Almost four hours later, we are done. Charlie McSpadden and Andrew Hibbard’s LIVE BLOG has reached its peak. Check back tomorrow for an wrap-up and an analysis of how gay Hugh Jackman was as a host. For now, good night.
11:59 p.m. FINAL THOUGHTS A mostly unsurprising night at the Oscars. They kept it under 3.5 hours which is respectable. There could have been some more clips, but this preview of 2009 (too many John Travolta movies and sequels) is alright. More thoughts forthcoming. Go drink Hollywood. And Mickey Rourke, we want more from you. We want that speech.
11:54 p.m. No surprises here as Slumdog Millionaire wins Best Picture. The montage is clearly the best moment of the night, however, with each BP nomination connected with different moments from film history. Everyone from SM is up on stage and producer Chris Colson gives his speech.
11:49 p.m. A quick moment to say that, though not man people did see The Reader, it was actually a great film. Anyway, back to the incredible best picture montage that is currently going on.
11:48 p.m. Spielberg presents Best Picture. Appropriate.
11:47 p.m. In the only neck and neck race of the night, the Best Actor Oscar goes to Penn instead of Rourke. Great opening line by Penn: “you commie-homo-loving sons of guns.” Sean Penn doesn’t disappoint entirely with his speech. Spiccoli lives on. This is a well deserved award. San Francisco sleeps tightly tonight as Penn delivers a political message. A homo, Obama-lover himself. Mickey Rourke is Sean Penn’s brother. Sick. Otherwise, Slumdog just won Best Picture as Milk got its final concession.
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Ben Button: Does it have the legs to win? Maybe not. Courtesy Boston Globe.
After weeks of build-up, our final Oscar prediction is here. Check out our previous predictions and don’t forget to come back Sunday for our Oscar LIVE BLOG. Because there is no point in addressing the nature of this award, we’ll just skip to the nominees and winner Slumdog Millionaire.
The Nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
It’s been close to 15 years since Forrest Gump eased its way into the hearts of Americans and critics alike. Now, another sweeping, American epic is up for Oscar gold. But Benjamin Button, in all its cinematic and technical glory, lacks an real emotional oomph. Expect David Fincher’s 3-hour film to pick up some technical wins–maybe even Best Supporting Actress–but to falter in this circle of glory.
Frost/Nixon
Ron Howard’s adaptation of the Broadway hit is the safest Oscar bet–like every other Ron Howard picture. Frost/Nixon is a much easier picture to decipher than Benjamin Button, but it still really lacks punch. It’s a great film–not to say every Best Picture has deserved its win–but Frost/Nixon just doesn’t feel like a best picture.
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30 Jan 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Playground, 2 Comments
Even though every one is saying Slumdog Millionaire is a lock for Best Picture, Variety is reporting that Slumdog and Benjamin Button could split the vote, leaving room for Milk to take the top prize. They interview Dan Jinks, producer for Milk and 1999’s out-of-nowhere Best Picture American Beauty, who addresses Milk’s grassroots campaign. After a November release and lots of buzz, the film is finally getting a wide release. Money quote:
“It takes time,” adds Jinks, “to reach less sophisticated audiences. Eight Oscar nominations helps enormously. Milk resonates in an emotional way that tops the other films out there.”
Biased for certain, but is he insinuating that people who haven’t seen Milk are red-state-dwelling homophobic philistines? I’m just glad I saw it two months ago.
Regardless of what you have to say about The Boss, his song from The Wrestler is perfect fodder for an Oscar nomination. So why did the Academy snub Springsteen and only nominate three songs (two from the overhyped Slumdog Millionaire and one for WALL-E–yeah, Peter Gabriel). From the Gold Derby on the LA Times’ Envelope site:
In the Original Song category, Music Branch members shall meet to screen clips of the eligible songs and vote on the achievements. A DVD copy of the song clips will be made available to those Branch members who are unable to attend the screening and who request it for home viewing. Voting shall be conducted as follows:
Nominations will be determined by an averaged point system of voting using 10, 9.5, 9, 8.5, 8, 7.5, 7, 6.5 or 6. Only those songs receiving an average score of 8.25 or more shall be eligible for nomination. There may not be more than five nor fewer than three nominations.
And then Idolator said this:
So even if, say, every voter was into “The Wrestler” just enough to score it as an 8, and that was enough to give it the fourth-highest overall average score, it still wouldn’t be up to snuff by the Academy’s standards. The rule also notes that only two songs from a single film can be nominated, even if more than two songs’ average scores go over the 8.25 mark. Is this something else that we can blame on the fragmentation of pop music, or what?
Yet another reason why I’m not a math major. It screws over the Boss.
Oscar predictions have been coming in for months at other blogs. We at the Playground don’t need to spend months speculating. One (expansive) list (with some obscure categories) shall do. It seems these things are pretty much set at this point, so I threw in some surprises because you never know with L.A. Check back Jan. 22 for an analysis of the awards and until Feb. 22 for our take on the major categories. And without further ado, here’s the list.
Best Adapted Screeplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Original Screenplay
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
Synecdoche, NY
The Visitor
The Wrestler
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