So… it’s the Oscars and we here at Vanity Fare are trying something new: live blogging! Aren’t you excited?
We’ve seen most of the movies, we certainly have our opinions… Stay tuned.
We’re taking this as our philosophy, by the way:
“Movies, and by proxy the Oscars, are a way to talk politely about impolite things.”
(David Carr, this morning’s NYT )
8:33: Jon Stewart just said “Vanity Fare!” Ok – so maybe he was referring to the magazine, but still – a sign.
8:39: Our best picture pics? Without a doubt, without a second thought, without any more prevarication, There Will Be Blood. And Allison? No Country For Old Men. But I can see Juno winning in an upset to rival Crash’s topping Brokeback Mountain. Ugh – don’t get the Juno hype. Ok but not as epic and challenging and deliciously over-the-top as TWBB.
8:46: Have you seen Once? So endearing and lovely and and and! Glen Hansard was fantastic, especially during the singing (which makes sense, for a singer. I watched the commentary and appreciated the director’s insight – “Instead of choosing actors who could half-sing, I chose musicians who could half-act.”) Look:
8:52: Okay, Animated Feature is up… I hope Persepolis wins! Go Marjane! Andrea didn’t think Ratatouille was that great, but I enjoyed it. I just want to see someone other than Pixar win this year….
8:54: Damn.
8:55: Yeah, I just thought Ratatouille wasn’t that strong – conventional story arc with a bunch of fancy food terms thrown in for good measure. But food bloggers ate it up.
9:11: Holy Botox alert! (Francesca Lo Schiavo for Sweeney Todd)
9:13: Best Supporting Actor Award. There’s no contest here… it should, and will be, Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men. That scene in the gas station? Or with Woody Harrelson in the hotel? Creepy brillance. With an honourable mention to his hairdo – the ultimate helmet head.
9:19: Also, he cleans up well.
9:26: How good is this 11-year old girl? (the August Rush performance). She exudes more maturity than both of us combined.
9:28: Ok, so I’m totally looking forward to the Animated Short category. A kid that I went to school with is nominated (go Josh!!), so I’m definitely rooting for him. (Allison)
9:35: Aw man.. they didn’t even show Josh in the audience! I was really hoping they would. (ETA: actually, you could see the back of his head, a couple of rows in front of the winners.) I have fond memories of sitting in our early morning lectures and talking about Radiohead. And how jealous I was of the fact that he got tickets to see them at the Opera House waaay back when. Still though, it’s an amazing feat that he was even nominated.
9:36: Just like I have fond memories of hanging with Daniel Day Lewis in history class, chatting about our dream of running off to Italy and making shoes. And babies. (Andrea)
9:38: YES! Tilda Swinton won! I thought she was great in Michael Clayton. I think everyone was expecting Cate Blanchett to win, so what a huge upset.
9:45: Is it just us or does Jon Stewart look like he’s just been kissed? (Perhaps by the Unfunny Monster?)
9:47: James McAvoy makes me weak in the knees.. Oh, those Scottish men. (Allison)
9:48: Oh the Coen brothers took home Best Adapted Screenplay. Looks like it might be a No Country night. (Sarah Polley and Away From Her would have been nice. How can you go wrong with Alice Munro?)
10:04: So perhaps we’re not the most qualified pundits to judge Best Actress as we’ve only seen Juno, but for what it’s worth, Marion Cotillard looked very Best Actress-y in her trailers. Or maybe, as a chronic eyebrow plucker, I sympathize with her overplucking tendencies. And she has quite an impressive non-French accent. But Julie Christie…
10:07: What’s with the Forrest Gump music?
10:09: Because Forest Whitaker is presenting?
10:13: And the eyebrows win out. (Why, why must everyone cry? Is an Oscar really that spectacular? God, you’d think these people discovered a cure for cancer. Or a new painless plucking method.)
10:18: Oh Once!
10:20: And he’s using the same guitar as in the film!
10:27: Can you believe this? They’re now together and…. he’s 37, she’s 19!
10:37: What is it with old people and scarves? (Robert Boyle, Honorary Oscar) Something to do with draughts? Oh wait – Allison and I are both wearing them… Obviously an indication of wisdom. And genius.
10:49: Yes, Once won! Despite Enchanted’s 60% chances. Such a sweet song and scene… Totally deserving. And he’s so red!
10:51: Apparently Jon has now been kissed by the Obnoxious Monster.
10:52: That’s it, the whole broadcast has just become worth it: Steven Spielberg uttering the words “male menopause.”
10:56: Oh my, they let Marketa back on stage to give a speech. Ahh… Oscar has a heart. Along with golden buns.
10:59: Just as Andrea remarked, “I can’t believe There Will Be Blood hasn’t won anything,” the film wins Best Cinematography. And DDL wasn’t even there.
11:00: Probably in the washroom fixing his earrings (and polishing the shoes he just made me).
11:08: Such a joke that Jonny Greenwood wasn’t nominated for Best Score (technicality my ass). Blew everything else off the sheet. (Oh how good was that metaphor?) Though Atonement’s score was quite good, best of a nearly empty barrel. (And it just keeps getting better).
11:23: Best Original Screenplay… Allison votes for Lars and the Real Girl. I think Juno might win… Somewhat deservedly. Okay, so the opening was horrendous, but it got better. Eventually. If only for the part where Michael Cera says, “Actually, I try really hard.” Me too, Michael, me too.
11:26: And we now know who the sharper knife is.
11:30: Helen Mirren is such a classy lady.
11:31: Okay, so here we go. Best Actor. I think we both agree that Daniel Day Lewis is a shoo-in for this category.
11:34: Yes! He was a force of nature. A force of nature! (No associations with that Ben Affleck/Sandra Bullock flick). His performance was completely over the top and completely hypnotic.
11:41: So, Coen Brothers or P.T. Anderson?
11:42: Coen Brothers it is.
11:43: Nooooo! (Andrea)
11:45: No Country for Old Men is so going to win. And I’m tired and ready for bed.. so. Let’s hear it.
11:46: Andrea thinks that any other year, No Country would have deserved to win, but not this year. She thinks P.T. Anderson was robbed. I’m happy with the results though.
11:47: Robbed! The Academy is just not ready to embrace brillance. Which is exactly why I’m staying in Toronto. And, hey, it’s not even midnight – not bad, Oscars, not bad.
All in all, we enjoyed our first forray into live blogging. Hope you did too.
Cate Blanchett was robbed! Twice!