The 2010 Academy Awards show thread

[Diego 21]

Diego have you actually seen Harry and Tonto? I really doubt you have. Art Carney was awesome, he deserved the award.

It's a road film that is all but forgotten. Carney won in a powerhouse year for actors.

I haven't. But OK, let's say he deserved it, my point still stands, Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman certainly didn't deserve one, talk about overacting, he's supposed to be blind not deaf.

I will say that I think that Pacino's performance in Godfather II is as perfect as it gets.

[indy4 155]

In my opinion, Half Blood Prince was a considerably "better" movie than Avatar. But it certainly isn't best picture material either.

I disagree. I'd say HBP is the worst film I saw last year.

[ST-321 4]

NPR's annual interviews on the Oscar nominated scores:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124400410

[JoeinAR 1,949]

In my opinion, Half Blood Prince was a considerably "better" movie than Avatar. But it certainly isn't best picture material either.

I disagree. I'd say HBP is the worst film I saw last year.

you also think Shutter Island is great, and its not great in any way shape or form

[King Mark 3,624]

not much to say yet...pretty predictable

[Richard Penna 3,664]

In my opinion, Half Blood Prince was a considerably "better" movie than Avatar. But it certainly isn't best picture material either.

I disagree. I'd say HBP is the worst film I saw last year.

I disagree with your disagree. HBP was by far the best Potter movie IMO, and definitely one of the most entertaining films of the year.

[crumbs 14,287]

Congrats Giacchino!!!! So glad you won! Far and away the best nominee in that category!!

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Cool! Argentinian movie "El Secreto de sus Ojos" won Best Foreign film! Congratulations to Campanella and all the crew!

For those who haven't seen the movie yet, it's a extremely recommendable one to see. Go watch it!

[Trent Hoyt 13]

What a fucking surprise...The Hurt Locker

[Richard Penna 3,664]

So Hurt Locker is best director and picture.

What the heck is so amazing about that film??? I just don't get it

Well at least they gave Giacchino his due.

[crumbs 14,287]

Personally, I thought there were other nominated films far better than EITHER Hurt Locker or Avatar. Definitely a political thing giving Hurt Locker the gong though, considering all the anti-war sentiment going on.

[Trent Hoyt 13]

There are times when a movie and director should be recognized for the ground that they broke. Avatar may not be the best film but it still should have won. The Academy sucks, they passed on Star Wars for best film. I clearly have no respect for the Oscars anymore...so whatever.

[Kendal_Ozzel 36]

Really happy for Giacchino! Much deserved. And he gave a great speech.

And looking back at past winners, I'd say this is the first time the Academy's gotten right since Return of the King.

[Morlock 11]

Diego have you actually seen Harry and Tonto? I really doubt you have. Art Carney was awesome, he deserved the award.

It's a road film that is all but forgotten. Carney won in a powerhouse year for actors.

He was terrific, in a damn good film.

The show was boring as hell. I mean, the best film with a chance at winning won, so I guess that's something. No real suprises (aside from Up in the Air failing to get adapted screenplay), very rushed, without enough of the hosts. Alec Baldwin was entirely unnecessary there, though. A few good lines here and there. Most interesting film music moment: Desplat's New Moon theme playing over the movie's stars introduction to the horror montage. Giacchino's a nice guy, and he's done great work in film. Up isn't close to being an example of that, but still, why not. Biggest travesty of the night for me is Avatar winning best cinematography. Just because its visual and its Avatar, doesn't mean it deserves to win. As a cinematographer, all he had to do was pick an angle.

[indy4 155]

I'm just glad Avatar didn't get Director or Picture. And I'm incredibly happy for Giacchino.

[John Crichton 4]

Wish I could have made the chat this year, hope everyone had a good time.

At last, the Academy gets a score award right. Congratulations Michael Giacchino, here's hoping it's just the first.

That bit with the dancers during the playing of the score nominees was awful. I mean off the charts horrible.

