Happy Monday everybody! Soooo… how many of you stayed up late to watch the Oscars last night? Well I live tweeted for the most part, I find that it’s easier than doing a live blog. As the Oscar attendees got ready this Sunday, I went to brunch, gym, prepared dinner and went downstairs to my entertainment room an hour before the ceremony started.
The way to watch the #Oscars is sitting comfy on my couch in my PJs. Oh and with my MacBook on my lap of course 🙂
— FlixChatter (@FlixChatter) March 3, 2014
Well, first things first…
The Winners!
These are the 14 I predicted, which I got all correct except one for Best Documentary:
- Best picture: “12 Years a Slave”
- Best director: Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
- Best lead actor: Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
- Best lead actress: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
- Best supporting actor: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
- Best supporting actress: Lupita N’yongo, “12 Years a Slave”
- Best animated feature: “Frozen”
- Best feature documentary: “20 Feet From Stardom”
- Best foreign-language film: “The Great Beauty”
- Best adapted screenplay: “12 Years A Slave”
- Best original screenplay: Spike Jonze, “Her”
- Best original score: “Gravity”
- Best cinematography: “Gravity”
- Best original song: “Let It Go,” from “Frozen”
Gravity won the most awards tonight, with seven Oscar. Wahoo!! So it won for Best Cinematography (yay Emmanuel Lubezki!), Best Editing, Best Score (congrats Steven Price!), Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and the first Mexican filmmaker ever to win, Alfonso Cuarón was named Best Director. If only it also won Best Picture, but ah well, I already knew it’d be a split.
Favorite Winners of the Night
Congrats Cate, Matt, Jared, Spike, Lupita and Alfonso! [happy dance] 😀
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Red Carpet Stuff
These are my two favorites:
I REALLY love how she wore this unabashedly sparkly feminine dress with such panache. I LOVE her dress simply because of the way she wears it.
I LOVE how Lupita Nyong’O handles color. She has been making one amazing dress choice after another. I’m not super crazy about the shape of this pale blue dress, but she carried it off so well. And that bandeau made her look like Cinderella at the ball! She’s just too cute for words.
I quite like the rest of the acting nominees (sorry, not crazy for Meryl Streep or June Squibb‘s dress to be honest)
Dapper men on the red carpet!
Before the ceremony even begun though, Benedict Cumberbatch already WON Oscars 2014 with THIS awesome photobomb:
Favorite Speeches:
“I love you mom …Thanks for helping me to dream.” — Jared Leto, acknowledging his mom and brother in his acceptance speech. VERY cool that he showed love for his family.
“No matter where you come from, your dream is valid.” — Lupita Nyong’O. No matter how , acknowledging his mom and brother in his acceptance speech. VERY cool that he showed love for his family.
“Films with women at the helm are not a “niche”, but do, in fact, make money.” – Cate Blanchett, championing women in film in her defiant acceptance speech. Yes, you go girl!!
There’s no vid of the actual acceptance speech, but this is a clip of her in the Winners Room:
Matthew McConaughey‘s speech was rather odd at times, but I’m glad he thanked God, which is apparently a rare thing at the Oscars according to this website. He said he needed three things to survive: God, family and someone to look up to as a hero.
“First off, I’d like to thank God, because that’s who I look up to. He’s graced my life with opportunities that I know are not of my hand or any other human hand … [He has shown me that it’s a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates. In the words of the late (British actor) Charlie Laughton, who said, ‘When you got God you got a friend and that friend is you.”
He got no applause for that, which I’m not surprised at all, this is Hollywood after all. In any case, it turns out that hero is himself 10 years down the line… “My hero’s always 10 years away … I’m never going to attain that. That keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.” He also thanked his wife, children, mother and his gumbo-loving late father. And hey, he didn’t leave out his signature ‘awright, awright, awright.’ Classic!
My all time fave speech of the night is Alfonso Cuarón‘s all the way. He’s just so humble but hilarious:
“For many of us making this film was a transformative experience … For a lot of people that transformation was wisdom. For me it was just the colour of my hair.” But the funniest bit was when he thanked the *wise guys* at Warner Bros, before quickly correcting himself with saying ‘wise men’ Mwahahaha!!
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Highlights
- First award given I’m super stoked about… but not really surprised. FROZEN for Best Animated Feature. Wahoo!! Nice to see a female director up on stage, too.
/// - Absolutely love Joseph Gordon Levitt & Emma Watson… Best Presenter Couple of the night. Sooo adorable, I wonder why they don’t just date in real life!
- Matthew McConaughey looks dapper and quite a gentleman presenting with the very odd looking Kim Novak. That’s what’s excessive plastic surgery do to you folks. But Matthew seems very gracious and gentlemanly throughout.
