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 84rd 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.

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. This years there are nine nominated movies contending for the golden guy with a sword. Over at the New York Times, Melena Ryzik, a k a The Carpetbagger, gives her predictions for the winners:

Best picture: “The Artist”

Best director: Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”

Best actor: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”

Best actress: Viola Davis, “The Help”

Best supporting actor: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”

Best supporting actress: Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best adapted screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, “The Descendants”

Best original screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”

Best animated film: “Rango”

Best foreign language film: “A Separation,” Iran

You can cast your ballot for your favorite in this poll let us know how well you do during the course of the show. h/t to our reader seakit.

There was a lot of revealing stories recently about the diversity of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and who votes for the awards. Low and behold, the Academy voting panel is overwhelmingly white, male and over 50. The other revelation was why there were only two song nominated from a list of 39 songs that were given Academy voting members. It’s the rules:

As it turns out, the sheer number of songs in the running split votes to the point that only two songs could be featured on the ballot, per current Academy rules. Basically, voters had to sort through the 39 songs and score each on a scale of 6 to 10 points, and only songs that received an average of 8.25 points could be nominated. Hence, only two songs made the cut.

There are pro’s and con’s for this. The pro, it will mercifully spare us from some really bad productions. The con, a lot of really good artists like Elton John, Lady Gaga, Chris Cornell, Mary J. Blige, and Willie Nelson did not make the cut. Now that’s a rule that needs to be revised.

One of the categories the Academy needs to create is “Best Animal in a Featured Film.” Some of the scene stealers this year are a Jack Russel terrier named, Uggie, “The Artist“, who won an inaugural Golden Collar from Dognewsdaily.com. He beat out his competition for cute, a fellow Jack Russell, Cosmo, “The Beginners”. The Dobermans that appeared in “Hugo” appeared to be quite fierce but, according to the trainers, in reality were quite timid and shy. As the late actor Lee Marvin said when he accepted his 1965 Oscar for Best Actor, “I think I should be sharing this award with a horse somewhere out there in the San Fernando Valley,” a reference to the horse Kid Shelleen rode, who appeared to be as drunk as Shelleen was.

The annual Razzie nominations were announced last night. The Razzies honor the worst movies and performances of the year. Adam Sandler was nominated for a record 11 awards for everything from worst actor to producer for three movies, “Jack and Jill,” ”Just Go with It” and “Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star.” He takes that title from Eddie Murphy who had 5 awards for just one picture, “Norbit,” in 2007.

Along with “Bucky Larson” and “Jack and Jill,” worst-picture contenders are “New Year’s Eve,” ”Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.

Jack and Jill” led with 12 nominations, with “Transformers” second with nine and “Breaking Dawn” right behind with eight. [..]

For worst actor, Sandler is up against “Bucky Larson” star Nick Swardson, along with Russell Brand for “Arthur“; Nicolas Cage for “Drive Angry,” ”Season of the Witch” and “Trespass“; and Taylor Lautner for “Abduction” and “Breaking Dawn.”

Swardson also was nominated for worst supporting actor for “Jack and Jill” and “Just Go with It.”

For worst actress, Sandler is joined by another cross-dressing actor, Martin Lawrence in “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son.” Also nominated were Sarah Palin for her documentary “The Undefeated”; Sarah Jessica Parker for “I Don’t Know How She Does It” and “New Year’s Eve“; and Kristen Stewart for “Breaking Dawn.”

Appropriately, the winners will be announces on April Fool’s Day.

I will be your fashion and performance critic as we watch the parade down the red carpet and the main event. BTW, I always cry at the memorial tribute. Below the fold is the list for all the nominees. On with the show.

Cast your votes

Best Picture

The Artist” *

The Descendants

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Hugo

Midnight in Paris

The Help

Moneyball

War Horse

The Tree of Life

Best Actor

Demian Bichir, “A Better Life

George Clooney, “The Descendants

Jean Dujardin, “The Artist” *

Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Brad Pitt, “Moneyball

Best Actress

Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis, “The Help

Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady” *

Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn

Jonah Hill, “Moneyball

Nick Nolte, “Warrior

Christopher Plummer, “Beginners” *

Max Von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo, “The Artist

Jessica Chastain, “The Help

Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids

Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs

Octavia Spencer, “The Help” *

Best Director

Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris

Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist” *

Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life

Alexander Payne, “The Descendants

Martin Scorsese, “Hugo

Best Original Screenplay

Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris” *

JC Chandor, “Margin Call

Asghar Farhadi, “A Separation

Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist

Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, “Bridesmaids

Best Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, “The Descendants” *

John Logan, “Hugo

George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, “The Ides of March

Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, “Moneyball

Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughn, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Animated Feature