This was an entertaining read through the night.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

The worst award on tonight's show was Star Trek for Best Makeup.

Star Trek has been around for 45 years and they've been putting ears on Mr. Spock all that time and NOW IT WINS. Give me a break.

Completely undeserved.

JC you're as crazy as Indy4, the dancing was absolutely amazing, it was out of the atmosphere.

[John Crichton 4]

Yes, thanks for reminding me Joe: congrats to Star Trek for the first Oscar in franchise history.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yeah I don't know what they were thinking. If you muted it, you'd think it was a BET music video. Didn't fit the music at all, but that's not saying the dancing wasn't good. It just wasn't right.

I thought Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were hilarious, especially with the Paranormal Activity spoof. Ben Stiller also had me laughing uncontrollably.

The Hurt Locker was better than Avatar and deserved to win more, but I would have rather had Up In The Air take the cake. It much deserved editing though, the editor did a superb job of keeping up the tension in that film.

[John Crichton 4]

Exactly, the dancing may have been technically proficent and even impressive looking sometimes. But used as a vehicle to showcase the score nominees? Dumb.

[Uni 306]

Some thoughts at the end of yet another Oscar night:

- The 82nd Academy Awards played . . . like they were 82 years old. Unquestionably the most boring Oscar show in history. This was largely due to the absolutely bizarre sound mix--muting the audience applause, making it sound like the announcer was shouting at us while stunned winners walked on and off the stage during painfully awkward silences. Said winners filled these dreadful silences with some of the most stilted, ham-handed, aimless speeches we've had to endure in years. The exceptions to this were Sandra Bullock (I really wanted to see Meryl win, but it's hard being disappointed with this result), who managed both humor and sincerity without either ever seeming affected, and Michael Giacchino, whose encouragement of creative neophytes was both authentic and blessedly brief.

- I'm confused as well about The Hurt Locker's sweep at the end. It just goes to demonstrate the irony that in the first year they upped the field to 10, none of them could really hold a candle to previous BP nominees. I agree that the voters in this case were likely motivated politically; but I give major kudos to Bigelow for getting two shots at the mike and still steering clear of making political statements. (On the other hand, spare me, oh please God spare me, Barbara Streisand's ridiculous twitterpating.)

- The worst part of the night for me? I missed the first half-hour of the show, so I didn't get to see how Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin opened things up. Their brief interludes throughout the show were great--the video snippets were fun, especially the shot of the two of them watching the show backstage in their Snuggies--but Martin definitely was the better man when it came to hitting the big pitches. (His "costume whorses" bit demonstrated that he's still the master at his particular style of delivery.) The presenters' humor is universally hit-and-miss; Ben Stiller was, as always, fairly amusing (his pauses are his best asset), and Elizabeth Banks (as Parker Posey's twin) took a good shot at Cameron's expense . . . and yet much of the evening's humor felt flat and offbeat since we couldn't hear the audience laughing any more than we could hear them clapping. The funniest line of the night, however, went to Tim Robbins, quoting Morgan Freeman's wisdom about friendship on the last day of shooting The Shawshank Redemption: "Friendship is when a man gets another man a cup of coffee. Would you do that for me, Ted? It is Ted, isn't it?" (Actually, I'd give Freeman himself an honorary Oscar-Funny award for his self-deprecating narration during the Sound Editing short.)

- I thought the dancing presentation featuring the Best Score nominees was pretty cool, actually. We've seen enough montages of the composers conducting and such. Made a nice change, if nothing else.

- Have I mentioned the horrible sound mix yet? What the hell were they thinking playing the music nearly full-volume while presenters were trying to speak? I forget the exact moment--was it while those two kids from the new Twilight movie were on? It was embarrassing having to watch them compete with the orchestra.

- The John Hughes tribute was nice, but it did just as much to serve as a Public Service Announcement to the stunning mortality rate of teenage actors' career longevity. It was painful to see some of those people up there, only a couple of whom are still acting today. (Since we last saw him, MacCauley Culkin hasn't aged a day, and his career hasn't moved an inch.)

