Oscar 2008: Telecast Gets Lowest Ratings Ever

According to Oscar savants, experts, and know-it-alls everywhere, one TV-ratings point was lost per unfunny repartee at the 2008 Oscarcast. If so, the one between Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway was both long and unfunny enough to lose the show about 2 million viewers.

Blame it on the dark-themed films, the (relatively speaking) little-known nominees (in the US), the — until just a week ago — threat that the show wouldn’t go on because of the Writers Guild strike, network TV’s recent strike-related viewership slump, the proliferation of film-award TV shows, the bad weather in Los Angeles, the Danish Film Critics’ Bodil Awards held on the same day, the evening’s fashion (Jennifer Garner, right), the iPhone, or the Oscarcast’s reputation for [...]

by Andre Soares | February 25, 2008   
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Oscar Ceremony 2008: Biggest Surprises

Oscar Ceremony 2008: Part I
The biggest surprise at the Oscar 2008 ceremony was Javier Bardem’s best supporting actor Oscar win for No Country for Old Men. Joke! (Bardem, shown above next to Jack Nicholson, is not applauding himself.)
The second biggest surprise was Marion Cotillard’s win. I was expecting Julie Christie. In fact, I wanted Julie Christie, though Cotillard (right) was surely just as deserving. Cotillard, who now apparently believes in angels (she said as much in her very emotional acceptance speech), also won the French Academy’s César a couple of nights ago. (I still say they should have an Oscar for Best Accent, given to people like Marion Cotillard.)

For the books: Cotillard is only the third individual — and the [...]

by Andre Soares | February 25, 2008   
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Oscar Ceremony 2008

It’s not over until the fat lady sings. Since Amy Adams is anything but fat, that meant another three hours of Oscar give-aways after her rendition of "Happy Working Song" from Enchanted.

Nearly four hours into the Oscarcast 2008…
And it’s finally over. No Country for Old Men has been voted the best film of 2007.
I must admit that I didn’t really watch the ceremony, except to listen to the announcements of the year’s Oscar winners. For about two seconds, I did, however, check out Amy Adams singing a ditty from Enchanted — I just wanted to take a look at her, who, in my view, should have been one of this year’s five best actress nominees.
And I did watch Jon [...]

by Andre Soares | February 25, 2008   
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Oscar 2008: Best Visual Effects, Short Subjects

Bill Westenhofer, Michael Fink, Trevor Wood, Ben Morris

Oscar 2008: Best Screenplay, Cinematography, Music
Best visual effects
* The Golden Compass (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Walt Disney)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Best sound editing
* The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal)
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay
Ratatouille (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Matthew Wood
Transformers (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Best sound mixing
* The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal)
Scott Millan, David [...]

by Andre Soares | February 24, 2008   
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Oscar 2008: Best Screenplay, Cinematography, Music

Ethan Coen, Josh Brolin, Joel Coen, James McAvoy

Oscar 2008: Best Picture, Actor, Actress
Best adapted screenplay
Atonement (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
Away from Her (Lionsgate)
Written by Sarah Polley
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax/Pathé Renn)
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
* No Country for Old Men (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Best original screenplay
* Juno (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl (MGM)
Written by Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.)
Written by Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille (Walt Disney)
Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
The Savages (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Tamara Jenkins

Best cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Warner [...]

by Andre Soares | February 24, 2008   
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