Cate and I joined a contest held by Golden Village through their Facebook account last week and by some twist of luck, we both won a pair of tickets for this:
After eating, we headed inside the cinema and watched the 82nd Academy Awards live on the big screen. It’s actually the first time I’ve watched the Oscars almost entirely (I say almost because we missed a bit of the first part) and it was a great experience. I laughed, I cried (six times, I think), I cheered. It was also like watching a movie. I’ll definitely do this every year. Highlights:
-My first correct guess was the best supporting actor. I loved to hate him in Inglorious Basterds.
-My tears first started flowing when they showed scenes from the movie The Blind Side.
-I laughed out loud at the “interview” portion of Up‘s grandpa and the dog (squirrel!). Then the first acceptance speech that made me cry was from that film’s director, Pete Docter, when he said: “My kids, Nicholas and Ellie, and my amazing wife Amanda, you guys are the greatest adventure.” (I’m senti, I know.)
-The best award presenters were Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr with their hilarious witty “banter” about screenplay writers and actors. Here’s a transcript. Robert wore his signature sarcastic serious straight man face while saying all this. I love him!
Tina: Great movies begin with great writing.
Robert: What does an actor look for in a script? Specificity. Emotional honesty. Catharsis.
Tina: And what does a writer look for in an actor? Memorizing. Not paraphrasing. Fear of ad-libbing.
Robert: Actors want scripts with social relevance. Warm weather locations. Phone call scenes that can be shot separately from that insane actress that I hate. And long dense columns of uninterrupted monologue, turning the page and for instance seeing the phrase ‘Tony Stark continued.’
Tina: And we writers dream of a future where actors are mostly computer generated and their performances can be adjusted by us on a laptop – alone.
Robert: Its a collaboration. (Tina shakes her her head.) A collaboration between handsome gifted people and sickly little mole people.
Tina: It’s really not. You should just say whatever we type.
Robert: You know what, I should say that.
Tina: Say that! (Gesturing towards teleprompter.)
Robert (looking at the teleprompter): Here are the nominees for Original Screenplay.
-I loved the furry purple skirt of Zoe’s gown.
-Miley Cyrus was a disastrous presenter. She’s probably kicking herself right now.
-Ben Stiller presented the best makeup award in full “Navi” costume. He even had a scene fighting with his tail. LOL!
-Best supporting actress’s acceptance speech made me cry. “Sometimes you have to forego doing what’s popular to do what’s right.”
-I cried when they showed scenes from Up. You know, that narration-less bit at the start that shows the old man and his wife growing old. That music won best musical score and when the composer, Michael Giacchino, got up to make his speech, he made me cry again. Here’s what he said: “Never once in my life did my parents ever say, ‘What you’re doing is a waste of time.’ Never. And I grew up, I had teachers, I had colleagues, I had people that I worked with all through my life who always told me what you’re doing is not a waste of time. So that was normal to me that it was OK to do that. I know there are kids out there that don’t have that support system so if you’re out there and you’re listening, listen to me: If you want to be creative, get out there and do it. It’s not a waste of time. Do it. OK?” I’m one of the kids he’s talking about, you see. He’s talking to me. Hence the tears.
-I loved the portions when friends made speeches about each best actor and actress nominees. I loved the speech for Meryl. Laughed at the part when he said that he asked to put a cap on Oscar nominations that an actress could receive. Meryl has 16, apparently.
-I was more impressed with Meryl in Julie and Julia than with Sandra in The Blind Side, but I suppose we have to give chance to Sandra. Anyhow, her speech made me laugh and then tear up, so it’s okay.
I guessed most of the winners correctly. Here is the complete list.
82nd Academy Awards Winners
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire)
Best Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Geoffrey Fletcher)
Best Foreign Language Film: El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
Best Animated Film: Up
Best Film Editing: Chris Innis & Bob Murawski (The Hurt Locker)
Best Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham & Andrew Jones (Avatar)
Best Makeup: Star Trek (Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow & Barney Burman)
Best Costume Design: Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria)
Best Art Direction: Kim Sinclair, Rick Carter & Robert Stromberg (Avatar)
Best Cinematography: Avatar (Mauro Fiore)
Best Sound Editing: Paul Ottosson (The Hurt Locker)
Best Sound Mixing: Paul Ottosson & Ray Beckett (The Hurt Locker)
Best Original Score: Michael Giacchino (Up)
Best Original Song: The Weary Kind – Theme from Crazy Heart (Ryan Bingham & T-Bone Burnett)
Best Animated – Short: Logorama
Best Live Action – Short: The New Tenants
Best Documentary Feature: The Cove
Best Documentary Short: Music by Prudence