… - The Oscar Selfie that crashed Twitter! It broke record as the most-shared image with 2 million retweets over the course of two hours of the telecast! Nice to see that these celebs can be goofy just like us!
- Lupita Nyong’O winning Best Supporting Actress. YES!! She did such an amazing job as Patsy in 12 Years A Slave. I was hoping either she or Sally Hawkins would take home the gold. I’m happy Nyong’O won and her speech was awesome. You go girl!
… - Bill Murray‘s tribute to his friend… “Oh, we forgot one,” says Murray before he announced Best Cinematography. “Harold Ramis, for Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day.”
… - Spike Jonze won Best Original Screenplay, YAY!! So well-deserved, I wouldn’t even mind Her winning
… - I have to admit the whole Pizza Delivery shenanigan is absurdly-wonderful! It’s so out of character for the traditionally more button-up ceremony that made it all the more fun. Ellen actually ordered pizza and the delivery guy obviously had the time of his life going to the Oscars! Imagine delivering pizza to Han Solo/Indiana Jones himself, man!!! Earlier Harrison Ford seemed grumpy when presenting an award, so maybe he was just starving!
Thanks to FanSided for this awesome GIF! 
Brad Pitt handing out plates is just priceless! - Chris Evans presenting… I thought he looked sooo good I barely registered what it was he’s presenting. I think it was a bunch of clips about heroes?? Well I guess it’s fitting coming from Captain America himself.
So how did Ellen do as host?
Well I happen to enjoy her hosting duties. I thought she was hilarious but not mean-spirited. Hope she’ll be back next year.
She started off by making fun of the L.A. weather “It has been a tough couple of days for us here. It’s been raining.” Ahah yeah, we barely made it ABOVE zero here where I live.
Here are some of my favorite jokes:
“I’m not going to say who looks the most beautiful, but it’s clear. It’s Jared Leto. I mean, he’s the prettiest. Boy is he pretty. Nominated for best supporting actor, and Matthew McConaughey also pretty by the way but a different, like a rugged, dirty, a dirty pretty, like a rugged dirty pretty. Good dirty, not bad dirty. Both nominated for Dallas Buyers Club, a very important movie. It deals with the serious issue of people who have sex at rodeos. Don’t do it.”
“A little background on Bruce [Dern]. His grandfather was the governor of Utah, his great uncle was a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, and his Godmother was Eleanor Roosevelt. And here you are among us tonight. What went wrong?”
“One of the nominees is Her and by Her, I mean Meryl Streep.”
The whole Pizza bit was hilarious!! So ok the show went a bit longer but THIS was fun and I don’t mind it one bit. I mean, between the A-list selfie that broke Twitter, ordering pizza and collecting money in a hat, it feels like the *people’s Oscar* this year, more casual and goofy than usual.
“I don’t have any money. Sandy [Sandra Bullock] you have money. You got a lot of money. Where is Harvey Weinstein? Harvey? “ Mwahahahaha!
Later on, after most of the pizza were consumed, she continued on the joke about paying for them!
“So I borrowed Pharrell’s hat, and I thought I’d pass it around and get some money for the pizza.” *She then proceeded to get money from the likes of Kevin Spacey and Brad Pitt, she basically cajoled Brad Pitt to give her more than the $20 bucks he initially threw in the hat. When it came to Lupita Nyong’o, she opened her tiny purse and gave her a lip gloss instead. Ellen threw it in her pocket saying, ‘It’s your lip gloss? Ok now that’s gonna be worth something.”
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So how did I do on my predictions?
Well, I did better than last year as I got 13 out of 14 predictions right. But really, this year has been quite predictable. I think the only TRULY nail-biting major categories were Best Supporting Actress, but I think Lupita Nyong’O has been gaining a lot of traction this award season.
American Hustle got ZERO awards despite a whopping 10 nominations! WOW, talk about a complete shutout. According to this TIME article, Only two films have ever received worse snubs: 1977′s The Turning Point and 1985′s The Color Purple, which were each nominated for 11 awards, but didn’t win a thing. Other films that share the dubious distinction of receiving 10 nominations with no wins are 2002′s Gangs of New York and 2010′s True Grit. Ouch.
But hey, don’t feel sorry for the losing Oscar nominees as none would go home empty handed. Apparently the Oscar’s goodie bag is worth $85,000, ranging from gifts from $6 to $16,000. The strangest gift yet? $2,700 “O-Shot” procedure to help a woman’s sex drive [????], you can read about the rest of the gifts here.
Now, even though I was pulling for Gravity to win Best Picture, I’m not terribly disappointed that 12 Years of Slave won. It’s cute seeing the usually solemn director Steve McQueen leaped on stage as he was cheered by his cast and crew!