- The general tribute was, as always, one of the most interesting and emotional parts of the show. James Taylor's live performance added a nice touch. Am I the only one who watches these every year having forgotten several of the people who have passed on and, occasionally, learning about some for the first time? (I didn't know about Ron Silver. That one got to me.)

Overall, this show just gets worse each year. Why, then, does it still fascinate me--even, dare I say, move me--so much? I dunno. I grew up from a kid who loved movies into a teen who wanted to make them. Somehow my jaded views of Hollywood and its recent output still hasn't separated me completely from that vision, I guess. It would be nice for a change if we could have a run of movies this year that could actually make for an interestingly competitive field next year. (I will, however, trade this in and settle for simply firing the sound guy, as well as the ingenious producer who told him not to mike the audience. For this, I will happily wait another 5 years for a Return of the King-caliber Oscar night.)

- Uni

[Incanus 5,713]

Wow Hurt Locker beat the hell out of Avatar of which I am not too upset. And Giacchino got the golden boy this year. Congratulations!

And if what you said about boring is true Uni, then I am happy I skipped the whole show this year.

[publicist 4,643]

The Hurt Locker was better than Avatar and deserved to win more, but I would have rather had Up In The Air take the cake.

UP IN THE AIR? Speak about outlandish. After watching WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, A SERIOUS MAN, DR. PARNASSUS and UP IN THE AIR, i'm chock-full of those wannabe-ambigious films which never seem to know what they want to tell me. I'm acting reactionary here and say AVATAR should've gotten it...as square as it story was, at least i left the cinema bedazzled which doesn't happen often these days.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Ended up watching man's most boring spectacle from my bed last night. Shockingly, I still made it through it.

Some observations:

Opening was alright, but very tame. I didn't care much for Baldwin and Martin as hosts. The opening rollcall went on for ever and it was just one sympathy laugh after another from the audience. The cutaways to nominees pretending to laugh their ass off at the hosts' dull jokes made me want to stop watching.

Luckily, they went on to the Best Supporting Actor award soon enough and I was quite happy to see Cristoph Waltz win.

Most of the night went on with predictable results. I was pretty sure The Hurt Locker was going to win this and it ended up taking home a fair amount of technical awards along with the Big Two.

I had two cheers last night: the first was when Cristoph Waltz was announced. The second was a huge cheer for Giacchino. It's great to see him win this and it's the first time in a long while the Academy actually awarded the best score nominated. Thankfully, Up is so good it breacks the string of consolation prizes.

I liked the dance number, btw. It was a good way of allowing some of the music to play out. In contrast to the sound awards, where we got to hear ABSOLUTELY NOTHING exempliary of the fine work these nominees had done.

Didn't see the best cinematography for Avatar coming. I hadn't picked a favorite, was half thinking it might go to Inglourious Basterds, but I didn't see a win for Avatar coming there. I'm not going to say if it's deserved or not though, but Avatar was certainly shot in a way unlike any of the other films nominated. At least we can now say that virtual cinematography has been accepted as another way of shooting.

The short feature awards bit was a cock-up. Who the hell was that red-haired woman that suddenly stormed on stage and took up all the speech time for the best short documentary director? For a moment, I was expecting her to just go, "I'ma let you finish..." Stupid woman. When the winners for best short live action were announced, one guy kept making gestures to the other to hurry up because he wanted to say something as well. It was a bit painful to watch, especially when he finally got to step up to the mic and the music started the moment he opened his mouth.

Another moment like this happened when one of the Best Documentary winners held up a banner with "TEXT DOLPHINS" and a number below it. There was a very abrupt cutaway to a close-up of the audience and they didn't go back to the stage until the guy was rolling up his banner again. Guess they didn't see that coming. But wait, George Minkowski now has an Oscar? Sweet.

