Apparently there were lots of you here today and I wasn’t.
As in…many, many more than I ever would have imagined in my wildest dreams.
That was not by design, I can assure you.
This is what happened…
I was comfortably viewing the telecast at Chez Wilding. Just after BEST ACTOR was done, I got a phone call. I wasn’t home all night and I just got back a few hours ago.
This is what happens when you’re a lion. Your romantic life is just as tempestuous and unpredictable as the rest of your tremendously dramatic existence.
How could I not be an actor? Is there a choice involved?
HELL NO.
If someone I love needs me, I’m there…
But I didn’t mean to neglect my adored readership, I swear.
THIS IS THE WORST OSCAR TELECAST I’VE EVER SEEN.
THE WHOLE THING WAS A BLOODY DISASTER.
Tedious, ridiculous, boring. Lots of great winners. Terrible execution.
I always tape the highlights – the BP clips along with the announcement at the end, the acting nominees and anything else that interests me.
Over time, it’s been things like ROBERT REDFORD’S honorary win, MARTIN SCORSESE’S and STEVEN SODERBERGH’S victories, GLEN & MARKETA’S mad poetic rush last year…
But this was just a dog’s breakfast. Without the dog.
I was thrilled that SEAN and KATE won. HEATH’S victory was a bittersweet triumph. But very deserving in any case.
And that was about it…
I hear the ratings were up. But let’s hope they never ever EVER mount another fiasco like this again. It’s just too much to bear.
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE took the BEST PICTURE ACADEMY AWARD and seven other OSCARS Sunday night.
Among the other top winners were: KATE WINSLET, BEST ACTRESS for the Holocaust themed drama THE READER, SEAN PENN, BEST ACTOR for MILK, HEATH LEDGER, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR for THE DARK KNIGHT and PENELOPE CRUZ, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS for VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA.
His name is SEAN PENN…and he is here to recruit you.
SEAN won his second ACADEMY AWARD for BEST ACTOR for his moving portrayal of slain gay rights leader HARVEY MILK in MILK.
He earned a standing ovation from the starry eyed crowd as his wife ROBIN WRIGHT tearfully looked on.
“You commie, homo loving sons of guns,” SEAN began in accepting his prize. “I did not expect this and I want it to be very clear that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me…OFTEN.”
In this highly competitive category, SEAN was up against RICHARD JENKINS in THE VISITOR, FRANK LANGELLA in FROST/NIXON, MICKEY ROURKE in THE WRESTLER and BRAD PITT in THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON.
SEAN had all ready won the SAG and CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS, as well as numerous honours from film critics groups across the country. Never one to embrace the hoopla of awards season, the notoriously outspoken actor seemed more amenable to the process for this role and this film, which is a BEST PICTURE nominee.
SEAN deeply immersed himself in the part, which brought out a warmth and sweetness we’ve rarely seen throughout a career often marked by intense, complex characters.
“How did he do it?” ROBERT DE NIRO wondered in introducing SEAN. “How for so many years did he get all those jobs playing straight men?”
HARVEY MILK was the first openly gay man elected to major public office in the United States when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. The following year, he was shot to death along with Mayor George Moscone by board colleague Dan White.
But during his life, he inspired gays and lesbians to stand up and come out, helped turn the Castro neighbourhood into the gay mecca it would become and roused crowds with impassioned speeches that often began with the words, “My name is Harvey Milk and I am here to recruit you.”
In wrapping up his own speech, SEAN mentioned the protesters who lined the streets of Hollywood near the OSCAR festivities, holding anti gay signs.
“For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think it’s a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect on their great shame and their shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone.”
KATE WINSLET pulled off the expected, winning the ACADEMY AWARD for BEST ACTRESS for her quietly powerful performance in THE READER.
KATE was giddy and emotional as she accepted her trophy.
She thanked her father, saying, “Dad, whistle or something cause then I’ll know where you are.” He whistled back from his seat at the KODAK THEATRE.
“You just don’t think that these dreams that seem so silly and so impossible could ever really come true,” KATE remarked backstage.
The British actor seemed a shoo in to win this year. She gained OSCAR momentum after snagging a BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS award at the GOLDEN GLOBES for her role as a former Nazi guard in THE READER, as well as BEST DRAMATIC ACTRESS for her role as an unhappy wife in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD.
But KATE received more recognition on the awards circuit for THE READER. Her portrayal of HANNA SCHMITZ – a woman having a passionate affair with a teenager who encounters her again years later while she is on trial for Holocaust crimes – was raw and restrained, netting her additional trophies at BAFTA and SAG.
For his demented reinvention of BATMAN villain THE JOKER, HEATH LEDGER became only the second actor ever to win posthumously.
His OSCAR for the WARNER BROTHERS blockbuster was accepted by HEATH’S parents and sister on behalf of the actor’s three year old daughter, MATILDA.
“I have to say this is ever so humbling, just being amongst such wonderful people in such a wonderful industry,” said his father KIM LEDGER.
“We’d like to thank the Academy for recognizing our son’s amazing work, Warner Brothers and Christopher Nolan in particular for allowing Heath the creative licence to develop and explore this crazy Joker character.”
MILK writer DUSTIN LANCE BLACK offered an impassioned tribute to the man whose name is the title of his film.
“If Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he would want me to say to all the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told they are less than by the churches, by the government, by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value, and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights, federally, across this great nation of ours.”
LIST OF WINNERS:
BEST PICTURE
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
ACTOR
SEAN PENN – MILK
ACTRESS
KATE WINSLET – THE READER
SUPPORTING ACTOR
HEATH LEDGER – THE DARK KNIGHT
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
PENELOPE CRUZ – VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
DIRECTOR
DANNY BOYLE – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
DUSTIN LANCE BLACK – MILK
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
SIMON BEAUFOY – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
ANIMATION
WALL-E
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
DEPARTURES
ORIGINAL SCORE
A.R. RAHMAN – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
SONG
JAI HO – SUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
ART DIRECTION
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
COSTUME DESIGN
THE DUCHESS
MAKEUP
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
EDITING
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
DOCUMENTARY
MAN ON WIRE
SOUND EDITING
THE DARK KNIGHT
SOUND MIXING
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD
JERRY LEWIS