Least fave moments:
Bette Midler singing Wing Beneath My Wings. I don’t hate the song, but I REALLY didn’t like her singing it tonight, especially after such a beautiful theme of Somewhere In Time of In Memoriam. Same with Idina Menzel‘s live rendition of Let It Go. I personally prefer the First Time in Forever song anyway, but Menzel’s singing was so pitchy and she looked like she was struggling with the song that it was cringe-worthy! Glad that it won Best Song though.
Seeing this pic of Philip Seymour Hoffman… still can’t believe he’s gone 😦 I appreciate The Academy showing his photo last and the longest though, but still, that can’t bring him back …
So did you watch the Oscars last night? Thoughts on the winners and what’s your pick of best/worst moments?
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Overall, an enjoyable show, with the usual Academy fillers and mistakes that we could have done without. Not everything Ellen did drew me in, but overall she did very well. The critics sniping seems just that. Sniping for the sake of it.
Hi Michael! Yeah I enjoyed it, even more than last year I think as it was so goofy. I know some critics hated the pizza bit but I had a good laugh with it, it’s so out of character for Oscar which made it all the more fun!
Hey, Ruth. For what it’s worth, I thought Menzel was amazing.
Otherwise, we’re in total agreement. And I had no idea the gift bag was that generous. Wow.
Hmmm, really? Well, I like the song and I think she’s a fantastic singer but last night I thought she was off. I even sensed that she wasn’t happy w/ her own rendition at the end when people gave her a standing ovation. In any case I still like the song and glad it won!
Yeah, that Oscar gift bag is ridiculous isn’t it? WOW, as if these stars couldn’t afford their own, well except for Lupita & Barkhad Abdi perhaps.
Yeah. And probably some of the smaller category nominees, of course.
Maybe, for me, off Menzel is still awesome. 😉
Ahah I didn’t know you’re such a big fan of Menzel. I just never heard her sing before Frozen, and though I think she was great in the film, I can’t say the same about last night. But still, no doubt she is a talented singer, and gorgeous too!
I agree with you in most of the things. I liked Ellen a lot too and that pizza joke too. It was hilarious. You’re right in that it made the whole show more “human”. Hopefully they continue that way. And bring Ellen back, she was solid.
To me mentioning God means I stop listening. So, it was only now, when re-watching, I actually listened what McConaughey said (though his speech was just blablablaa to me). In our country it’s not normal to talk about God, so to me all those Americans (for example) who praise the God are a bit wacko or kind of false some how. Please don’t be offended, I guess it’s a cultural difference but before they mentioned God a lot in the Oscars but fortunately (for me) not anymore, it makes me really uneasy. 🙂
But like I said, otherwise I agree with you. And I’m sorry that Idina Menzel’s Let It Go didn’t go seo well as I hoped but I’m glad the song won. And Leto and Nyong’o gave the best speeches of the night.
Hi Satua! Yeah, I like the casual feel of the ceremony, I felt like the celebs were *one of us*, at least the way Ellen made ’em to be w/ them goofing around.
I’m not sure where you’re from but I came from a country where a mention of God in the Christian sense (which sounds like what Matt was referring to) is not only unpopular but is not advisable. I am a Christian so I’m always glad that God gets acknowledged in some way and not in derogatory sense.
I have a feeling Idina was perhaps nervous or something but man that was pretty bad. Yeah, the supporting actors’ speeches were very good indeed but I quite like Cate’s & Matthew’s as well.
Great write up Ruth! It was quite a night last night, and Ellen should host EVERY YEAR! Cuaron may be my favorite Oscar win in the history of Oscar!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Andrew!! Yes I’m totally on board w/ Ellen hosting every year, She’s my fave after Billy Crystal. Yes, Cuaron winning made my night!!
Idina’s performance was awful, but like others pointed out, I wonder if she was just flustered because John Travolta totally butchered her name when he introduced her.
Thtat’s what I thought, too. I kept wondering if maybe her ear piece wasn’t working and she couldn’t hear the music as well, but definitely, Travolta butchering her name that way must have left her flustered. I know I’d be annoyed as heck…
Hi Morrighan, I was hoping John would actually pop out from backstage after Idina sang and just say sorry for mangling your name. I mean the mood was light anyway, I don’t think it would’ve been strange if he did that.
Ahah yeah, I completely forgot to mention it here as it wasn’t on my notes for some reason but last night I had a good chuckle w/ my hubby trying to figure out just what the heck John Tralala was saying.
Hi, Ruth:
I had predicted on a few other sites that last night’s Oscars would be safe, tame, Politically Correct in the extreme. And probably down in overall viewership from last year. I followed the event on Nikki Finke’s twitter feed while catching up on ‘The Heroes of Telemark’ and ‘Castle Keep’.
Also predicted that ’12 Years As A Slave would win Best picture.
Hello Jack! Well I for one don’t mind the safe and tame ceremony, I thought it was quite fun for me, but then again I’m not all for super snarky or mean-spirited humor a la Ricky Gervais.