Mo'Nique's comment about her Oscar being about the performance and not about politics didn't make any sense. I was also annoyed by Streisand's inane "the time has come" comment. Yes Bigelow is the first female director to win an Academy Award, but quite frankly, I don't give a crap. She made a very good film and I would sincerely hope she got rewarded for her efforts as a director, not because she has a vagina for crying out loud. From all that I've heard about The Hurt Locker, she deserved to anyway.

The show itself was dull, unimaginative and playing it awfully safe all the time. Not that this is anything new for the Academy Awards, but it doesn't make for particularly entertaining viewing. The hosts were tame and unfunny, Ben Stiller's Avatar get-up fell flat on its ass (in fact, pretty much every Avatar joke of the evening rang hollow) and the only thing that actually had me chuckling was Robert Downey, Jr.'s stonefaced rant about working with pale-skinned mole people.

All in all, it was a predictable night, but one with a lot of very deserved winners. My hats off to them.

[TownerFan 4,983]

Definitely happy with Giacchino's win. Go Michael!

As for the rest, Oscars are becoming quite boring because they always end up as the mere ratification of all the predictions.

Yawn.

[QMM 4]

(Since we last saw him, MacCauley Culkin hasn't aged a day, and his career hasn't moved an inch.)

Actually he is still acting. He was one of the best parts of the miniseries Kings last year, and he's in Edgar Wright's adaptation of Scott Pilgrim coming out this year.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Yes, thanks for reminding me Joe: congrats to Star Trek for the first Oscar in franchise history.

It's embarrassing to win that way. It's a complete and utter joke. Wow they get an Oscar for ears.

Koray, when did you see Avatar? You hadn't see it as of the other day so you're comments about Hurt Locker deserving to win over Avatar is assinine unless you finally saw it, which I assume you will now say you did to cover your ass.

the best joke was Steve Martin's Jew joke to Christopher Waltz, it was hilarious.

Michael Giacchino gave the best speech. He spoke the truth.

The politicing did allow Hurt Locker to win, and the sudden push for Sandra Bullock to win Best Actress was extremely bizarre.

If Meryl Streep doesn't win for Julie and Julia what the hell will she ever win for. That performance was among the 3 or 4 greatest acting jobs ever. But Meryl didn't win. I'm not mad that Sandra won because quite frankly she's a doll and I find her completely charming.

Kathryn Bigalow is a hottie of high magnitude. I didn't want her film to win but I was charmed by her gracious acceptance. I thought she was going to pass out for a minute. Sorry guys but Barbara had a right to her comment...82 years and only one woman best director. We're not to the point where it doesn't matter the sex or the race of the individual in award winning achievement. Someday but not today.

Exactly, the dancing may have been technically proficent and even impressive looking sometimes. But used as a vehicle to showcase the score nominees? Dumb.

interpretive dance to film music dumb!!! It was brilliant but obviously you're not a fan of dancing. Perhaps you would have enjoyed it if there had been some lens flares.

[Ollie 1,059]

Great to see the Oscars get the best score right this year, congrats to Jeff Bridges for finally getting his award.

As for the rest..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

What a snooze fest and dull show.

Is it really that hard to read a teleprompter? And could we get some actual star power to present the awards?

I thought Stanley Tucci's intro of Meryl Streep was hilarious, but can we get rid of the ass kissing and just hand out the damn award? What an unnecessary waste of time for the best actor awards.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

We're not to the point where it doesn't matter the sex or the race of the individual in award winning achievement. Someday but not today.

Well, I am.

It's not that hard, really.

Yes to pretty much everything else you say though (although there was a lot more make-up involved in Star Trek than just ears).

I thought Stanley Tucci's intro of Meryl Streep was hilarious, but can we get rid of the ass kissing and just hand out the damn award? What an unnecessary waste of time for the best actor awards.

