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TV Bites With
Neena Louise |
6th Annual OscarBites
by Neena Louise
Worst Dressed
Salma Hayek
That navy-colored dress with the black bows thrown on willy-nilly looked like it was
hand-made in 10 minutes by someone who can't sew.
Runners-up
All those grey dresses! Halle Berry, Laura Linney, Melanie Griffith, Natalie Portman,
Barbra Streisand (to name a few) all looked drab and frumpy in grey.
Best Dressed
Oprah Winfrey
For once, Winfrey was dressed in a beautiful gown that suited her body perfectly.
Worst Accessory
Virginia Madsen's earrings
They looked like trivets, suitable for putting hot cooking pots on rather than wearing
in one's ears.
Best Accessory
Jamie Foxx's sunglasses
Very cool.
Worst Hair
Renée Zellweger
Brunette does not suit Zellweger and that silly bun didn't help.
Best Hair
Kate Winslett
The long, careful ringlets looked stunning - especially compared to all the shellacked
upsweeps and buns that so many others were sporting.
Most Charming
Hilary Swank
Poised and gracious.
Least Charming
Annette Bening
In both the preshow and as a presenter, Bening looked decidedly uninterested in being
there. Husband Warren Beatty, on the other hand, looked thrilled.
Worst Acceptance Speech
Robert Richardson (Cinematography, The Aviator)
Sweet though it was, his thanking only his sick mother's caregivers was somewhat
insulting to everyone involved in the picture.
Best Acceptance Speech
Morgan Freeman (Supporting Actor, Million Dollar Baby)
Ignoring the list clutched in his hand, Freeman simply thanked "everyone". Short and
classy.
Worst Song Presentation
Carlos Santana and Antonio Banderas, "Al Otro Lado Del Río" (Diarios
de motocicleta [The Motorcycle Diaries])
Though Santana rocked, Banderas shouldn't give up his day job.
Best Song Presentation
Beyoncé, "Vois Sur Ton Chemin" (The Chorus)
Backed by a boy's choir, this performance was hauntingly beautiful. But did anyone else
except me wonder whether Celine Dione wouldn't have been a better choice?
Worst Acknowledgment
Chris Rock carrying on about who Jude Law was and why he was in the movies.
Best Acknowledgment
Sean Penn firing back that Jude Law was one of the finest actors around. Take that,
Chris!
Least Deserving of an Oscar Nomination
Annette Bening (Actress, Being Julia)
I've never thought Bening was a particularly talented actress. Her over-acting in
Being Julia proves it.
Most Deserving of an Oscar Nomination
Sideways
The Little Indie That Could. Hopefully more independent films will garner such
attention.
Least Deserving of an Oscar
Everyone who received one actually deserved it.
Most Deserving of an Oscar
Morgan Freeman (Actor, Million Dollar Baby)
About time.
Least Surprising Winner
Jamie Foxx (Actor, Ray)
I would've been more surprised if he hadn't won.
Most Surprising Winner
"Al Otro Lado Del Río" (Best Song, Diarios de motocicleta [The
Motorcycle Diaries])
With competitors being more traditional Oscar-type songs, this unusual Spanish ballad
was a complete surprise.
Worst Presenter
Prince
Not only could I not understand a single word he said with his mumbling and stumbling,
but his purple jacket, pink bell-bottoms and ridiculous hair made him look like a sleazy
lounge singer.
Best Presenter
Scarlett Johansson
Though introducing the winners of the technical awards from the decidedly odd location
of a box, she spoke well and was one of the few that didn't appear to be simply reading
words off the teleprompter.
Worst Reaction of a Winner
Sandy Powell (Costume Design, The Aviator)
Her floating stroll from the rear of the stage made her look anything but honored.
Best Reaction of a Winner
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek (Original Score, Finding Neverland)
With his sweet speech, he was one of the few that seemed genuinely thrilled to receive
an award. I found it interesting that his speech (which certainly must have run over his
allotted time) wasn't cut off. Perhaps it was because it was for music?
Biggest Loser
Annette Bening
Twice now she's lost to Hilary Swank. She might want to re-think that whole acting
thing.
This was the shortest (at just over 3 hours) and weirdest Oscar ceremony I've ever seen.
The opening sequence of clips was decidedly uninspired. Host Chris Rock's opening,
though very funny, seemed inappropriate for the Oscars - I didn't tune into the Oscars
to watch a Chris Rock Comedy Special! I have to admit the set was very cool, however.
The giant projections on the floor and ceiling were fun to watch.
Now someone please tell me what was up with the weird presentations? I found it
insulting that the nominees for several categories (Costumes, Documentary Feature,
Visual Effects, Sound, Sound Editing and Documentary Short) were herded onto the stage
to stand there awkwardly while the nominations were read and winners announced. Even
more insulting were the awards presented from the audience (Makeup, Live Action Short).
The winners looked like talk show guests and didn't even have the privilege of facing
the audience while giving their acceptance speeches. It made me uncomfortable, so
I can't image what they felt like. It gave the impression that these awards were less
important than others and, thus, don't warrant a walk to the stage. Talk about the
"Insult Oscars"! Even Chris Rock made comments about how they'll be handing out awards
in the parking lot next. I guess this was done to save time (which it seems to have
done), but I hope they never, ever do that again. Add that to Scarlett Johansson doing
her bit from a box and the weird camera angles from behind people's heads and I found it
all distracting and unprofessional-looking.
For those who missed them:
Picture - Million Dollary Baby, Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, Tom
Rosenberg
Director - Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
Actor - Jamie Foxx, Ray
Actress - Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby
Supporting Actor - Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
Original Screenplay - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Charlie Kaufman,
Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Adapted Screenplay - Sideways, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Cinematography - The Aviator, Robert Richardson
Editing - The Aviator, Thelma Schoonmaker
Animated Feature - The Incredibles, Brad Bird
Animated Short - Ryan, Chris Landreth
Live Action Short - Wasp, Andrea Arnold
Documentary Feature - Born Into the Brothels, Ross Kauffman, Zana Briski
Documentary Short Subject - Mighty Times: The Children's March, Robert Hudson,
Bobby Houston
Foreign Language Film - Mar adentro [The Sea Inside] (Spain), Alejandro
Amenábar
Original Score - Finding Neverland, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Original Song - "Al Otro Lado Del Río", Jorge Drexler, Diarios de motocicleta [The
Motorcycle Diaries]
Art Direction - The Aviator, Dante Ferretti
Sound Mixing - Ray, Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer, Steve Cantamessa
Sound Editing - The Incredibles, Michael Silvers, Randy Thom
Costume Design - The Aviator, Sandy Powell
Visual Effects - Spider-Man 2, John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara,
John Frazier
Makeup - Valli O'Reilly, Bill Corso, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Honorary Oscar - Sidney Lumet
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award - Roger Mayer
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