Dream Factory Oscarpalooza

Welcome to the Dream Factory Oscars live blog! R.G. and I will be here all night giving you instant reactions and scintillating analysis in real time. Ben is at a "party" with "friends" watching the event, but he will be chiming in by phone throughout the evening. Here are the things to watch this tonight:
*Can anything stop Avatar?
*Will Kathryn Bigelow or Quentin Tarantino take down Cameron for best director?
*Can Coraline or The Fantastic Mr. Fox put a stop to Pixar's dominance in the Animated Feature category?

My gut says no to all three...but that's why they play the game! Let's get started!
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8:30: Oscars night opens with the Best Actor and Actress nominees introduced on the stage. Gabourey Sidibe poses for the camera.

8:32: I think the best part of choosing Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin as the hosts is that we won't be subjected to Neil Patrick HarrisOH GOD NO...

8:37: Baldwin and Martin starting off a little slow here...

8:44: Ok...a lot slow. Ben adds, "Thank God that's over!" Penelope Cruz mercifully breaks the tension. This is Christoph's award to lose.

8:48: That's a bingo! Christoph Waltz wins for Best Supporting Actor.

8:52: Ryan Reynolds introduces "The Blind Side" as the first Best Picture nominee. Sure, Sandra Bullock's performance is what everyone is talking about, but I disliked how the film focused almost exclusively on the mother's role in Michael Oher's life. Not to be one of those people who compares everything in film adaptations to the original book...but it's not like that in the book. It's not a terrible film, but it certain smacks of typical Oscars pandering.

8:58: R.G.: I actually thought Christopher Plummer might steal it from Waltz, but no dice.
-McGraw: I think he would have had more of a shot if anyone had actually seen The Last Station.

8:59: Up wins for Best Animated Film. Not really a surprise, but I was rooting for Fantastic Mr. Fox.

9:04: Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett's "The Weary Kind" wins for Best Original Song. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.

9:11: Oscar trivia: Over the past decade, how many years did NOT feature an Oscar nomination for either Kate Winslet or Meryl Streep? Answer: 3- 2003, 2005, and 2007. Talk about owning a decade.

9:15: Mark Boal ("The Hurt Locker") wins for Best Original Screenplay. This is met with a scatter of hisses and boos among the writers of this website.

9:20: R.G.: A John Hughes retrospective...really?
-McGraw: I share that sentiment, R.G. This has to be the most awkward start to the Oscars ever. At least we got to see...Molly Ringwald?

9:24: R.G.: I don't think even Hitchcock got such a treatment, very weird.
-McGraw: Name one film that Hitchcock made that was half as important as "Ferris Bueller"? EXACTLY.

9:28: Here come the shorts. It's the moment of truth for your office pools, people!
-R.G.: "You know what I like about short films, they're short." haha

9:32: Logorama wins for Animated Short Film. Does this focus on commercialism bode well for Food, Inc.?

9:34: Documentary short goes Music by Prudence. Why did that woman in purple interrupt Roger Ross Williams? The night just gets stranger and stranger.

9:37: Live action short goes to The New Tenants. Vincent D'Onofrio is unstoppable.

9:39: Best Make-up features Ben Stiller in full Avatar costume. Ben asks, "Is this really happening?" Star Trek wins the award. Was the make-up really that big of a deal in Star Trek?

9:43: R.G.: A Serious Man, the movie that should win Best Picture, presented by "The Dude." The best clip so far.
-McGraw: On Charlie Rose, the Coens described the trailer for their movie to be the only one in recorded history that was better than the film itself.

McGraw: Robert, how would you rank the top 10 Best Picture nominees?

R.G.: Well Michael, I would rank them as such:

1. A Serious Man
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Avatar
4. District 9
5. The Hurt Locker
6. Up in the Air
7. Up

I didn't see The Blind Side (but I'm sure it would have been 10th), An Education, or Precious. How about you?

McGraw: My list goes like this:
1. A Serious Man
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. An Education
4. The Hurt Locker
5. District 9
6. Avatar
7. Precious
8. Up
9. Up in the Air
10. The Blind Side

...I guess. I don't really feel strongly about 6-9.

9:48: Adapted Screenplay goes to Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious. First real upset of the night, as most experts picked Jason Reitman to take this one home. Fletcher seems more shocked than anyone. I would have preferred to see An Education or In the Loop win here, but...whatever.

9:51: Best supporting actress goes to Mo'Nique for Precious. She gave a powerful performance, but Anna Kendrick was definitely the best part of Up in the Air.