Ugh, yes. Talk about stretching for time. Oh, and of course after this whole thing is done, a presenter comes on stage to read out the nominees, just in case we missed all the inane waffle about them just half a minute earlier. *snore*

[davros72 1]

Yes, thanks for reminding me Joe: congrats to Star Trek for the first Oscar in franchise history.

It's embarrassing to win that way. It's a complete and utter joke. Wow they get an Oscar for ears.

Have you seen the film? There's more than just ears in terms of makeup. There was the little alien friend of Scotty's (which they even highlighted in the clip last night), other various aliens like at the bar where Kirk tries to pick up Uhura, aging makeup for Winona Ryder, Romulan tattoos, etc.

Which nominee would you have rather had win?

[Red 75]

I'm elated that Giacchino won for UP. I adore it and it was one of the first times in a while that the Academy got it right. He gave one of the best speeches of the night as well.

It was a pretty boring show overall, although there were a couple surprises. I wasn't expecting The Hurt Locker to win both Best Picture and Best Director. I'm not sure if Bigelow deserved Director more than Cameron.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Yes, thanks for reminding me Joe: congrats to Star Trek for the first Oscar in franchise history.

It's embarrassing to win that way. It's a complete and utter joke. Wow they get an Oscar for ears.

Have you seen the film? There's more than just ears in terms of makeup. There was the little alien friend of Scotty's (which they even highlighted in the clip last night), other various aliens like at the bar where Kirk tries to pick up Uhura, aging makeup for Winona Ryder, Romulan tattoos, etc.

Which nominee would you have rather had win?

Do you really think that the ears, the tattoo (which I can do just as well), and the cheesy little dwarf makeup are really and truly Oscar worthy. There was nothing here worthy. As I've said many times before the Best Makeup should not be an annual award but an award given out for a significant achievement in makeup. The Wolf Man deserves the Oscar next year because its another advancement in that craft/art. None of this years films was worthy. When a Planet of the Apes (68) occurs again or an Altered State comes along then I won't complain.

Marc, you're definately not the norm as far as Hollywood goes, but your heart or mind is in the right place. Like I said some day.

And I too cannot sing the praises of the score to UP loud enough. Damn you Giacchino, I have to at least give you consideration now.

[Ollie 1,059]

Ugh, yes. Talk about stretching for time. Oh, and of course after this whole thing is done, a presenter comes on stage to read out the nominees, just in case we missed all the inane waffle about them just half a minute earlier. *snore*

I have a suggestion for the Academy, sit down with each star and have them give their thoughts to a professional writer who can fabricate something short and to the point that doesn't ramble.

Or get actors/actresses that can speak well, like Stanley Tucci.

And I too cannot sing the praises of the score to UP loud enough. Damn you Giacchino, I have to at least give you consideration now.

See? I told you so.

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

And I too cannot sing the praises of the score to UP loud enough. Damn you Giacchino, I have to at least give you consideration now.

[davros72 1]

Yes, thanks for reminding me Joe: congrats to Star Trek for the first Oscar in franchise history.

It's embarrassing to win that way. It's a complete and utter joke. Wow they get an Oscar for ears.

Have you seen the film? There's more than just ears in terms of makeup. There was the little alien friend of Scotty's (which they even highlighted in the clip last night), other various aliens like at the bar where Kirk tries to pick up Uhura, aging makeup for Winona Ryder, Romulan tattoos, etc.

Which nominee would you have rather had win?

Do you really think that the ears, the tattoo (which I can do just as well), and the cheesy little dwarf makeup are really and truly Oscar worthy. There was nothing here worthy. As I've said many times before the Best Makeup should not be an annual award but an award given out for a significant achievement in makeup. The Wolf Man deserves the Oscar next year because its another advancement in that craft/art. None of this years films was worthy. When a Planet of the Apes (68) occurs again or an Altered State comes along then I won't complain.

