Feb 28 2011

Live Blog: The Oscars

“And the winner is”. With those words there will be at least 5 people holding their collective breath, while a finely coiffed and swathed celebrity tears open a sealed envelop with the closely guarded secret. Welcome to the Live Blog of the 83rd Academy Awards from fabulous downtown Hollywood or, in my case, on the couch in the family room with my lap top, a pitcher of martinis and Parmesan popcorn, Oh, and lots of napkins.

I used to chuckle at the introduction of the tuxedoed men carrying the brief case with those envelops and the silly ritual of reading of the “Rules” on how the votes were cast and who voted on what. Do they even do that any more?

The first Oscars were presented on May 19. 1929 at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood at a private brunch for 270 people. My how far they have come. Now it is the “hottest” ticket in town and the parties after for winners and losers are elaborate affairs that would keep food pantries in business for a year. I shouldn’t be too critical many of the industry’s actors, directors and producers do wonderful humanitarian work for causes that would be easily forgotten.

So have you all placed your bets on the winner? if you haven’t you’re out of the loop, since the Oscars are the most gambled on non-sporting event in the US. Even Nate Silver has gotten in on the action with four tips to win your Oscar pool but the kicker this year that even Nate admits are throwing off the odds is that there are now 10 films in the Best Picture Category. Yes, dear hearts, 10, in case you hadn’t noticed. In 2009, the Academy decided to return to its roots. When the award for Best Picture was presented in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees, and from 1935 to 1943 there were 10. So adjust your pools accordingly, there are more “fish in the pond”

Here’s some more answers to those questions about the award you never thought to ask:

  • Oldest best actor winner: Henry Fonda, 76, “On Golden Pond,” 1981

  • Youngest best actor winner: Adrien Brody, 29, “The Pianist,” 2002

  • Oldest best actress winner: Jessica Tandy, 81, “Driving Miss Daisy”

  • Youngest best actress winner: Marlee Matlin, 21, “Children of a Lesser God,” 1986

  • Oldest best supporting actor winner: George Burns, 80, “The Sunshine Boys,” 1975

  • Youngest best supporting actor winner: Timothy Hutton, 20, “Ordinary People,” 1980.

  • Oldest best supporting actress winner: Peggy Ashcroft, 77, “A Passage to India,” 1984

  • Youngest best supporting actress winner: Tatum O’Neal, 10, “Paper Moon,” 1973.

  • Biggest Oscar winners: “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” 2003, 11 awards (out of 11 nominations); “Ben-Hur,” 1959, 11 awards (out of 12 nominations); “Titanic,” 1997, 11 awards (out of 14 nominations).

  • Biggest Oscar losers: “The Turning Point,” 1977, 11 nominations, 0 awards; “The Color Purple,” 1985, 11 nominations, 0 awards; “Johnny Belinda,” 1948, 12 nominations, 1 award; “Becket,” 12 nominations, 1 award.

  • The youngest person to ever receive an Oscar: Shirley Temple, 5, in 1934 but it was “honorary”.

  • The oldest person to ever receive an Oscar: Jessica Tandy, 81, in 1989 for “Driving Miss Daisy”

  • The most Oscars for “Best Actress: Katherine Hepburn with four (1932, 1967, 1968 & 1981)

  • The most Oscars for “Best Actor”: This category is shared by seven men, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Fredric March, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Hanks, whio each have two.

  • The actor with the most total Oscar nominations: Jack Nicholson with 12. Jack has three Oscars, 2 for “Best Actor” and one for “Best Supporting Actor”.

  • The actoress with the most total Oscar nominations: Meryl Streep with 16 nominations.

  • The person with the most Oscars: Walt Disney, who walked away with 26 Academy Awards over his lifetime. He had 64 total Oscar nominations.

  • The longest acceptance speech ever given at an Oscar ceremony: Greer Garson in 1942 for “Best Actress” in “Mrs. Miniver”. Most sources agree it was between 5 i/2 to 7 minutes.

  • The Oscar statuette weighs 6 3/4 pounds, and stands 13 1/2 inches high.

  • It was named by Margaret Herrick, the Academy librarian, who remarked in 1931, upon seeing the statuettes, “Why it looks like my Uncle Oscar!” Her uncle’s full name, by the way, was Oscar Pierce. No, it wasn’t Bette Davis.

    • Bored? You haven’t seen the production or heard the speeches yet.

    I will be your fashion and performance critic as we watch the parade down the red carpet and the main event. I can’t wait to see what get up Helena Bonham Carter wears. BTW, I always cry at the memorial tribute. Below the fold is the list and links for all the nominees. Bring on the show.

    Cast your votes

    Best Picture:

