Thoughts and Notes on the 82nd Academy Awards

The 82nd Academy Awards have come and gone, and, instead of running a copy and pasted list of the winners (and inevitable losers), I’ve decided to grade the awards show itself.  There were very few surprises, but, as the following list indicates, there were some interesting take-aways from the festivities.

Here you go:

• Hamish Hamilton served as director of the show for the first time.  Take from that what you will.
• Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were very funny in their roles as co-hosts, but didn’t it seem like they were under-used?
• Martin was strapped into that cherry picker in the beginning.  Baldwin wasn’t. This proves my theory that Alec Baldwin is more of a man than Steve Martin.
• The faux disdain between Baldwin and George Clooney was brilliant and should have been re-visited throughout the night.



• Just for the record, this was a Slanket, not a Snuggie.



• If you didn’t find this hysterical, you have no pulse.
• Yes, it happened way back in November, but last night served as the official unveiling to the world.  Roger Corman now has an Oscar in his possession.



• As funny as Ben Stiller is (and was last night), staring intently at James Cameron and saying, “I see you” has overstayed its welcome.  Not sure it ever had one.
• Whoever decided to have Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper on together must have absolute disdain for us normal looking guys.  As an aside, I’d choose Gerard if I had to, but only if I HAD to.
• Yeah, it took me awhile to remember Forrest Whitaker directed HOPE FLOATS, too.



• Robert Downey, Jr: There are none cooler.
• Hearing Colin Farrell talk about S.W.A.T. right after hearing Tim Robbins talk about THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION was interesting.   That he did so even more lovingly than Robbins is flooring.
• I know it was for the science and technical awards, but Elizabeth Banks coming out to the theme from E.T. was just odd.
• Getting the Oscars over in just under 3 1/2 hours is fine, but I still want to hear them perform the best original songs one by one.  Let’s hope that segment comes back in subsequent years.



• This man should run for politics, because he is probably one of the most eloquent speakers I’ve heard in recent memory.
• As a fan of horror, I didn’t enjoy the half-assed attempt to show love for the genre.   It felt out of place.  There were blaring omissions from some of the more, notable, recent films of the genre.  Equally strange were the odd inclusions of wholly non-horror films like MARATHON MAN and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS.  Just a mess from conception to execution.
• I love montages, but the one they threw together last night for horror should have been replaced by a review of 2009 as a whole.  In fact, this should be a staple of the Oscar telecast, a montage of most of the films released from the previous year.  It would even give some, any, love for films that were otherwise completely left out of reference altogether.  Films like WATCHMEN, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, MOON, THE ROAD, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, THE INFORMANT!, TAKEN, PUBLIC ENEMIES, I LOVE YOU MAN, and DRAG ME TO HELL were never even mentioned last night.  The inclusion of such a montage would change that.



• The debacle that was the acceptance speech for MUSIC BY PRUDENCE had a lot of people buzzing. Who was that woman? What was she going off about?  Why did the director who accepted the award seem to sprint to the podium?  All of these questions are answered by Salon.com, who got in contact with both parties while the awards were going on.  Essentially, it boils down to the director, Roger Ross Williams, and the producer, Elinor Burkett, having different opinions on the focus of the film.  They don’t like each other.  Salon.com has all the details.  Regardless, it created a lot of buzz and was probably the most interesting aspect of the whole evening.
• I’m not a fan of people potentially presenting awards to films they were in. IE: Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington presenting awards that AVATAR is nominated for.  Never have liked it.  Never will like it.  There are enough presenters to cover all the awards for a particular film and there are enough awards to cover all the potential presenters.  Rework this please.



• This man now holds an Oscar, and, for the film he won it for, he couldn’t be more deserving.
• Call it blasphemy, sacrilege, what-have-you, but seeing Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, and Molly Ringwald together makes me hopeful of a BREAKFAST CLUB reunion movie.  Emilio Estevez can’t be that hard to get, either.
• Whoever decided to have Pedro Almodovar, a foreign film director, and Quentin Tarantino, a lover of such films, present Best Foreign Film was a genius.



• Three things. 1)I’m sure Sean Penn’s ramblings during the Best Actress presentation sounded better in his head. 2) I’m sure it made perfect sense to him. 3) He’s alone.
• She didn’t, but, if Kathryn Bigelow would have started her acceptance speech with, “I am Kathryn Bigelow.  Lee Daniels isn’t here.  I am.”, would anyone have blamed her?  See this weekend’s Independent Spirit Awards to understand fully.
• You might think Tom Hanks rushed through the Best Picture proceedings, but you’d be wrong:

@tomhanks OscarShow Flash — Nope, I didn’t hurry the Best Pic bit: That’s how it was planned and rehearsed from the get go. Hanx about 1 hours ago via web

• Loved seeing Jeremy Renner, Brian Geraghty, and Anthony Mackie cheering it up during the Best Picture acceptance.  That’s how you show the world you’re king of it for that moment, not by telling them.
• Yes, that was a bald Guy Pearce.  No, I didn’t recognize him at first, either.