Fair enough, I'll agree with you about how no film this year really jumped out of the pack as "Outstanding" like the official category name says. But of the nominees, I'd say Star Trek clearly had the edge, if for nothing else because of the greater quantity of types and varieties of makeup than the others (just guessing from what they showed on the show last night and the subjects of the other nominated films). It was more than just the ears, you gotta get past the ears, man!

On the same note (see what I'm doing here? ), I felt UP was good, but not in the same realm as past Best Score winners (though there have been other less-than-worthy winners in recent years besides this one, too).

Agreed with others on the ridiculousness of the Best Actor/Actress method. The show was already well into overtime, and yet they still trotted out those interminable personal tributes.

And the dancing was incredibly unconnected to the films whose scores they were dancing to. What was that whole flirting-lovers-with-a-weird-robot-in-the-middle thing going on during the UP part? The Hurt Locker... was that hip-hop/breakdancing dude (I don't know dance styles, sorry) supposed to be an exploding bomb or something? I can appreciate that they danced well, but for the most part what I saw seemed to have zero to do with the films themselves, and that's what I had a big problem with. Show a clip or a specific scene from the film that highlights the score particularly well, if you don't wanna go the old "Here's a clip of the score being recorded" standby.

I thought Steve and Alec were funny but not "oh my God they have to do this every year from now on!" outrageously so. Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr were pretty funny. Ben Stiller's little shtick was flat and horribly unfunny. The John Hughes tribute was nice but it seemed a bit rude to single him out over every one else who'd passed (and of course there were plenty of people left off the In Memoriam, as usual), even though he did mean a lot to a lot of people in the industry today.

Finally, I'm just glad Avatar didn't win best picture. I thought the movie was cliched/predictable/overlong/overhyped/poorly acted/extremely pretty too look at. Didn't deserve Best Picture, IMHO. And I did not want to listen to more James Cameron super-arrogance if it'd won. I can't say for certain that any of the other nominated films were "better", but I can say I enjoyed Star Trek a helluva lot more than Avatar.

Anyway, my two cents. Your mileage may vary.

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

On the same note (see what I'm doing here? ), I felt UP was good, but not in the same realm as past Best Score winners (though there have been other less-than-worthy winners in recent years besides this one, too).

There has not been a really worthy Win since 2003.

[Bowie 45]

On the same note (see what I'm doing here? ), I felt UP was good, but not in the same realm as past Best Score winners (though there have been other less-than-worthy winners in recent years besides this one, too).

There has not been a really worthy Win since 2003.

As someone who isn't a fan of the LOTR scores, I can definitely agree with this. 2004-2009 winners make ROTK seem like some sort of epic masterpiece!!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Ugh, yes. Talk about stretching for time. Oh, and of course after this whole thing is done, a presenter comes on stage to read out the nominees, just in case we missed all the inane waffle about them just half a minute earlier. *snore*

I have a suggestion for the Academy, sit down with each star and have them give their thoughts to a professional writer who can fabricate something short and to the point that doesn't ramble.

Or get actors/actresses that can speak well, like Stanley Tucci.

Or they could, y'know, just show a clip like they used to. If you're awarding someone for their acting, show it, don't talk about it.

[John Crichton 4]

Exactly, the dancing may have been technically proficent and even impressive looking sometimes. But used as a vehicle to showcase the score nominees? Dumb.

interpretive dance to film music dumb!!! It was brilliant but obviously you're not a fan of dancing. Perhaps you would have enjoyed it if there had been some lens flares.

Ooh, light!

No, I'm not much of a fan, and the whole thing struck me as awful naff but if I'm in the minority fair enough. Personally I don't have a problem with the orchestra playing a sample from each score with silent film clips. Perhaps even playing part of a cue live to its scene.

[Trumpeteer 302]

Every year people trash the Oscars because the awards turn out to be predictable. And someone here (not going back to find out who) said they hope the Oscars return to a Return of the King-like year. You mean a year where one film takes just about everything? How exciting is that?