       * Black Swan

       * The Fighter

       * Inception

       * The Kids Are All Right

       * The King’s Speech

       * 127 Hours

       * The Social Network

       * Toy Story 3

       * True Grit

       * Winter’s Bone

    Director

       * Darren Aronofsky Black Swan

       * Joel Coen and Ethan Coen True Grit

       * David Fincher The Social Network

       * Tom Hooper The King’s Speech

       * David O. Russell The Fighter

    Actor in a Leading Role

       * Javier Bardem Biutiful

       * Jeff Bridges True Grit

       * Jesse Eisenberg The Social Network

       * Colin Firth The King’s Speech

       * James Franco 127 Hours

    Actress in a Leading Role

       * Annette Bening The Kids Are All Right

       * Nicole Kidman Rabbit Hole

       * Jennifer Lawrence Winter’s Bone

       * Natalie Portman Black Swan

       * Michelle Williams Blue Valentine

    Actor in a Supporting Role

       * Christian Bale The Fighter

       * John Hawkes Winter’s Bone

       * Jeremy Renner The Town

       * Mark Ruffalo The Kids Are All Right

       * Geoffrey Rush The King’s Speech

    Actress in a Supporting Role

       * Amy Adams The Fighter

       * Helena Bonham Carter The King’s Speech

       * Melissa Leo The Fighter

       * Hailee Steinfeld True Grit

       * Jacki Weaver Animal Kingdom

    Original Screenplay

       * Another Year Mike Leigh

       * Inception Christopher Nolan

       * The Fighter Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson

       * The Kids Are All Right Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg

       * The King’s Speech David Seidler

    Adapted Screenplay

       * 127 Hours Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy

       * The Social Network Aaron Sorkin

       * Toy Story 3 Michael Arndt

       * True Grit Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

       * Winter’s Bone Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini

    Foreign Language Film

       * Biutiful Mexico

       * Dogtooth Greece

       * In a Better World Denmark

       * Incendies Canada

       * Outside the Law Algeria

    Animated Feature

       * How to Train Your Dragon

       * The Illusionist

       * Toy Story 3

    Original Score

       * 127 Hours

       * How to Train Your Dragon

       * Inception

       * The King’s Speech

       * The Social Network

    Original Song

       * Coming Home Country Strong

       * I See the Light Tangled

       * If I Rise 127 Hours

       * We Belong Together Toy Story 3

    Art Direction

       * Alice in Wonderland

       * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

       * Inception

       * The King’s Speech

       * True Grit

    Cinematography

       * Black Swan

       * Inception

       * The King’s Speech

       * The Social Network

       * True Grit

    Costume Design

       * Alice in Wonderland

       * I Am Love

       * The King’s Speech

       * The Tempest

       * True Grit

    Makeup

       * Barney’s Version

       * The Way Back

       * The Wolfman

    Documentary Feature

       * Exit Through the Gift Shop

       * Gasland

       * Inside Job

       * Restrepo

       * Waste Land

    Sound Mixing

       * Inception

       * Salt

       * The King’s Speech

       * The Social Network

       * True Grit

    Sound Editing

       * Inception

       * Toy Story 3

       * Tron: Legacy

       * True Grit

       * Unstoppable

    Visual Effects

       * Alice in Wonderland

       * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

       * Hereafter

       * Inception

       * Iron Man 2

    Film Editing

       * 127 Hours

       * Black Swan

       * The Fighter

       * The King’s Speech

       * The Social Network

    Short Film, Animated



       * Day & Night Teddy Newton

       * Let’s Pollute Geefwee Boedoe

       * Madagascar, a Journey Diary Bastien Dubois

       * The Gruffalo Jakob Schuh and Max Lang

       * The Lost Thing Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann

    Short Film, Live Action

       * God of Love Luke Matheny

       * Na Wewe Ivan Goldschmidt

       * The Confession Tanel Toom

       * The Crush Michael Creagh

       * Wish 143 Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

    Documentary Short Subject

       * Killing in the Name

       * Poster Girl

       * Strangers No More

       * Sun Come Up

       * The Warriors of Qiugang

    arlethamaselli0

    215 comments

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    2. they call them Nerd Awards on stage.

      Thanks for the respect assholes.

    4. yes, Kate that is gross. LOL

    5. Alice in Wonderland.

    6. Helena looked comfortable in those outfits

    7. nominated for anything.  Sucks to be me.

      1. he modeled underwear? Whoooohooo

      1. and a T-shirt.

    10. Drove in through the morning fog.

      Hey there Rover, come on over…

      Well its nice to have a little music while we eat.

      Red headed lady, Reaching for an apple.

      Gonna take a bite, nope, nope.

      She gonna breathe on it first,wipe it on her blouse.

      She takes a bite.

      Chews it once,twice,three times, four times, stops!

      Saliva workin’, takes a hard long look at Randy…

      Fat old husband walking over.

      Let’s get the hell out of here

      Yeah, There walking down the road

      Left foot,Right foot

      Left foot,Right foot

    12. Strangers no more.

    13. God of Love.

    14. Yes h should have gotten a hair cut but congrats. Lots of support in the audience. Yeh NYU, my alma mater

    16. who I am less and less impressed with.

    17. Banksey was banned.

      I’m appearing in disguise in sympathy.

    18. Exposing the bank heist of the American economy

      1. As you can see.

        Moccasins.

    19. And a good speech.

    21. Let’s hear more about the banksters!

    22. self deprecation  

    23. for something.

      Harry Potter got aced out and it’s the only film I’ve seen this year.

    26. and the color of that dress is out standing Tangerine

    27. She rocked a the Grammy’s with Celo

    28. I never heard any of these songs until tonight, But hey its Pixar and Randy

    29. Short people have no reason to live.

      For something.

      1. visually was very good but it was Tim burton

    30. Halle does a tribute to Lena Horne who passed away at 92 last year and the others who have gone to the other side of the veil

    31. Fuck you!

      1. union pins

    33. Anne has made great choices tonight. The Devil made her do it

      1. Glad you asked.

      2. There was no other woman in the film  

    35. Here come the big awards

      1. actually had more screen time in Fargo than Frances McDormand, yet he was nominated in the supporting category and she won Best Actress (which she totally deserved).

    39. but he looks good in a tux.

    41. not a surprise

    42. Working on my resume. Had a serious hard drive crash a few weeks back and lost at least 6 months of updates.

      joy.

    43. for being so graceful

    44. give someone else a chance

      1. they don’t discriminate

    46. Ugh again.

    48. Or was it just me?

    49. cable blinked out and he sounded like one of the chipmunks for a second or two.

    50. and bodily function humor?

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