Live Oscars Journal

Welcome to my live journal of the 2007 Academy Awards! I will be here all night (or at least until I get bored or tired) posting my thoughts about the Oscars. Please feel free to add your own comments. Let’s begin:

* For the Oscars pre-show, I am switching between The TV Guide Network with Joan and Melissa Rivers, E! with Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana DePandi and the Maryland-UNC basketball game. E! seems to be in love with its Glam-A-Strator, which they think is the greatest invention of all time. John Madden and Mike Fratello (The Czar of the Telestrator) have used this for years.

* Reason #72 why I need TiVo: I would have liked to have been able to rewind live TV so I could have the direct quote of what Joan Rivers said to Rinko Kikuchi of Babel. Basically, Rivers told Kikuchi that her pink dress at the Golden Globes looked horrible, but that her dress at the Oscars is nice. OK, I just found a picture Kikuchi’s dress from the Golden Globes. I don’t know fashion, but Rivers is right.

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* Maryland defeated North Carolina. Even though there was a few inches of snow in the DC area today, I'm sure there will be student riots or burned couches in College Park this evening.

* Before I forget, how many commercials do you think ABC will air for "Dancing With The Stars" and "Lost" tonight? I'll go with 5 for Dancing and 4 for Lost.
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Questions that I did not hear on the red carpet:
- Cameron Diaz, where is Justin Timberlake tonight?
- Eddie Murphy, how’s Melanie B doing? When is she expecting?
- Rinko Kikuchi, you’re dress at the Golden Globes was terrible. Oh wait, Joan Rivers did say that to her.

OK, Showtime!
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* Ellen’s intro was fine. A few good lines, but nothing special.

* The first winner: Pan’s Labyrinth for Art Direction. It looks like it is going to be a big night this film.

* Who has a better afro: Ben Wallace or Will Ferrell? By the way, the Will Ferrell-Jack Black-John C. Reilly song and dance was great.

* Best Make-up: Pan’s Labyrinth. That’s two wins.

* By the way did Jack Nicholson shave his head? While watching Lakers games, did he see Lamar Odom's shaved head and decided to do the same?
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* Dreamgirls gets its first win of the night for Sound Mixing.

* I made predictions for nine different categories. Almost one hour into the show, they have not announced the award for any of them.

* Rachel Weisz looks a lot less pregnant than last year.

* Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin. I’m 0 for 1, but I really wanted Arkin to win, so I’m going to say that I’m .5 for 1. Arkin was also great in Grosse Point Blank.

* The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter works perfectly for “The Departed” commercials and promos. Is the song also featured in the movie? (I was going to watch “The Departed” today, but it was sold out at Blockbuster.)
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* Happy Feet wins for Best Animated Movie. Even though they lost 5-1 today, I think this is a good sign for the Penguins in the Stanley Cup playoff run. I am now 1.5 for 2. (In case you were wondering, my picks - made on Friday - are here.)

* Did you ever think about the careers of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck? Matt Damon is becoming one of the greatest actors of his generation (see: The Departed, Syriana, The Good Shepherd); Ben Affleck is not (see: Jersey Girl, Gigli, Surviving Christmas).

* Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed. This plus a Scorsese win for Best Director (even though it hasn’t happened yet) could be a sign for a Best Picture.

* It is 10:00 Eastern time. Not only am I starting to get tired, but there has been no commercials for Lost or Dancing With The Stars.

* For weeks, Dan has written that he is going to update his List. Even though I have not made an official List, Anne Hathaway, who just presented the award for Best Costume, would certainly get strong consideration for my Top Five.
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* Biggest surprise of the night: Pan's Labyrinth did NOT win for Best Foreign-Language Film. The winner: “The Lives of Others” – Germany.

* Biggest non-surprise of the night: Tie - Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress; An Inconvenient Truth won for Best Documentary.

* I am now 3.5 for 5 in Oscar picks.

* I’m not sure why they showed Larry David during Al Gore’s acceptance speech, but he did not look happy.

* 10:55 Eastern time; not sure how much longer I’m going to go. I’m not nearly as funny as I was a few hours ago (the Rachel Weisz line was pretty good, right?).
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* 11:05 Eastern and the awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Original Screenplay, Editing, Song and Score have still not been presented. The Academy Awards won't end until midnight, but I'm going to sleep. Good night (and good luck)!