Don't blame the Oscars for being predictable. Blame the 5,000 awards handed out throughout the year. If there weren't so many critics awards and peer awards, the Oscars would indeed have the same weight as it did in Titanic's year. Now, when Mo'Nique wins every award and makes the same type of speech every time, people groan and roll their eyes. But I was still thrilled to see her win.

They could have Dane Cook or one of the Jersey Shore people host the show and I would still watch. I watch because I want to celebrate a great year in movies and be shocked when Geoffrey Fletcher's great screenplay flies under the radar for months, only to pull off a major shocker and make me smile and tear up a little. I watch because you still never know what's going to happen until the envelope is opened. (To this day, I mourn the Best Picture losses of "Saving Private Ryan" and "Brokeback Mountain.)

Yes, there were dull moments, and once again they resurrected the interpretive dance segment (doing the robot for Up?), but I am interested in all 24 categories. I make it a point to watch every nominated Best Picture before the nominations. It takes me an hour to fill out my Oscar ballot. I try to think like an Academy member.

I know I am in the major minority. Everyone else just wants the biggest moneymaker to win, or at least get a nomination. (Sorry folks, but I got a bigger emotional reaction from "The Reader" than "The Dark Knight.") And to see the hot people of Hollywood on their televisions. Yeah, that makes the show more fun.

I groan at the people who say that this was another boring show. Another boring show? So, you continue to watch even though it's been consistently boring to you? Something tells me these people like watching others get their hands slammed into car doors.

Congratulations to all the Oscar recipients. Even Sandra Bullock.

And I was glad to see Hans Zimmer genuinely happy that Michael Giacchino won. They put all the score nominees in the same section, and Hans was the only one to be happy. Michael's speech was the best of the year. It reminded me of Steven Soderbergh's win for directing and his great speech that did not include a laundry list of people.

So, I will let you continue your griping about the show. I will be back on my sofa next year, ballot and pen in hand, hoping for a "predictable" show, but always hoping for those surprises that happen every year. I'm sure all of you who call the show boring will watch next year, too. Don't deny it.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Gee Jeff, you're black and you're gay, NO BEST DIRECTOR award for you.

Davros you can not like Avatar but you cannot say it was poorly acted because that is one thing that isn't true.

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

Did anybody record the whole best score presentation?

In the oscar site they have only put the speech, and i would like to view the 'the nominees are and the awards goes to...' part.

[Marian Schedenig 8,153]

There are times when a movie and director should be recognized for the ground that they broke. Avatar may not be the best film but it still should have won.

And it did deservedly win art direction and visual effects. Which is all the ground it broke.

Biggest travesty of the night for me is Avatar winning best cinematography. Just because its visual and its Avatar, doesn't mean it deserves to win. As a cinematographer, all he had to do was pick an angle.

I'm not sure. I've been wondering about it, but I really couldn't tell one way or another, simply because I don't know enough about how it was done. Two points to consider though: The live action 3D scenes surely were quite accomplished. And ultimately, especially in a time when cinematographers are major contributors to animated movies (see Wall-E), a virtual camera shouldn't be completely neglected just because it's virtual. Although, as impressive as the CGI was, the cinematography contribution in that department did seem rather slim to me.

The worst award on tonight's show was Star Trek for Best Makeup.

Star Trek has been around for 45 years and they've been putting ears on Mr. Spock all that time and NOW IT WINS. Give me a break.

You have a point. Nevertheless, I can't deny I was happy to see Trek finally get an Oscar. And I do give the whole crew, and that includes the makeup department, credit for making the whole thing seem new and yet so naturally familiar at the same time. And as great as Urban's performance was, when I cannot, even on a second viewing, see the actor behind the role even though I know who it is, perhaps makeup did play an important part in that regard.

I do think Trek would have deserved a win for best sound editing. I don't think there's been a major scifi movie sice Space Odyssey which portrayed space without sound, and they managed to work the concept into the action sequences perfectly.

