Call it a figure of "Speech" at the Oscars!
Hello, everybody. "The King's Speech" was crowned the big winner at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday with four Oscars including a guaranteed Best Actor for Colin Firth, Director (Tom Hooper), and Best Picture of 2010. Meanwhile, a pregnant Natalie Portman claimed Best Actress for her harrowing role as a ballerina in "Black Swan", one that earned almost every major award in the galaxy from a Golden Globe to a Screen Actors Guild to BAFTA to an Independent Spirit Award 24 hours prior to the big one. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo collected Supporting Acting honors for "The Fighter" (Leo accidently mouthed off during her speech), while me? After two straight years of clean sweeps, I only hit it on Firth, Portman, and Bale this time.
"Toy Story 3" picked up Animated Feature and Original Song (his second for Randy Newman); "The Social Network", Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, and Original Score; "Inside Job", Documentary Feature; "Alice In Wonderland", Art Direction and Costume Design; and "Inception", Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing.
Like I said before, the awards were broadcast live here in Alaska for the first time since 1996, and during those 3 hours and 15 minutes, everybody including myself were social networking throughout the show, especially how hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco handled things. As the youngest ever (Hathaway at 28 very young), I thought they did a more wonderful job than Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin last year as they kept their promise not to do what Ricky Gervais did at the Golden Globes: get a little salty.
The highlights for me: Hathaway's solo song-and dance number while Franco in drag as Marilyn Monroe couldn't hesitate to crack a Charlie Sheen joke (wish his and Lindsay Lohan's careers were included in the "In Memoriam" piece); "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse", "Toy Story 3", and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" being given the auto-tune treatment; and the PS22 chorus from Staten Island closing out the show.
But before all of that, there were some highlights on the red carpet; though snow blanketed small parts of Southern California over the weekend, Halle Berry, Hailee Steinfeld (both in Marchesa), Jennifer Hudson (Versace), Hilary Swank (Gucci Premiere), and Penelope Cruz (L'Wren Scott) made us all melt.
So...who gets the best dressed prize? No doubt, it was Natalie Portman showing off her baby bump in Rodarte, followed by Hathaway's stunning arrival in red-hot Valentino. As for the booby (worst dressed) prize? They go to Helena Bonham Carter (Mark Bouwer), Florence Welch (Valentino), Annette Bening (Naheem Khan), and Russell Brand.
Anne Hathaway's presence at the Oscars, whether it was as presenter or nominee (for Best Actress two years ago) was always a treat, but hosting the show itself was a whole different animal. And with the help of James Franco, she didn't disappoint one single bit as to go along with her upcoming turn as Catwoman, this was truly the high point of her career that started on television with "Get Real" followed by "The Princess Diaries" before "The Devil Wears Prada" would eventually put her on the map. Of course, she doesn't mind showing a little skin here and there (see "Havoc", "Love And Other Drugs", and that very brief robe scene in "Get Smart"), but even fully clothed, this Oscar night with Hathaway as the scene stealer is totally one she'll never, ever forget.
But without question or debate, it was ultimately an unforgettable night for a woman who was born Natalie Hershlag in Israel, raised in New York City, and started her incredible journey in 1994 with "The Professional." And yes, she would quickly become just that, with "Beautiful Girls", "Mars Attacks!" (with fellow Best Actress nominee Annette Bening, who will finally get her due one day), "Star Wars Episodes 1-3", "Closer", a bald turn in "V For Vendetta", "Brothers", and just recently, "No Strings Attached" with Ashton Kutcher with "Thor" coming up next. Over those 17 years she has been a queen, a stripper, a president's daughter, an anarchist, and a ballerina, but the woman currently named Natalie Portman will now and forever be known as three simple words: ACADEMY AWARD WINNER! And to go along with her baby on the way, you can better believe that 2011 is already becoming her watershed year.
They may have brought back that life-changing phrase "And the Oscar goes to..." after a one-year absence, but in case of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards and a film about a king trying to overcome a struggling verbal obstacle ruling the night, it was all about a figure of "Speech." So long and stay strong.
