Monday, February 28, 2011

Rockin' the Red Carpet at the Oscars

Christian Bale (r)  Mark Wahlberg
I cannot recall a time I didn't watch the Oscars.  My earliest memories are with my mother.  She loved them.  It was a chance to see all the great studio stars come out.  Of course, in those days you still had the great stars attending.  By "great" I mean the studio system glammed-up stars of old:  Bette Davis, Greer Garson, Gregory Peck, James Stewart, Burt Lancaster, etc.  My favorite star of that era was Katharine Hepburn.  Mother and I would wait to see if she'd show.  She never did (well, one year, she finally did).  

The Awards show became a controversial place to make political statements.  I remember Marlon Brando sending Sacheen Little Feather to accept his Oscar and make a plea for the plight of the Native Americans.  As co-presenters, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins made at least one major political statement about the war in Iraq.  
                                                                   
Mostly it's about "Who are you wearing?" or not as in the case of the infamous streaker on stage with David Niven.  I remember Barbra Streisand winning for "Funny Girl" in her awful see through pant suit.  Boy, was that an embarrassment.  I remember a number of Cher get ups, not just the one that gets shown all the time.  Most of all, I remember Bob Hope as emcee.  He was always funny.  He always remarked on his never being nominated for an Oscar.                                                       
Amy Adams

Last night, I watched the show.  It was tediously long with very few highlights.  My husband kept saying, "Can't we watch a movie instead?"  But, I waded through an hour of pre-show fashion (my favorite part) and the entire 3hr 40min ordeal with long-winded acceptance speeches by people nobody really knows or cares about (harsh but true) and the over-the-top decision to have beautiful Anne Hathaway change seven times.  (Seven times!) and the always painful habit of focusing on every nominee in the audience when the winner is about to be announced and the worst part of all, a leering and insensitive Kirk Douglas who cruelly made the Best Supporting Actress nominees wait while he made a spectacle of himself and then wouldn't get off the fucking stage.
Seriously, what an asshole!  Unfortunately, he's lauded as "old Hollywood" and the "old Lion" so he is forgiven. 
  


Awesome Helen Mirren
 I haven't seen most of the movies that were nominated, nor the performances.  I will say, Colin Firth gave a lovely acceptance speech.   Let's just celebrate the red carpet.  It's more fun.       
A 50+ Sharon Stone
Wow!



Reese Witherspoon



Cate Blanchett

Justin Timberlake, his mom
I love the boys who brought their mothers.

   

Nathalie Portman

Mila Kunis
Halle Berry

Russell Brand sans Katy Perry
He also brought his mother.













                                           


I've seldom had as much trouble arranging photos as I have this particular post.  If they are haphazard it's because I give up.  It's probably the Blogger template.  I've read other complaints about it.  I should switch to Word Press but then I'll have to re-learn everything.  waaaah!
 
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16 comments:

Brenda Susan said...

I posted about the show also, late last night after watching with girlfriends. I so agree with you on all your points! But watching it with friends really made it fun anyway!

Pat Tillett said...

I always watch it and I have to say that the hosting this year, was the most boring ever!

Brian Miller said...

i did give up and watch something else...balck swan was good, i would recommend along with the fighter...have not seen kings speech...the awards left much to be desired though...

Bill Lisleman said...

the pictures are arranged OK. I would not switch over that.
I watched the whole show (not the red carpet why red?) and enjoyed the opening clip. It seems like these people need to thank such a long list of people. I guess it helps with their next gig? I liked the acceptance by some older guy for something. He said he was a late bloomer - funny. Interesting that you are coming down so hard on Kirk Douglas.

#1Nana said...

I always watch it too, and I agree with Pat. The hosting was awful. Anne was beautiful but her fake laughing at her co-host was almost painful.

I missed the start of the show and I guess the most interest part. I'll need to google Kirk Douglas to see if there's a clip on Youtube.

Grandmother Mary said...

With the time difference in Italy, I couldn't watch the awards and sounds like I didn't miss anything. But The King's Speech was a great movie! I also liked The Fighter.

Susan said...

OMG! Why in God's name do they keep trotting, or should I say tottering, Kirk Douglas out at these things. I understand that he wants to stay in the picture, but that was just embarrassing and pathetic; and made an overly long show even longer.

This has to be the most boring Oscars I've ever "attended". They need to bring back Billy Crystal. He was the best. Well, Johnny Carson was great, too, and he had quite a long reign. I mean, you have to have someone up there who doesn't just read from the teleprompter! They have to be quick on their feet.

Well, I have to admit, Anne's dress changes were the most interesting thing about her hosting. And who knew she could sing a solo like that?

My favorite dress of the evening was Mila Kunis' lavender frilly one. It just looked fantastic on her. Cate Blanchett's was...um...interesting. And that color on Natalie Portman was gorgeous!

I loved that so many guys brought their moms, especially Russell Brand. I knew nothing about him, other than he and Katy Perry are a couple. He's so funny!

I was looking for an upset of some sort...it was all so predictable. Even though I'm really happy that Colin won. That movie is FANTASTIC! I saw it just that afternoon, by myself...and I cried. Beautifully done. The Academy got it right on those awards.

DawnTreader said...

