March 7th, 2010 10:36pm
Will Pfeifer
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So they’re having a co-star of the nominees introducing them in the acting categories. Michelle Pfeiffer for Jeff Bridges (FABULOUS BAKER BOYS), Â Tim Robbins for Morgan Freeman (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION), Vera Farmiga for George Clooney (UP IN THE AIR), Colin Farrell for Jeremy Renner (SWAT), and Julianne Moore for Colin Firth (A SINGLE MAN). Tim Robbins takes the prize for funniest speech, with him saying Morgan Freeman told him the meaning of friendship was getting someone a cup of coffee, “Ted.”
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And the winner is… Jeff Bridges. Not a big surprise, but well deserved — for a lot of things. Maybe he’ll be nominated again this year for TRON. (Or maybe not.)
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March 7th, 2010 10:21pm
Will Pfeifer
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As my wife asked, is that background behind Pedro Almodovar and Quentin Tarantino some sort of lampshade display from home depot?
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As our friend Julie asked, are all foreign film nominees complete downers? (Answer, yes — because just like our Best Picture nominees, no one gives any love or respect to comedies or genre films)
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No one laughed, but I liked the joke from the Best Foreign Language winner where he thanked the Academy for “not recognizing ‘Navi’ as a foreign language.” Then, a quick cut to James Cameron, not looking pleased. I think he sense he’s not going to take home the big prize.
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March 7th, 2010 10:07pm
Will Pfeifer
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And the Oscar goes to…
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THE COVE. I hear it’s great, but man — I don’t know if I can watch a movie about dolphin slaughtering.
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And wait a minute — Fisher Stevens now has an Oscar? In addition to being Michelle Pfeiffer’s ex-husband, he also has an Oscar? That guy? Wow!
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March 7th, 2010 09:57pm
Will Pfeifer
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Gee, I wonder what’s going to win?
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Oh, that’s right. AVATAR. Shocking. You could hear the stunned gasp rise out of the crowd at the Kodak Theater.
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March 7th, 2010 09:50pm
Will Pfeifer
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The interpretive dance segment, which gives a much needed chance to visit the restroom!
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March 7th, 2010 09:45pm
Will Pfeifer
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It’s always a a bit awkward, because the applause varies, making it look like a popularity contest, which it definitely should not be.
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I’m glad they (a) ended on Karl Malden, because he had a long, illustrious career; (b) that they keep the Michael Jackson clip collection to a minimum (like I said, he was a pop star, not a movie star) and (c) they remembered people like cinematographer Jack Cardiff and writer Budd Schulberg (with a clip from A FACE IN THE CROWD).
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Good call on having James Taylor play “In My Life,” too — most people forget that Taylor starred in the cult film TWO-LANE BLACKTOP, and was pretty good in it, too.
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March 7th, 2010 09:33pm
Will Pfeifer
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“Academy Award nominee John Travolta”
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It was nice to see him introduce Quentin Tarantino’s INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS for the Best Picture segment, but boy, there’s a guy that could use another career jump-start ala PULP FICTION. What was his last movie? OLD DOGS? FROM PARIS WITH LOVE? C’mon, John. Let’s make an effort.
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March 7th, 2010 09:28pm
Will Pfeifer
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Not too bad. Heck, it was just nice to see clips from THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, ALIEN, ROSEMARY’S BABY, THE SHINING, THE EXORCIST, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, DRACULA, NOSFERATU, FRANKENSTEIN, THE WOLF MAN, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and some other genuine classics. Lots of the other movies are less than classic, but it’s sort of funny to see LEPRECHAUN during an Oscar show, though they only did that so they could show a pre-nose job Jennifer Aniston.
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And, thanks to BEETLEJUICE (which, let’s be honest, isn’t really a horror film), we got another glimpse of a young Alec Baldwin. A young Steve Martin was shown in a clip from (again, not really a horror film) LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, which led to a clip of a (very) young Jack Nicholson from the original LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.
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March 7th, 2010 09:20pm
Will Pfeifer
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Can anyone explain why Charlize Theron was the person to introduce the Best Picture nominee clips for PRECIOUS?
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Why not show the honorary Oscar winners — Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman, Gordon Willis and John Calley — during the actual show? The clips from Corman’s movies alone would’ve been the most entertaining part of the entire broadcast. Heck, I was excited just to see the opening title card of Corman’s orginal LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS!
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Why aren’t they using Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin more? They’re funny guys — even the by-now-tired PARANORMAL ACTIVITY spoof was funny — and refreshingly short.
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Not a question, but a bit of advice: Kristen Stewart, don’t scratch during the Oscar ceremony.
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March 7th, 2010 09:02pm
Will Pfeifer
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Like the Best Supporting Actor category, this one is a dead-solid lock. Mo’Nique had this award won since the first time PRECIOUS played at a film festival a year or so ago.
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This might be the first Oscar speech that thanked (in order), Hattie McDaniel, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey. Not a bad speech though. Plenty of passion — and even anger?
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