A Cat In Paris

Chico & Rita

Kung Fu Panda 2

Puss in Boots

Rango” *

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Bullhead (Belgium)

Footnote (Israel)

In Darkness (Poland)

Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)

A Separation (Iran) *

Original Score

The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams

The Artist” Ludovic Bource *

Hugo” Howard Shore

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Alberto Iglesias

War Horse,” John Williams

Best Original Song

Man or Muppet,” The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie *

Real in Rio,” Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction

The Artist

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hugo” *

Midnight in Paris

War Horse

Best Achievement in Cinematography

The Artist” *

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

The Tree of Life

War Horse

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Anonymous

The Artist” *

Hugo

Jane Eyre

W.E.

Best Documentary Feature

Hell and Back Again

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Pina

Undefeated” *

Best Documentary Short Subject

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?

God Is the Bigger Elvis

Incident in New Baghdad

Saving Face” *

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Achievement in Film Editing

The Artist

The Descendants

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” *

Hugo

Moneyball

Best Achievement in Makeup

Albert Nobbs

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The Iron Lady” *

Best Animated Short Film

Dimanche/Sunday

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore *

La Luna

A Morning Stroll

Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film

Pentecost

Raju

The Shore” *

Time Freak

Tuba Atlantic

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Drive

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo” *

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

War Horse

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo“*

Moneyball

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

War Horse

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hugo” *

Real Steel

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

315 comments

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  1. Time for a food break

  2. We’ve seen that.

    It shouldn’t matter, but it does to TPTB in Hollywood.

  3. And Chris Rock should play the John Stewart Green Lantern.

    The only limit of the ring is your imagination.

  4. walking up the steps with their flat heals and comfortable clothing. 😉

  5. Ewww.

  6. The oldest actor ever to win an oscar

  7. Has anyone here seen that show?  How is it?  

  8. only I don’t know who it goes to

  9. Not present to accept

  10. Woody wins and snoots them.

    Doesn’t even send a surrogate.

    1. and E-online’s coverage sux.

  11. so everyone can find it

  12. Plummer has been married three times. His first marriage, to Tony Award-winning actress Tammy Grimes, was in 1956 and lasted four years. The couple’s daughter, Amanda Plummer (born 1957), is an acclaimed actress in her own right, but (as he mentions in his autobiography) he had no contact with her during her early and teenage years. They now maintain a friendly relationship. Plummer was married to journalist Patricia Lewis from May 4, 1962 until their divorce in 1967. He and his third wife, British dancer and actress Elaine Regina Taylor, have been married since 1970 and live in a 100-year-old converted farm house in Connecticut.[31]

    1. getting ahold of the actual teevee?

  13. About Northern Ireland.  

  14. Great documentary

  15. Got in around 8pm after driving all day.  Been watching the oscars.  No way I can catch up with all the comments so I guess I’ll just jump in.

    Angelina Jolie looked great.

    1. @ HuffPostStyle : It looks like Rooney made her dress bodice out of two spray-painted toilet plungers #Oscars

  16. until a show was over to write about it.

    Billy Crystal’s return: He was fine, but lacked sparkle

  17. Hugo is, in part, about the history of filmmaking.  Not going to ruin it for those who might still want to see it.  But because of that fact, maybe that is why it is so popular with the Academy members.  It’s an homage.

    1. to exercising the back muscles and upper arms to wear those dresses

  18. the list, like Michael Douglas is doing now.

    1. I hope you enjoy some of the show.

    2. I hope you enjoy some of the show.

    3. I hope you enjoy some of the show.

  19. when one film seems to run away with a lot of oscars

  20. is a Jersey girl.

  21. still be beautiful.

  22. my favorite parts of the show.  I hope they don’t forget anyone this time.

    1. how dreadful was that? Plenty!

  23. James Earl Jones is the shiznit but Oprah is on my list.  She was already on my list but when she buddied up with Chris Christie and then promoted him, that was the last straw.

    1. I’m jealous.  

      Just kidding.  Or am I?

    2. The kids are cooking, oriental meatballs from a recipe i found last year

  24. What a show! heh.

    Finally able to tune into the academy at about 10:45. I’ll do my best to catch up on the comments on the breaks.

  25. Just horrible.  Jackie Cooper?  A still pic?  And that’s just for starters.

  26. I apparently missed it.

  27. Hey, we got a minute and a half fer ya.  Total, that is.

  28. She is one of my favorite actresses.

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