The pictures look fine (not that I know how you intended the layout). Have you tried Windows Live Writer? I do most of my posts in LW now.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

i too rarely miss the oscars, however, overall i enjoyed this year's show - but it probably had more to do with the fact i was watching it with my 85 year old mom and 31 year old daughter... 3 generations of movie buffs.

i saw 11 of the features nominated for various categories - and btw the three of us we covered 15 films!

i miss billy crystal and whoopi... thought anne was cute and sweet and fun as a host but james franco definitely left something to be desired!

at 94 i thought kirk douglas was pretty amazing and perhaps that made me forgive him his less than p-c ways....

i highly, highly recommend biutiful .... deep and moving.... and javier was brilliant. thought colin firth deserved an oscar last year for his performance in a single man....so i guess it seemed fitting that if he didn't get it last year he got it last year (and he did a lovely job as the stuttering prince who found his voice)

Baino said...

Haha I loved this. Loved it. I have a friend who's a Hollywood type and he wouldn't miss it for the world then blogs seriously about it. I watched about 30 minutes before falling asleep on the couch of soporific splendour. Yeh love the fashions too but . . .why do they keep dragging out the Kirk Douglas's. . .I mean he's so last Tuesday and I think this is the first time I've seen you cuss in a blog post . . hahaha. I've only seen Inception so can't comment on the movies but I'll get round to it. Still, it's the Academy Awards, you just gotta watch.

California Girl said...

Hello Brenda Susan: I have never watched the show with anyone but my mother or my boyfriend now husband. I do remember a modeling gig one night (I once modeled lingerie for an in home company) and it was Oscar night & they had the tv on in the background so they could pay attention to who won. Streisand won that year which is why I remember the horrible outfit. This was 1969.

Pat: I would like to poll to see if more SoCals watch it because of proximity to film biz or if another region holds that title.

Brian: yeah. giving up would have been easy. i've NO IDEA why i watch til the bitter end every single year.

lisleman: it's the stupid Blogger template that drives me crazy when I have a great many images to post. I spend way more time screwing with images than writing which is never my intention. As for Douglas,prior to his stroke, he wrote a book detailing his many "conquests" in Hollywood (nope, didn't read but heard tmi) and now he's just another old guy who wants to remind everyone he was once a stud. I find it offensive.

Nana: "painful" is a good word. I feel sorry for both co-hosts as the vitriol they're getting from critics is unnecessary. I mean, they are taking direction for God's sake!

Grandmother: You didn't miss anything.

Susan: I read one reviewer who made a comment about Billy Crystal needing a face lift. I thought he was a scream and he did remind me how much we need a strong, preferably stand up comedian to consistently host. Hope was the Man. Crystal, #2. Curiously enough, I don't remember Carson hosting. Maybe I don't watch every year or I have amnesia?

DT: Is Windows Live Writer new? Is it part of all those notices they keep sending me? Do I have to join? That could explain why I am unaware of it. sigh. more crap to learn.

kimy: you are the first person, aside from industry commenters, who has seen so many of the nominated movies. good for you! that used to be my thing when i lived in a city and could go to movie theatres all the time. up here, in the frozen north, the nicest movie theatre is 45 minutes away. We saw "Inception" over the summer there. I didn't like it--didn't understand or care what the story line was. We rented "The Kids Are Alright" and we didn't like it either. Thought it very predictable self-indulgent Hollywood with unlikeable characters. "Alice in Wonderland" is on cable now. I've seen it twice & appreciated it the second time. The costumes are incredible. I adore Javier and "Biutiful" sounds moving & sad. So does "Winter's Bone". "The King's Speech" was a shoo in and I adore Colin Firth. He is awesome. Have you seen a little known film he did with Jessica Biel & Kirsten Scott Thomas titled "Easy Virtue"? It's another small gem.

Baino: I cuss like a longshoreman. In jr high they nicknamed me "garbage mouth". Seriously. I just tend not to do it in my writing. But maybe I should?

ratatouille's archives said...

Hi! C.G.
What a nice post...Unfortunately, I don't watch award shows...even though I helped a fellow blogger, take a look at the Oscars@ on his blog...Believe me there is nothing wrong with your photographs arrangement...

...However, if you want your photographs to remain in the center...just "tick" the word center before you, post your pictures.

By the way, what a nice avatar of California Girl too!
[Postscript: A pregnant Natalie Portman, looks very beautiful too!]
DeeDee ;-D

California Girl said...

Dee Dee: thanks for the tip but I do position them using both the box that opens up &/or the lines on the template. My problem may be once I change my mind about the positions and start moving them, they give me trouble. Thanks for the compliment. I finally decided to post my face instead of my attitude. hahahahaha!

Tess Kincaid said...

Helen Mirren always looks fabulous, doesn't she?

Susan said...

Hey, Deb, Johnny Carson hosted the Oscars five years consecutively, starting in 1979.

Dutchbaby said...

I just had to skip down a few posts and post a comment here. I'm a sucker for all this Hollywood glam and the Oscars are the pinnacle of vavavoom.

I thought Anne Hathaway looked glorious, especially in that very-Audrey-looking black-and-white gown. I also thought her performance was very good, but she had no sounding board because James Franco looked petrified the entire evening. Shame, especially since he's a local boy - he went to Palo Alto High. I really wanted him to do great, but he froze.

Helen Mirren's dress looked fab on her - what a dame she is!

Fun post!