Oscars Live Blog!

by The Ology Team .

On Mar 06, 2010

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12:02am: That's the show, that's my first liveblog, and now I'm packing up to get back home. Good night everyone and thanks for following along!

11:59pm: Tom Hanks reminds us that the last time there were ten Best Picture nominees, it was 1943 and... oh wait, he's already announced that The Hurt Locker wins, and cameras are flashing, and I actually feel bad for James Cameron, especially since Avatar was his pet project for twelve years. But the reactions from the crew are so genuine and excited, so yay.

Only one person in this room saw it... whoops.

11:56pm: "The time has come..." -- Kathryn Bigelow wins Best Director.

11:52pm: Not a dry eye in this room, not even from me. Best speech of the night!

11:47pm: I'm not sure what Sean Penn just said, but it all leads to Sandra Bullock. She's been prepping herself for this, but it must still be such a thrill. Did you catch when she went in for a hug with Meryl but then she and Meryl at the same time had the thought, "oh, just get up there!"?

11:40pm: Here are the Best Actress testimonials: Forest Whitaker on Sandra Bullock (he directed her in Hope Floats? huh) -- interestingly, Jeff Bridges was first last go-around and won, I wonder if that'll happen here?... Michael Sheen on Helen Mirren (yes, she is so hot)... Peter Saarsgard on Carey Mulligan... Oprah on Gabourey Sidibe (but will she really have a career, Oprah?)... and Stanley Tucci for Meryl Streep.

11:32pm: Aaaaaand, Jeff Bridges gets it. He's not surprised, but neither are we. There are definitely tears during his speech... love the random whoops and the part directed toward his parents in heaven.

11:24pm: Now we've got actors paying tribute to each of the Best Actor nominees: Michelle Pfeiffer for Jeff Bridges (gah, he's crying!)... Vera Farmiga for George Clooney... Julianne Moore for Colin Firth... Tim Robbins for Morgan Freeman ("It is Ted, isn't it?")... and Colin Farrell for Jeremy Renner (they're gonna end with an anecdote about Mexico?)... They had better do this for Best Actress as well.

11:18pm: This night is starting to run long. Foreign Film: El Secreto De Sus Ojos -- "I want to thank the Academy for not considering Na'vi a foreign language..."

11:08pm: Hmm, Avatar and Hurt Locker are neck-to-neck in terms of editing/other minor awards -- the latter just took Film Editing.

11:06pm: These bits with camera angles started as cute, but at this point are just random.

11:04pm: Wow, Fisher Stevens (explains where he's been) and The Cove get Best Documentary, and hold up the sign of how to help: TEXT DOLPHIN TO 44144.

10:55pm: Avatar takes Visual Effects, James Cameron continues to clap delightedly.

10:53pm: Michael Giacchino for Up, winning Best Score -- well deserved. And a lovely speech about inspiration.

10:47pm: They cut the Best Song performances but are doing interpretative dance to score?!

10:41pm: Aww, James Taylor + "In My Life" + In Memoriam is a great fit. But -- no Farrah! For shame.

10:35pm: I feel like Cinematography is one of the categories where we should see sample clips of each of the nominees, but I guess since Avatar took it, there's no need.

10:34pm: Tonight seems to be the night for mocking extremely sucessful women, but Meryl and Sandra can take it.

10:28pm: Elizabeth Banks is rocking her cobalt-blue fluttery gown, plus the dazzling headband. Too bad they stuck her with the nerd award.

10:24pm: Way to try and get people to listen to what Sound Mixing is? Have Morgan Freeman narrate the clip, and show part of a Dark Knight featurette. The actual winner? The Hurt Locker. Ditto for Sound Editing.

10:21pm: Movies in the montage that are not horror: Aliens, Twilight, Little Shop of Horrors.

10:19pm: Kristen Stewart, clear your throat before presenting! If the reactions in the room are any indication, I'm seeing a lot of parody videos to come. But a tribute to horror films? Hells yes.

10:18pm: Steve and Alec doing Paranormal Activity? Yesss.

10:10pm: Says a guy at the party, "Anything that has 'Victoria' in the title, will win for Costume Design." Yep -- it goes to The Young Victoria -- and she dedicates it to the costume designers behind indie/contemporary films, which is a nice touch.

10:08pm: Avatar wins for Art Direction... somehow, the first award of the night for the film, and greatest beginning of a speech: "Jim Cameron, this Oscar sees you." Whaa?