Yeah, 12 Years As A Slave win is pretty predictable though I was still holding out hope that Gravity would win that one too and thus swept the Oscars.
Great overview Ruth. Loved reading it. I posted a few random thoughts this morning many of which are similar to yours.
I thought Ellen was okay. Definitely not as in-your-face as she can sometimes be. She had her good moments where I really laughed and other times where I felt she was forcing it. I still want Downey, Jr. to host. PLEEEASE Academy, at least ask him.
I didn’t really care for any of the musical acts. Menzel sounded really bad. Pink wasn’t horrible but I would think there were better choices, and Bette wasn’t up to the hype IMO.
McConaughey and Lupita get my favorite speeches but I also loved the two folks from Frozen. Their speech was a hoot.
Hi ya Keith! It was fun working on this post as I was watching the telecast. I only added some of the pics/clips this morning as they became available.
I like Ellen’s style, she’s goofy and has that deadpan humor that I like. But yes, RDJ would’ve rocked it I think. Hope they’d ask him one day.
Yeah, didn’t care for any of the musical acts either, not even Pharell in the beginning though he’s one of the better ones.
Oh right, the Frozen folks (well not literally like us in Minnesota ahah) were fun indeed! LOVE that they won, esp. happy for the bubbly Jennifer Lee.
It was also the night of bad facelifts. I shouldn’t be mean but Goldie Hawn and Kim Novak looked awful. Novak has to be 80 years old and she used to be a beautiful woman. I wish she had stayed away from the plastic surgery.
It was touching to see all of the talent that passed on since the last ceremony, even more so considering one of my favorite actors ever was shown last and for the longest time. Most of the other people passed from health issues, and it’s simply not nearly as tragic. I will say that it is a shame that the Academy omitted Dennis Farina, a fine character actor and Chicago native.
My favorite speech would have to be Jared Leto for not only putting his family at the forefront but also for raising awareness for the problems of Ukraine and Venezuela. I am very sensitive to both issues, but being a Venezuelan by birth I can’t distance myself from the situation and it was nice to hear a Hollywood star stay in touch with what truly matters.
Great night overall. The 2 major disappointments I had were The Hunt not winning for Best Foreign Film, and Moon Song not winning for Best Original Song, even though I much rather hear Scarlett’s version than the one that was sung last night.
Hi Niels! Yeah, I was hoping they’d do that with Philip Seymour Hoffman at the end. It’s still surreal to see he’s gone 😦
I had no idea you are Venezuelan! That’s very cool. I’m from Indonesia so it’s always nice to *meet* International bloggers from all over the world.
Yeah, still bummed about The Hunt, I was also bummed about The Act of Killing not winning Best Doc.
I assume Christianity is not something well known in Hollywood with their fancy religions like Scientology etc. I’m against Christianity myself, mostly just the Church politics, but I really liked Matt’s shoutout – clearly he uses his spirituality to be a better person and that’s very admirable.
Ahah yeah, fancy fake religion you mean. Well I’m against some church politics myself but it doesn’t mean it reflects what true Christianity is all about. All the blunders of the church won’t make me turn against God. Yes, faith used to be a better person is very cool indeed, I respect him more after what he did, as he surely knows mentioning God is not a popular thing these days.
Well I wouldn’t go as far as to call them fake, if a person wants to believe in Scientology and it makes that person happy, it’s really none of my business as long as they don’t try to get everyone to believe it’s the only right thing to believe in, like Tom Cruise does.
Based on what I read, the nature of Scientology is very cult-ish, and that comes from people who left the that church. But in any case, I think Cruise has faced some backlash in regards to his Scientology practices (i.e. what happened w/ Katie Holmes, etc.), so it seems like he’s been quiet (or quieter) about it for some time.
Terrific recap. Really.
Did you overlook Ellen’s remarks to Liza? Those surely should have made your least fave moments.
Personally, I was disappointed by Ellen spending (wasting) so much time in the aisles. I thought it was easier for her than making some on the fly remarks that were funny.
I also liked the fact that the show was devoid of those musical cues that meant ‘get off the stage’..
I didn’t do well in my predictions. But I did tab Blanchett to win Actress and that was right after seeing the film. And I was right on with Gatsby for costumes, I also (in an email to a reader) stated that Gravity would win a lot of technical Oscars.
Thanks Mike!
Oh I remember that remark, Liza seemed miffed at Ellen’s remark but I don’t know if she was in on the joke.
Hmmm, I actually don’t mind her spending time in the aisles, but maybe ’cause it was different from previous shows. It’s ok to shake things up a bit. I thought it was funny that the guy who usually gives the cue for people to get off the stage was cut off last night.
I think Gatsby win for costumes was predictable. Catherine Martin is a genius, she pretty much win everything she’s nominated for.
