Oscar Night 2008: LIVE BLOGGING

In summation . . .

Well, I can honestly say it's been an interesting awards show! It proceeded on schedule for the most part, with No Country taking home the major awards it was expected to, and Daniel Day-Lewis winning Best Actor—though I never expected the Best Actress and Supporting Actress categories (along with several others, like Best Original Song and Best Visual Effects) to proceed as they did. But all things considered, it was a good Oscar ceremony! The surprises made it worth watching, and Jon Stewart proved to be an excellent host this time around.

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11:46 pm

Best Picture: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Scott Rudin for No Country for Old Men — Again, I was hoping for There Will Be Blood. But it was quite nice to see Denzel presenting Best Picture.

Best Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men — Doh! I was hoping for Paul Thomas Anderson, but the Coens did just make movie history by being the first pair to win Best Director since 1961.

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11:36 pm

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood — Another one that was clearly a lock, but having seen There Will Be Blood, I can honestly say this Oscar was righteously deserved.

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11:29 pm

Okay, now for the final big three! While these last three winners are somewhat predictable, the suspense in the air is palpable, because this has been an evening of great surprises! Will these last awards go out on schedule, or are all bets off?

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11:26 pm

Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody for Juno — I say again, is this really a surprise? Though I like that tattoo Diablo Cody has on her right arm!

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11:18 pm

Best Original Score: Dario Marianelli for Atonement — Doh! I was hoping for James Newton Howard for Michael Clayton. But at least I'm consoled by the fact that Amy Adams is smokin' hot!

Best Documentary, Short Subject: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth for Freeheld — Like Best Animated Short, this too was an original way to present the nominees—a video feed from troops in Iraq!

Best Documentary Features: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner for Taxi to the Dark Side — I'm just breathing a big sigh of relief that Michael Moore isn't back up on the Oscar stage . . .

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11:05 pm

Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit for There Will Be Blood — Oooh, I was expecting Roger Deakins for Jesse James, but I'll agree with this call as well.

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10:57 pm

Now that was a nice gesture—letting Markéta Irglová come back on stage to finish her acceptance speech. Good call, very classy.

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10:52 pm

Best Original Song: Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová for the song "Falling Slowly" from Once — Yet another surprise! Because like Dreamgirls last year, I thought Enchanted would score a victory with one of its three songs in the lineup.

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10:45 pm

Best Foreign Language Film: Die Fälscher from Austria — I'm gonna have to visit the E Street Cinema sometime to see some of these foreign films. Because I think The Lives of Others played there last year.

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10:33 pm

Best Film Editing: Christopher Rouse for The Bourne Ultimatum — Okay, make that three Oscars for The Bourne Ultimatum! :)

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10:28 pm

Okay, Jack, you had me scared there for a minute. I thought for some reason they were going to do Best Picture early this year, too!!!

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10:15 pm

Best Sound Editing: Karen M. Baker and Per Hallberg for The Bourne Ultimatum — You know, I think this might be the first Bourne film to win an Oscar!

Best Sound: Scott Millan, David Parker, and Kirk Francis for The Bourne Ultimatum — Wow, Bourne Ultimatum wins two Oscars!!! This I didn't expect, but I'm certainly not complaining. :)

Best Actress: Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose — Wow, they did this award early this year! Usually it's saved for close to the end of the show, along with actor, director, and picture. But then again, the 2005 ceremony started right off the bat with Best Supporting Actor, so I guess the precedent's already been set. But getting back to the Best Actress award, this was another surprise, because I was thinking it'd be either Julie Christie or Ellen Page.

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9:50 pm

Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men — I think having Josh Brolin, a No Country co-star (and who will always remain Brand from Goonies to me), was something of a giveaway. Though I'm wondering why their speech came to an abrupt end.

