious about it instead of just hammering away still? Please enjoy the win and calm down. Meryl has her third. RELAX.
(but while we're here. playing "two different characters" is part of the problem since you're supposed to be able to see that they're the same character. I loved the old lady half of meryl's performance at least.)
Terris -- it's true. my love is the kiss of doom for oscar chances. lol
Some self-proclaimed Meryl fans almost ruined the whole thing for me this year. If Meryl knew about their existence, she would be ashamed.
@Aaron: Most of these FB friends of mine did see both films, yet still hold my sentiment, though I do understand your point. Considering this particular aspect of this year's awards had been discussed ad nauseum, I don't want to continue exhausting the topic, but I will say that I am glad that Streep has finally won that elusive third trophy, as I am a fan (as I stated in an earlier post). I simply wish it were for a better performance in a better film.
@ NATHANIEL R, I couldn't disagree with you more about "Julianne/Michelle/Glenn/Annette/Viola" statement.
- as far as Annette Bening is concerned I think that if "Imogene" is a decent film, a supporting actress is hers to lose same time next year, she also has other juicy project shaping up;
- same goes for Glenn Close, if her "Therese Raquin" supporting turn is good enough, again I see a favorite for a supporting Oscar next next year.
- Moore is hyperactive and is part of many films, I'm sure she'll find more Oscar nominations
- Viola's career is yet unfolding, so people should relax.
Most people on the blogs constantly said how there's always going to be someone else's turn and Meryl will never win her third. A lot of people were adamant about Viola's win tonight, however, as we saw it with our very own eyes, ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WERE WRONG!
Nathaniel, Last but not least, please make the April Best Actress predictions happen this year again.
Same time last year, I got 4 of the 5 nominees right, except for Jodie Foster, and I'm kinda furious there was no contest.
Cheers
LOL - Meryl looked really shocked, if not even pissed when Colin Firth announced her. But then she kissed Viola Davis on her way to the stage, turned her instant reaction into a joke and gave the speech the people honouring her deserved. Quite classy. I was surprised if not overwhelmed how happy Glenn Close looked, but then I realized that it's probably Oscar-worthy acting... For best actor I was going out on a stretch before the show and predicting Brad Pitt. When best actor was actually up I was actually hoping for a Gary Oldman upset, but knowing deep down that what be asking for too much I just kept my fingers crossed and said "not Clooney not Clooney not Clooney". That would have made them lose much of my respect once again, and I really felt that it could have happened. Glad it didn't, he really doesn't need number two yet/ever...
The biggest WTF moment for me was the Woody Allen win for screenplay. Did anyone see that coming? I really thought for him, nowadays, the nomination is the win.
"Finally, the national nightmare is over. CONGRATULATIONS MERYL!!!" someone needs to get a grip. National Nightmare? Lordy.
Finally, finally, Meryl!! I was (and still) am soo happy she has won this! :) For me she was the best of the five nominees this year, even though all the performances were brilliant, so I am particularly happy she has won for this role. Congrats to Meryl, it's so well-deserved!
I see everyone has forgotten about The Artist already!
I love Meryl, she may be my favorite living actress. But I'm a little disappointed she didn't win for a better movie and role (even a Doubt- or Julia-level movie and role). And this felt like Viola's year. Still, she gave a beautiful acceptance speech.
Nathaniel --- I do think there are still hopes for these wonderful actresses empty handed right now... Just think about Sandra Bullock... she won in her mid 40s... they are older but have also better careers than Bullock and with the right part they can do it!
Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie would totally look like twin superheroes. Let's name them! -> I laughed for 5 minutes.
I'm still a bit disappointed, because Viola Davis.
@brandz
You're a faggot and I hope your hero leaves this world in Geraldine Page record time.
So so night. All of "Hugo"'s early wins got my hopes up too much. At least for Marty in director. Really wanted to see it win BP instead of that flimsy excuse of a film "The Artist." But whatever. It'll be forgotten in a few years just like most of these BP winners. They did a rush job on this show unfortunately. Billy Crystal did what he could, but he was a bit too self-pleased with his just OKAY jokes for my tastes. I never bought into Viola Davis winning over Meryl Streep, so that win was deserved. And her acceptance speech was truly great and nicely self-deprecating as expected. She tied with Christopher Plummer for the best speeches of the night. Some fun sections from Emma Stone (loved all of that! more presenters like that, please!), Robert Downey, Jr., Tina Fey, Will Ferrell & Zack Galknflkadlakdfjis, and Chris Rock.
And that finally brings to a close to this whatever Oscar season.
Where is the "How were they nominated" page, Nathaniel? I look forward to that every year, and it's not here. :-/
/3rtfull -- I can't believe you wrote that.
I knew he was most likely not going to win Best Actor, but my heart and soul wanted Demian Bichir to win the gold statue! I sincerely loved the Artist and Jean Dujardin's performance was great, but I wanted the man who gave a voice to those who cannot speak to get the honor.
As a young Latina, I can say that I am still proud that he was nominated, especially for a movie that was not on my radar until about a month ago.
As for the Meryl and Viola fight, I think both deserved the Oscar. I am happy Meryl won, but I would have felt the same if Viola won, too. I can only hope the Fences adaptation comes out, though. Viola does deserve an Oscar and anyways, Fences was a damn good play :)
@ /3rtfull - That's just disgusting. And the earlier "Die, Bitch" comment was as disgusting.
I was going to say I am very happy for Meryl Streep (loved her speech, appreciate that she won for a role that clearly meant a lot to her, love that Roy Helland won on the same night) but also very unhappy for Viola Davis (thought she deserved it more, thought her win would have meant more, for her and for other actresses). A tie would have been divine.
But now I just want to get out of this thread.
@NickDavis, I also really just can't believe /3rtfull, I don't think I have ever seen someone post such hateful comments here before. That didn't seem to be the spirit of this site to me so far...
/3rtfull, please stop. Just as brandz and zooey have given the Meryl team an awful rep, you're giving the Viola team an awful rep. That was much too far. As a gay person (and with many gay members on this site), I can't believe you even just said that word. You can't champion black actresses and actresses in their 40s and 50s, and then turn around and say a word like that.
Also, wishing death on someone wonderful like Meryl Streep just because she won over your favorite and her fans are uber annoying is also completely unacceptable.
I thought you had been kidding earlier with the "die bitch" comment, but uh...now I doubt that. You need to simmer down.
HOLY CRAP, /3rtfull. Brandz has been obnoxious, yes, but at least he hasn't been so appallingly hateful. Y'all know I love VIola Davis, but the fact that she lost is NOT ACTUALLY A BIG DEAL.
Everyone needs to simmer down and remember that the Oscars can never be all things to all people.