Great overview. I was left teary-eyed after Philip Seymour Hoffman’s picture was shown last, and I still can’t believe he’s gone. But I agree – Bette Midler singing Wind Beneath My Wings was okay, but not necessary. Pink did an amazing amazing job.
I was bummed that The Hunt did not win. I was so hoping that Mads would show up as I remember hearing that he was “in the wings” according to Martha de Laurentis’ tweet. Maybe it was because it came too early last year…? I don’t know.
And yeah, Kim Novak. It was almost unreal watching her but Matthew was gentlemanly as always. I did love seeing Sidney Poitier with Angelina Jolie, though I suspect it was past his bedtime.
Hi again Morrighan! Hey, as a fellow Richard Armitage fan, didn’t you wish he had attended the Oscars last night? I hope one day he’d be invited!
Yeah, Mads not even nominated is a travesty. I didn’t realize it was Kim Novak, I thought she was just a cancer patient or something that was part of a Make a Wish foundation of some kind! Really, that’s my reaction at first as I missed her name being announced. Yeah, Jolie was sweet with Poitier, plus she looks so gorgeous.
Tell me about the sneaky wish that Richard could at least have been there, even to present!
I mean, if – I’m not going to name names – were there and they hadn’t done anything in the past year but be married to some cool person or something, or star in a not-even-a-blockbuster-movie, why not Richard? I mean, Fassy took all my attention last night, but still… They could have had Armitage present, for crying out loud. Sometimes I really suspect it has to do with that darn casting couch and someone just doesn’t want to play that game – not that I’d want him to LOL
Yeah, with Kim Novak, well, what can I say? There was actually a post today on Slate about how Hollywood isn’t kind to aging women, but at the same time, if all we see is uber-plastic surgery to shave 20 years off one’s face, it’s also a message to the world that it’s what Hollywood kinda expects 79 year old women to look like. Heck, forget the “kinda” – it IS what Hollywood expects.
But Matthew Mcconaughey was really respectful with her – though Ellen wasn’t so nice to her and Liza. But yes, Jolie was really as usual so gorgeous, and I can just imagine her and Brad at home just being their usual gorgeous selves…makes me want to rail at the world though and wonder why I didn’t inherit such good genes.
Oops, sorry for that rant there…
Hello again Morrighan! My sentiment exactly, why not Richard! I mean his movie The Hobbit was nominated for several awards after all so he’s more relevant than a lot of other actors that were invited!
You’re right that Hollywood generally is unfair to women, let alone OLDER women, thus making them feel the need to subject themselves to plastic surgery. It’s so sad really.
Ahah well I don’t really find Brad attractive at all so I never envy Angie, well perhaps when she did a movie with Gerry Butler and also Clive Owen, now I envied her then, ahahahaha.
Btw, speaking of casting Richard, did you see my post last week on wanting to see Richard in this Robert Ludlum adaptation? http://wp.me/pxXPC-895 Would love to hear what you think 😀
Epic roundup Ruth, awesome work on the post!
My fav speech was McConaughey, for his inspirational “3 rules”. Agree Blanchett speech was good-female driven films can make money, that was well-said, and an important message to the film industry.
I liked parts of Leto’s speech, about his mother and Ukraine, but felt it was wrong of him to self-promote his band by name dropping 30 seconds to Mars.
My least favorite moment was deceased director Alain Resnais not mentioned at all. A scandal. Last Year in Marienbad is a masterpiece, and he’s been directing for six decades.
Why thank you Chris! It was fun to do as I was watching it. Yes, Matthew’s speech is the most moving for me, I’m always a fan whenever a talent thank God in their speech. I know it’s not a popular thing in today’s culture, esp in Hollywood so I think that’s brave of him to do so. As for Blanchett, she sounded defiant but I do agree with what she said.
I didn’t realize he was promoting his band as I didn’t know what its name was, but yeah, that seems tacky to do it in an acceptance speech.
I wonder if the In Memoriam thing was done days or even a week prior to the event but yeah at the very least Glenn Close could’ve mentioned Alain Resnais’ name.
What a great summary, Ruth! I saw a lot of negativity on Twitter, but I thought it was mostly a lot of fun. Seeing Brad Pitt distribute paper plates and eat pizza while wearing a tux was awesome.The show seemed to be quite lengthy and I think they could have condensed some stuff, like maybe Bette Midler can sing during the tribute, not after. And like a couple others here, I was mystified by Ellen’s remarks about Liza Minnelli, they seemed pretty mean. But overall, a good show.