In fact, they did have very fine visual effects, too. But in that category, Avatar *had* to win (obviously).

Yeah I don't know what they were thinking. If you muted it, you'd think it was a BET music video. Didn't fit the music at all, but that's not saying the dancing wasn't good. It just wasn't right.

It was the most amazingly absurd thing I've seen in a long time.

I had two cheers last night: the first was when Cristoph Waltz was announced. The second was a huge cheer for Giacchino. It's great to see him win this and it's the first time in a long while the Academy actually awarded the best score nominated. Thankfully, Up is so good it breacks the string of consolation prizes.

I was very happy to see Waltz win, and not because he's from Austria (though that certainly contributed to me noticing the whole campaign more than usual), but because his performance was sublime.

And I was also delighted to actually see Giacchino get the award. I'm not that keen on Up, but he is one of the major talents of his generation. And even for this score (which is perfectly fine, don't get me wrong) he deserved it more than Horner.

Didn't see the best cinematography for Avatar coming. I hadn't picked a favorite, was half thinking it might go to Inglourious Basterds, but I didn't see a win for Avatar coming there.

I would very much have liked to see Basterds and Tarantino pick up some more awards, but I didn't believe they would. Ultimately, Waltz and Giacchino were the two awards that mattered to me. And Avatar not winning BP or score (but getting the fully deserved technology awards).

the best joke was Steve Martin's Jew joke to Christopher Waltz, it was hilarious.

Probably their only really funny joke. And Stiller was genuinely amusing. Otherwise, the whole presentation seemed poorly written and rather lamely presented. And not enough (although given the quality, it actually was enough)

Michael Giacchino gave the best speech. He spoke the truth.

Indeed, easily the best speech of the evening. That's something I don't usually expect from best score winners.

Kathryn Bigalow is a hottie of high magnitude. I didn't want her film to win but I was charmed by her gracious acceptance. I thought she was going to pass out for a minute. Sorry guys but Barbara had a right to her comment...82 years and only one woman best director. We're not to the point where it doesn't matter the sex or the race of the individual in award winning achievement. Someday but not today.

Which doesn't mean anyone should win *because* she's a woman. But that the best director should win regardless of whether she's a woman. Which is what I think she was getting it, so I fully agree.

Haven't seen Hurt Locker, so I can't comment on the actual award. But what I've seen from Bigelow so far was good.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

So...did anyone notice that for the first time since 1988

"The Oscar goes to..."

was replaced with

"And the winner is..."

[John Crichton 4]

You have a point. Nevertheless, I can't deny I was happy to see Trek finally get an Oscar. And I do give the whole crew, and that includes the makeup department, credit for making the whole thing seem new and yet so naturally familiar at the same time. And as great as Urban's performance was, when I cannot, even on a second viewing, see the actor behind the role even though I know who it is, perhaps makeup did play an important part in that regard.

I do think Trek would have deserved a win for best sound editing. I don't think there's been a major scifi movie sice Space Odyssey which portrayed space without sound, and they managed to work the concept into the action sequences perfectly.

Agreed.

In fact, they did have very fine visual effects, too. But in that category, Avatar *had* to win (obviously).

I almost wish that, like a lot of video game awards do, they had seperate awards for technical and artistic. While Avatar did deserve the award for groundbreaking new technology, Trek deserves to be recognized for not only a perfect example of how to use VFX in a film to complement the story and never overwhelm, but creating shots that were almost works of art unto themselves.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Star Trek was easily the most aurally thrilling experience of the past year.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Jc and star trek need to get a room

[Trumpeteer 302]

So...did anyone notice that for the first time since 1988

"The Oscar goes to..."

was replaced with

"And the winner is..."

I noticed it, and was very upset by it. I was glad when Kate Winslet said "And the Oscar goes to..."

[Lurker 5]

Next year I'd like them to say, "And the loser isn't..."

Neil

[Koray Savas 2,251]