10:00: R.G.: Years ago, when I saw the trailer for Soul Plane, I never thought I would hear the words: "Academy Award winner Mo'Nique."
-McGraw: That seems like poor oversight on your part.

10:04: Speaking of bad movies, let's use this commercial break to recognize the big winners (losers?) at the Razzies this year. Sandra Bullock won Worst Actress for her role in "All About Steve." Worst Actors went to the Jonas Brothers (in 3-D no less!) and Worst Picture went to the truly awful Transformers sequel.

10:07: Art Direction goes to Avatar. Here comes the blitz of artistic awards for Avatar...

10:11: Costume design goes to The Young Victoria. This continues the yearly tradition of giving this award to films involving dead English monarchs.

10:19: A tribute to...horror films? Did I miss something? Looks like Hitchcock will get his tribute after all!
-R.G.: I enjoyed it.
-McGraw: I was a little upset by the lack of footage for Wrong Turn 2, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless.

10:23: Morgan Freeman's self-aware narration of the Sound Editing process brings comfort to a nation in crisis. The Hurt Locker beats out Avatar...part 1.

10:27: The Hurt Locker also wins for Sound Mixing. Looks like a two film race. Ben is officially eliminated from his Oscar pool after assigning 34 confidence points to Avatar between the sound categories. Ouch.

10:30: It's 10:30- Do you know where your kids are?

10:36: Cinematography goes to Mauro Fiore (Avatar). This clinch best picture for the blue giant?

10:39: R.G.: We just got a shout out during the departed montage.
-McGraw: I usually hate the ceremonial traditions of the Oscars, but I have always had a soft spot for the "In Memorium" montages.

10:46: Out come the "Legion of Extraordinary Dancers" to act out the nominees for Best Original Score. Apparently the Academy is trying to capitalize off the withdrawal fans of Ice Dancing are no doubt feeling. Ben sarcastically quips, "Because naturally there were break dancers in Sherlock Holmes' London..." Up wins. Accepting the award is the weird dancing robot.

10:54: The Oscar for Best Visual Effects goes to Avatar. Yawn.

10:58: R.G., what do you think of the 10 nominee voting process this year for Best Picture?
-R.G.: I like the concept, but when I struggled to come up with a top ten list for 2009, I don't think this was necessarily the year to expand the category. Unfortunately, you get very weak films like The Blind Side being nominated. I know I haven't seen it, but I trust my instincts.
-McGraw: I completely agree with that. I wonder what effect (if any) the voting system will have on the final results. If a film like Inglorious Basterds was to squeak out a victory without winning any other major awards, there would be a major public backlash.

11:07: Tyler Perry does bad (jokes) all by himself. The Hurt Locker wins the award for Film Editing.

11:09: Keanu introduces "David", calling it "authentic" and "realistic." I'm a bigger supporter of The Hurt Locker than my colleagues, but I'm a little sick of the debate concerning whether this film is a true representation of war. No film in the war genre can accurately present what it's like to be a soldier on the front lines. I think these types of debates miss the entire purpose of the film- an exploration of society's psychological drive to engage in these types of conflicts.

11:15: Foreign Language film goes to El Secreto de Sus Ojos. I think this is the biggest surprise of the night, as most people predicted The White Ribbon would win. Is this the start of an anti-Nazi backlash era for the Academy?

11:25: Time for ten awkward minutes of praise for the Best Actor nominees. Why can't they just show clips from the films? I hate this format.

11:33: Best moment of the night as Jeff Bridges wins Best Actor for Crazy Heart. A well-deserved award for one of Hollywood's best (and most under-appreciated actors).

11:47: Whenever Sean Penn is on the screen, I feel dead inside. Sandra Bullock wins for Best Actress for the Blind Side. A truly heartfelt and emotional speech. If only she deserved the award. My vote was for Mulligan.

11:55: Best Director goes to Kathryn Bigelow. She becomes the first female director to win this award. I would have voted for Tarantino, but I have to say I'm extremely pleased that Cameron was denied.
-R.G.: On a side note, screenplays are not and can never be "courageous." But, I'm happy to see her win.

11:58: Without any drama at all, Tom Hanks blurts out The Hurt Locker wins Best Picture. Was it the best film made in the past year? No. But many winning films are far worse. I share Ben's sentiment, "At least it wasn't Avatar."

What a weird, unsatisfying night that was. I can hear Tom Shales complaining already. Until next year, we say goodnight to Hollywood.