Hello Paula! There’ll always gonna be people who choose to be negative about everything. I kinda tune things out. Ha..ha.. yeah, when was the last time Brad Pitt even touched a Styrofoam plate y’know, maybe when doing a role in a movie but in real life?? I’d be ok if Bette didn’t sing at all to be honest, I thought it’s enough to just have Somewhere in Time during the In Memoriam and ended w/ PSH’s photo. I was wondering if Liza was in on the joke as later they were goofing of again. That’s why I didn’t think she was being mean but who knows.
I didn’t see what Liza was doing, I was actually in another room at the time. So it’s possible. And yeah, I actually like Bette but…yeah. Brad has a lot of kids, I think they probably use paper though. LOL
Oh, Ellen asked Liza for a selfie pic later on and she seemed fine w/ it, but yeah I do think that joke about her looking like a man is too harsh, esp coming from someone who should be more sensitive about that stuff.
Ahahaha, Brad has a lot of kids, that’s true, maybe they do use paper plates at home but then again him & Angie probably have like 12 maids!
All in all, this is one of the rare years where I really have no complaints about the winners. Not a bad outing from the Academy for once.
As for the show itself, the highlights are definitely Emma Watson and JGL presenting, and Harrison Ford single handedly saving that pizza segment. Awesome stuff there. B)
Hi Chris! Well apart from a few quibbles, all in all I’m pretty happy w/ the winners too. I was hoping that Gravity had won though, that’d continue the trend in the past 3 years that all the movies I championed for ended up winning Best Picture.
I think it’s cool to see Han Solo/Indiana Jones being so enthusiastic about eating pizza!!
Hey Ruth, this is the best summary of the oscars Ive read all day! I really liked McConaughey’s speech. It seemed the most honest and personal. He comes across as a really thoughtful and intelligent.
Well done on predicting 13 out of 14 by the way!!!
Hey thanks for the compliment Mikey, made the effort worthwhile 😀 Yes, I always like personal speeches and the fact that he thanked God and his family made me really respect him more.
I was surprised I did better than last year, maybe next year I’ll try to predict more categories, he..he..
Nice recap Ruth, with all the live tweeting going on last night, I knew who won and who didn’t. Funny thing is I didn’t even know (or care) that Leo Di Caprio was nominated until a bunch of of his fans vented their anger on Twitter. Lol.
Sounds like Ellen actually tried to make the show more entertaining, the last time I watched The Oscars (maybe 2002?) everything was so serious, I thought I was watching a UN Summit or some kind of politics show. It’s kind of funny because the show is about ENTERTAINERS and they’re acting like they’re saving the world or something by being so serious. Ha ha.
Hi Ted! Well I figure my post might be useful for some folks who didn’t watch the telecast 🙂 Yeah, lots of prayer circles for Leo last night but I for one didn’t mind that he didn’t win, I just don’t think his performance was phenomenal.
Ahah, UN Summit!! Well last night definitely wasn’t boring, the whole pizza thing was hysterical. Some of these actors must be so hungry, I could see Brad, Chiwetel and Harrison Ford chowing down, that was awesome! You’re right, these entertainers should not take themselves too seriously.
You know I like Di Caprio but I don’t think he’s done anything to deserve the award yet. He’s still young enough to keep pursuing that gold statue but once he hits the age of 50, I think he might just say screw it and start making big action films after another. I remember Cruise tried hard to get the statue in his 30s and 40s, now I think he’s just like whatever, he’ll just make big movies and increasing his bank account.
I still wish someone network broadcast The Razzies, they would at least make it fun to watch and heck I think more stars who’re nominated would show up. I still remember Affleck and Bullock showed up and accepted their worst performance award a few years back. And they had fun doing it. Also, Paul Verhoeven showed up to accept his worst directing award for Showgirls and he looked like he had fun too.
Ha..ha.. well I hope Leo won’t give up just yet. I don’t know if he’d be good in doing action flicks like Neeson or Cruise, besides like you said he still has many years in front of him to do great work.
Yeah it’d be fun to watch The Razzies for a change. I respect actors who don’t mind going to accept Razzies, that’s why I always love Sandy as she’s got a sense of humor!
Good prediction hit rate Ruth! All I can say is thank God it’s all over for another year!
Ahah so you’re already over Oscars weeks ago eh? Well this is the last post of the year, so no more Oscar talk (or post) until next year 🙂
Great round up Ruth and good work on your predictions! Seemed a pretty laid back show and I really enjoyed it. No massive surprises but I think most of the winners were fully deserving. Looking forward to seeing what 2014 throws at us now!
Hi Chris! Glad you saw it too, yeah the laid back vibe made it more digestible I think. I can’t even think of Oscars for next year yet, I’m mostly just excited for the big tentpole stuff like Captain America and X-Men: Days of Future Past!