10:00pm: Mo'Nique is crying already as she wins Best Supporting Actress... really split on this, since Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick were both so fantastic. She thanks her attorney? Huh. She talks about "having to forgo what's popular, for what's right." But... Tyler Perry? Not so much in the unpopular category. Also, thank you, Samuel L. Jackson, for that face -- gif it!

9:51pm: Geoffrey Fletcher wins Best Adapted Screenplay for Precious -- but really, they chose the crappiest scene as a sample. We're supposed to think that Precious grabbing the fried chicken and running is an example of great writing?

9:41pm: Only three nominees for Makeup, and Star Trek takes it for their outfitting of Spock and Nero.

9:38pm: A collective "Ohhhhh!" just went up around the room: out comes Ben Stiller decked out in Na'vi make-up/hair -- get a load of those bug-eyed yellow contacts! Glad that they're still poking fun at James Cameron... and he seems to be laughing, so good on him.

9:36pm: The New Tenants for Live Action Short Film.

9:32pm: Logorama wins Animated Short Film: "No logos were harmed in the making of this project." Cute. Then, Music By Prudence for Documentary Short.

9:24pm: Don't do this -- don't show us the opening of Up! We all just teared up.

9:17pm: Here comes the John Hughes montage, led by Molly Ringwald (she trimmed down) and Matthew Broderick. But why are all of the quoted lines so devastating? And, they brought out all of the Brat Pack/that generation actors out of hiding: Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Macauley Culkin...!

9:15pm: Mark Boal gets Best Original Screenplay for The Hurt Locker. You might be sharing that, buddy boy...

9:04pm: Ryan Bingham ("I love you more than rainbows, baby") and T Bone Burnett take home the Best Song gold for Crazy Heart, which almost didn't get made until the producers heard the music. It's great when the songs are so integral to the plot.

8:58pm: Up wins Best Animated Picture, but what was the point of nominating it in two Best Picture categories? Unfair to everyone involved -- now it doesn't stand a chance in winning Best Picture.

8:55pm: Yay, a Jimmy Kimmel commercial that's a throwback to "I'm F---ing Ben Affleck"!

8:48pm: No surprise, Christoph Waltz wins Best Supporting Actor... though I was really pulling for Stanley Tucci, sigh.

8:40pm: Here we go -- an Avatar joke, but shortlived. Better? The Inglourious Basterds bit, with Steve Martin: "Christoph Waltz played a Nazi obsessed with finding Jews. Well..."

8:38pm: ...wait, is this a trend of no host-inserted montage? Nooo. We have to see their riffs on the movies themselves. Though I'm liking Alec and Steve's teasing of co-star Meryl, especially the line about "We were thinking the same thing: what a lovely actress... and what's with all the Hitler memorabilia?"

8:34pm: The Oscar producers must've loved Hugh Jackman warbling about the noms last year, so this year we've got NPH strapping on the sparkly tux. It's great to see him singing anywhere, but the point -- "no one wants to do it alone" -- is kind of useless.

8:30pm: And the show begins! They're parading the Best (Supporting) Actor/Actress noms around like it's a debutante ball. What's the point?

8:26pm: Back to the red carpet show, with all the ABC interviewers none of us actually know.

8:03pm: Taking a pre-show break to watch The Soup Awards.

7:51pm: Sandra Bullock is trying to look like Nicole Kidman. Also, says someone at the party, "Kate Winslet is the next Meryl."

7:45pm: This cervical cancer commercial is awful. Worse is that they admit how manipulative it is, and how little they think of women.

7:40pm: I'm really feeling Gabourey Sidibe's dark indigo dress with strategic rhinestones -- very flattering.

7:38pm: Of course Kristen Stewart went with black. Girl needs an ice cream cone.

7:31pm: Meryl Streep's creamy suit fits her perfectly, in tailoring and style. Very classic.

7:27pm: George Clooney, long hair? No.

7:26pm: A lot of these actors must not be very tall, if they barely scrape over Ryan Seacrest's head.

Starting today at 7pm EST, we'll be liveblogging the 82nd annual Academy Awards telecast -- so go to Screenology and click the story in the Buzz section for a running commentary that will be constantly updated as we see if Alec and Steve can keep us amused for four hours; if the fashions will dazzle or droop; and if some other film upsets the rivalry between The Hurt Locker and Avatar.

See you guys at 7!

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