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9:41 pm

Best Live Action Short: Philippe Pollet-Villard for Les Mozart des pickpockets — It's very good to see Owen Wilson back on the scene. And I think Philippe Pollet-Villard's English is pretty good, despite his claims to the contrary.

Best Animated Short: Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman for Peter & the Wolf — That was a very original way to present this award—Jerry Seinfeld in his bee character from Bee Movie, even doing an animated envelope!

Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton — Okay I admit, this one really surprised me. For a while, I had no idea who would take home this gold trophy, because it seemed like a five-way tie all around. If anything, I had expected Amy Ryan to edge ahead of the competition, and I hadn't really thought much of Tilda Swinton's performance in Michael Clayton. But I guess surprises like this are what make the Oscar ceremonies so interesting.

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9:19 pm

Best Visual Effects: Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, and Trevor Wood for The Golden Compass — Wow, I didn't realize The Rock would be presenting an award tonight! And I admit to being surprised, because I thought Pirates was a sure-fire shoo-in for this award, running practically neck-and-neck with Transformers.

Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for Sweeney Todd — This makes perfect sense, being a Tim Burton film (which I alluded to last night). Though I don't think Cate Blanchett played a pit bull in No Country for Old Men.

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men — Now I ask you, was this really a surprise? I was really hoping for Tom Wilkinson, but I was kind of resigned to Javier winning. And he noticed, too, that you have to speak fast in acceptance speeches! I'm glad he called out the orchestra on that.

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9:02 pm

Damn, Amy Adams is hot! And we're approaching the first of the acting awards soon!

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8:58 pm

Best Animated Feature: Brad Bird for Ratatouille — Okay, now Brad Bird should have been given a chance to finish his acceptance speech. It seemed like he had a very short window to talk. But on another note, did Steve Carrell say "shot" or "shit"?

Best Makeup: Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald for La Vie en Rose — Again, let them finish their acceptance speeches! Especially since there were two winners (and the first was a man of very few words).

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8:43 pm

Best Costume Design: Alexandra Byrne for Elizabeth: The Golden Age — Awesome! First award of the night! This seemed like the logical choice, being that it was a heavy regal period piece.

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8:40 pm

Okay, this is the Jon Stewart I was hoping for two years ago! Witty, funny, clever, engaging—this is the Oscar host that we need, and thankfully the one we received. :)

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8:37 pm

All things considered, I think Jon Stewart handled the topic of the writer's strike as good as could be. At first, I was a little nervous (and I wasn't sure what to make of the "make-up sex" comment), but the idea of writers and actors coming together (outside of the Vanity Fair after-party, that is) is a good idea and a good springboard from which to move forward.

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8:30 pm

All righty, looks like this party is about to get started!!! :)

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8:26 pm

Gee, no pressure from Regis tonight! 'Cause nothing makes a group of dancers feel more confident and composed than reminding them that the whole world is watching you live on TV, looking for any little slip-up!

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8:17 pm

Wow, Daniel Day-Lewis looks very different than I remember him! I'd gotten so used to seeing him in the characters of Bill The Butcher and Daniel Plainview that I'd forgotten how he looked without the facial hair and makeup. (Though I don't think those earrings look right on him.)

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8:07 pm

Okay, that interview comment about John Travolta wearing/not wearing a dress in recognition of Hairspray was somewhat unexpected. Though I did enjoy Kelly Preston's dress!

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8:00 pm

It's time to get this party started, y'all, because this is the night that all of Hollywood and movie fans everywhere have been waiting for! The Red Carpet has been rolled out, the stars are showing up, and with the writer's strike now resolved, the show can go on! (Talk about excellent timing.) I'm crossing my fingers that Jon Stewart proves to be a worthy and engaging host, much like Ellen DeGeneres was last year. I must admit, I had reservations when I learned that he'd be hosting this year, because I found him a bit too deadpan and uninteresting when he hosted the ceremony two years ago. But the next 40 minutes or so will probably be filled with interviews and photo shoots, so keep it here until then!