Hi Ruth 🙂 it was an enjoyable evening last night. I wasn’t suprised much by the award winners–in fact, it was one of the quieter, safer, mediocre ones in a while. I was surprised Ellen seemed a little off–she stuttered, she seemed a half-step behind her own jokes or didn’t have that air of exhuberance I’m used to seeing with her. Loved the Pizza and the twitter–that’s about it. The songs, the theme of the hero seemed underdeveloped–I don’t know, just seemed quiet. But, I did love the speeches including Lupita–what a class act! The dresses–it was a sea of black this year so Lupita and Blanchett’s color were refreshing
Hi Cindy! Hmmm, I guess I don’t watch Ellen as much as you as I thought she did great. The stuttering seems like it’s part of the joke, but maybe it’s just me, ahah. Glad you loved the pizza bit too, I thought it was a hoot. Yes Lupita is a class act, hope to see more of her in Hollywood. What a breath of fresh air and her brother is adorable as well.
What a fantastic Oscars it was indeed! Loved all of the goofy moments and speeches. I was also correct with a lot of my predictions 🙂 I hope the producers see how well Ellen did as a host, and bring her back!! Absolutely loved Lupita and Alfonso’s speeches, and Steve McQueen’s leap!
Hi Raul!! I think it was really fun, loved the goofy moments, no complaints from me in that regard. Glad you got a lot of your predictions right! I certainly don’t mind seeing Ellen host again!
I had fun watching it and Ellen was awesome… the pizza thing was amazing and it was a good thing I had pizza for dinner. I would love for her to host again next year and maybe have Matthew McConaughey cook some gumbo.
In my predictions (I didn’t do the shorts), I did pretty good. I only missed on the Production Design, Documentary, and editing while I got 2 alternate picks for the Best Supporting Actress and Cinematography to win. As for the rest, I was right in my predictions. I’m happy that Chivo won the Cinematography Oscar. When Alfonso won for Best Director, I screamed “ORALE VATO!!!” There were some great speeches but Matthew McConaughey’s speech is just fucking amazing. It had a bit of life-lesson, it was funny, and moving. I’m sad that Leo didn’t win but at least he lost to a cool guy like McConaughey.
And his mother is gorgeous. He was lucky. I don’t think Kim Novak looked that bad. Hell, she looked a million times better than John Travolta. I think he did too many botoxes or something or he put his wig on too tightly.
Hi Steven! Glad you had fun too! I LOVE the pizza thing, it was a nice break from the usually-serious event. Yeah I think Matthew’s speech is great as it’s from the heart and not political, I don’t like it when actors use/hijack the Oscar platform to promote their own cause.
Ha..ha.. yeah his mother is beautiful and so is Jared Leto’s! Ahah, John Tralala was clearly off last night, did you hear about him butchering Idina Menzel’s name? There’s a widget now to Travolitized your name, ahahaha!
Great post, Ruth. I always do, but I really enjoyed the show last nigt. Such a fun one, and Ellen did a fantastic job. The music numbers were fun and Pink was AMAZING. I correctly predicted 21 out of 24 categories and even though I love J-Law, I’m so glad she didn’t win and so happy Lupita did! Her speech was amazing and, as you know, I also loved Leto’s. I’m glad American Hustle didn’t win anything. Talk about overrated! haha. Almost everyone (except Whoopi, of course) looked great, but Cate Blanchett was absolutely angelic. My favorite moment, of course, was Alfonso Cuarón winning Best Director! I was so happy. Shaking and my heart was beating so fast. I was SO proud, not only because a Mexican filmmaker FINALLY won (hope Alejandro González Iñárritu wins someday; I love him too) but because I’ve been a big fan of his for a long time now. I also loved when Pharrell danced with Lupita Nyong’o and Meryl Streep! That was so awesome. The pizza bit was so cool and also the celebriy selfie.Kim Novak was so weird OMG. Her beauty is all gone. Why can’t they age gracefully, like Helen Mirren or Judi Dench? Gorgeous ladies. I’m also not very upset that 12YAS beat Gravity for BP; I thought it was a great movie, and hey, Brad’s an Oscar winner now, finally. I didn’t mind Bette Midler but yeah, Idina Menzel was really off-key. Poor woman, she looked so nervous. And I can’t believe PSH is gone, either 😦
Hi Fernando!! I like Pink’s rendition of the classic ‘Rainbow’ song. Yeah, I don’t think ‘Hustle’ was really THAT Oscar-worthy. Ahah yeah Whoopi, wow what the heck was she wearing??! I never cared for her anyway though.
Yeah Blanchett was angelic indeed and her defiant speech was awesome. My fave speech is still Cuaron’s though, that ‘wise guys’ quip was hilarious, love him!! I was still hoping up until the end that Gravity won. I like 12YAS but I really think Gravity is still the better film IMO and surely was tougher to make. WOW, I thought Iñárritu already won?? I thought Babel was brilliant.
Poor Idina, I think even she realized it wasn’t her best performance. I just saw her sing live on Jimmy Fallon and she sounded great, like she did in the movie.