(RATINGS UPDATE (3/2): Ratings for Sunday's Oscarcast were down 10 percent from last year, though reviews were mixed as far as James Franco's and Anne Hathaway's hosting were concerned)
Hello, everybody. "The King's Speech" was crowned the big winner at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday with four Oscars including a guaranteed Best Actor for Colin Firth, Director (Tom Hooper), and Best Picture of 2010. Meanwhile, a pregnant Natalie Portman claimed Best Actress for her harrowing role as a ballerina in "Black Swan", one that earned almost every major award in the galaxy from a Golden Globe to a Screen Actors Guild to BAFTA to an Independent Spirit Award 24 hours prior to the big one. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo collected Supporting Acting honors for "The Fighter" (Leo accidently mouthed off during her speech), while me? After two straight years of clean sweeps, I only hit it on Firth, Portman, and Bale this time.
"Toy Story 3" picked up Animated Feature and Original Song (his second for Randy Newman); "The Social Network", Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, and Original Score; "Inside Job", Documentary Feature; "Alice In Wonderland", Art Direction and Costume Design; and "Inception", Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing.
Like I said before, the awards were broadcast live here in Alaska for the first time since 1996, and during those 3 hours and 15 minutes, everybody including myself were social networking throughout the show, especially how hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco handled things. As the youngest ever (Hathaway at 28 very young), I thought they did a more wonderful job than Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin last year as they kept their promise not to do what Ricky Gervais did at the Golden Globes: get a little salty.
The highlights for me: Hathaway's solo song-and dance number while Franco in drag as Marilyn Monroe couldn't hesitate to crack a Charlie Sheen joke (wish his and Lindsay Lohan's careers were included in the "In Memoriam" piece); "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse", "Toy Story 3", and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" being given the auto-tune treatment; and the PS22 chorus from Staten Island closing out the show.
But before all of that, there were some highlights on the red carpet; though snow blanketed small parts of Southern California over the weekend, Halle Berry, Hailee Steinfeld (both in Marchesa), Jennifer Hudson (Versace), Hilary Swank (Gucci Premiere), and Penelope Cruz (L'Wren Scott) made us all melt.
So...who gets the best dressed prize? No doubt, it was Natalie Portman showing off her baby bump in Rodarte, followed by Hathaway's stunning arrival in red-hot Valentino. As for the booby (worst dressed) prize? They go to Helena Bonham Carter (Mark Bouwer), Florence Welch (Valentino), Annette Bening (Naheem Khan), and Russell Brand.
Anne Hathaway's presence at the Oscars, whether it was as presenter or nominee (for Best Actress two years ago) was always a treat, but hosting the show itself was a whole different animal. And with the help of James Franco, she didn't disappoint one single bit as to go along with her upcoming turn as Catwoman, this was truly the high point of her career that started on television with "Get Real" followed by "The Princess Diaries" before "The Devil Wears Prada" would eventually put her on the map. Of course, she doesn't mind showing a little skin here and there (see "Havoc", "Love And Other Drugs", and that very brief robe scene in "Get Smart"), but even fully clothed, this Oscar night with Hathaway as the scene stealer is totally one she'll never, ever forget.
But without question or debate, it was ultimately an unforgettable night for a woman who was born Natalie Hershlag in Israel, raised in New York City, and started her incredible journey in 1994 with "The Professional." And yes, she would quickly become just that, with "Beautiful Girls", "Mars Attacks!" (with fellow Best Actress nominee Annette Bening, who will finally get her due one day), "Star Wars Episodes 1-3", "Closer", a bald turn in "V For Vendetta", "Brothers", and just recently, "No Strings Attached" with Ashton Kutcher with "Thor" coming up next. Over those 17 years she has been a queen, a stripper, a president's daughter, an anarchist, and a ballerina, but the woman currently named Natalie Portman will now and forever be known as three simple words: ACADEMY AWARD WINNER! And to go along with her baby on the way, you can better believe that 2011 is already becoming her watershed year.
They may have brought back that life-changing phrase "And the Oscar goes to..." after a one-year absence, but in case of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards and a film about a king trying to overcome a struggling verbal obstacle ruling the night, it was all about a figure of "Speech." So long and stay strong.
(RATINGS UPDATE (3/2): Ratings for Sunday's Oscarcast were down 10 percent from last year, though reviews were mixed as far as James Franco's and Anne Hathaway's hosting were concerned)
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