Whoopi’s early performances are an actress were superb but now she’s all about the crazy outfits. She was a mess this sunday.
Loved Blanchett and Cuarón’s speeches as well 🙂 I think both are great films but I give the edge to 12YAS because it’s more socially and historically relevant.
And yeah. Babel, Amores Perros, Biutiful. And he still hasn’t won 😦 Hope Birdman brings great things for Alejandro, but I doubt it, since it’s a comedy.
I think I only liked Whoopi in Ghost, that’s about it. I’m sure Alejandro will come up with something worthy to be nominated again. Come to think of it, has Guillermo del Toro ever been nominated? I thought he was for Pans Labyrinth?
Whoopi is great in The Color Purple, too. And he’s been nominated, I’m sure, but not in the Best Director category, I think.
Just checked and yeah, he’s only been nominated once: for writing Pan’s Labyrinth.
Ooh I blame John Travolta for Idina’s performance. She was probably as totally confused as I was when he announced Adele Dazeem was going to sing. That would go on my least fave list for sure!
And I think in general it was a bad night for singing. Pink was the only one to knock out our of the park, even the backup singer from the best documentary win got pretty pitchy.
Hi Anne! Ha..ha.. yeah, it’s John Tralala’s fault. Adele Dazeem, seriously where did he come up with THAT?? Did you know you can now Travoltized your own name? http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/low_concept/2014/03/john_travolta_called_idina_menzel_adele_dazeem_what_s_your_travolta_name.html
I don’t mind Pink’s rendition and I also like Karen O!
Karen O was fine, I totally forgot about that!
I love the Moon Song!
great job on your predictions. I had a fun time watching the Oscars myself. I liked McConaughey’s speech along with Leto’s, Nyong’o’s, Blanchett’s and Cuaron’s. Super glad McConaughey won. I wasn’t bothered by his speech at all.
Hopefully next Oscars wont have as many live performances. No mention of Pharrell’s performance? DIdn’t make you ‘happy’?
Ellen did a fantastic job! 🙂
Hello T! No, not bothered at all by Matthew’s speech the opposite is true, glad he thanked the One who mattered most.
Pharrell’s song was fun but I enjoyed The Moon Song as that’s more of my style of music. Yeah, I like Ellen too, hope she’ll be back next year!
I didn’t watch it…I don’t even have TV in my dorm 😉
Anyway, great wrap up and soooo happy for Cate
Bummer Nov! So where do you watch TV then, on your laptop? Yeah, Cate winning was a highlight for sure.
Hahaha I don’t need one because Indonesian TV is terrible 😉
Ahah good point there Nov, besides you watch most Hollywood stuff on your laptop anyway right?
Nice writeup, Ruth. I was pleasantly surprised with the Oscars this year. I can’t complain about too many of the award winners, and this is the first time in ages that my favorite film of the year won Best Picture.
Thanks Eric! Well, my favorite won three years in a row, but I knew Gravity wouldn’t win this year.
Did not watch the Oscars and am pretty happy with the winners, although the documentary category really was a shock. Saw The Square this past weekend and that was better than 20 Feet (and so was The Act of Killing).
Hi Nostra! Yeah, the major bummer for me was The Act of Killing didn’t win 😦 I still want to see The Square though.
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Amazing recap, Ruth! Ellen did such an great job hosting the Oscars. The Oscars are not a night for roasting everyone (like Seth MacFarlane) or a constant mirage of musical numbers about movies. I thought she made it an actual party from handing out pizza to her opening monologue. I wished some uptempo numbers had been made in the middle of show where it got a little dull, but I thought overall it was great.
I thought the teleprompter was giving everyone problems – Ellen mispronounced a few names as did a lot of presenters….Travolta was just so way way off – I can see why it’s a trend right now but I don’t know why so many people are pissed off. It’s not like he did it on purpose and Idina has said that everything was okay between them.
Cate and Lupita’s dresses were great but Charlize Theron’s impressed me the most.
Very happy that Matthew and Gravity won – and that American Hustle didn’t….
Nice recap, Ruth! I really enjoyed Ellen as a host, and the ceremony was fun and didn’t feel long at all. I loved most of the wins too, especially the ones for Gravity. 🙂
Well hello Josh! I’ve been wondering when you’d be *spamming* me w/ your comments, it’s a welcome *spam* mind you 😀
I enjoyed Ellen too, hope she’ll host again next year. I feel like she’s one of us, y’know, what w/ the selfie thing and the pizza, I mean seeing those celebs gobbling up on pizza is a hoot! Happy w/ most of the winners too, tho I had wished Gravity had taken Best Picture as well.
LOL. I’ve been cramming in so many films lately that I haven’t been reading as regularly. I’m going to try to avoid getting so behind in the future, though. 😉