Oscars 2013 - 85th Academy Awards - Live Blog - 2/24/2013
Welcome, everyone, to the live blog for the 85th Academy Awards! And I can't tell you what a privilege it is to be covering this here with all of you. I used to do this for free for thirteen years, so forgive me if it still hasn't completely sunken in that I'm getting paid to do something I love: cover the Oscars.
But enough about my pencil-pushing Oscar-nerdery. The most exciting awards season in the history of film awards finally comes to a close tonight. Who will take home Oscar gold? And what, if any, upsets will occur? Sound off in the comments, and enjoy the show!
Credit: ABC/AMPAS
Let's get this show on the road!
OPENING MONOLOGUE
-I adore the elegant simplicity of this Oscar stage.
-Seth MacFarlane: "Welcome to the Oscars. The Quest to Make Tommy Lee Jones Laugh begins NOW." (And TLJ actually LAUGHS)
Credit: AMPAS
-Apparently, the theme for the Oscars this year is Music In Film. I have no idea how that slipped past me.
-Cute quip about Ben Affleck being ignored by the Academy. That one is going to be an albatross around the Academy's neck for AGES.
-MacFarlane has a very classic, old-time entertainer sensibility that I love. I'm not trying to marry the guy or anything, but I really don't get why people hate him. It's not like he's had anything to do with the nightmare that is "Family Guy", other than providing the voices, since 2007.
-Aaaaand our first Chris Brown/Rihanna joke of the evening. This is going to be a long-ass night.
-William Shatner via pre-taped vignette from the future, talking about MacFarlane being the worst Oscar host of all-time. He introduces a "clip from the show" of MacFarlane singing a song about the nominees' boobs, which is actually what most people were expecting from his hosting job. It's a clever lampshading of the low-brow expectations of MacFarlane as host, but it's really not subverting anything by actually indulging in the crass humor he's been talking about avoiding.
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-And now Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron are doing their best Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers impression while MacFarlane sings "The Way You Look Tonight," and I'll probably catch hell for saying so, but I kind of love this.
Credit: ABC
Credit: AMPAS
-And all that good will is immediately eroded by a sock puppet parody of "Flight."
-Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are out onstange to sing and dance alongside MacFarlane for a production of "High Hopes." So for every lousy sketch, we get a good one. That said, I can't remember a monologue in recent history that ran this long.
Credit: AMPAS
-A "Flying Nun" reference in 2013? Jesus, Seth, you look like a crayon with ears. We continue keeping it current with a "Smokey and the Bandit" reference.
-He closes out the monologue (at least, I hope this is the closer) with a performance of "Be Our Guest." I can't front on "Beauty and the Beast" for any reason. Joaquin Phoenix, however, doesn't share my enthusiasm.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
-Octavia Spencer, last year's Best Supporting Actress winner for "The Help", is out to present the most notoriously difficult category to predict this year. I'm sticking with De Niro against all logic to the contrary (he hasn't won a single thing all awards season). I'm prone to fitfully illogical hunches.
-I love Tommy Lee Jones' clip. Somehow along the season, I've forgotten just how good he was in "Lincoln".
-Huge applause for Waltz. Could he win it?
Winner: Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"
-He kicks things off by giving his fellow nominees his respect, and saying his unlimited gratitude goes to his character, "Dr. King Schultz", and the man who created him: Quentin Tarantino. He goes on to thank his entire cast and the crew, one at a time. "We participated in a hero's journey, the hero here being Quentin Tarantino."
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
-Back from break with Melissa McCarthy and a ragged-looking Paul Rudd presenting the award. They do an underwhelming bit in which they pretend to play characters brought to life via animation. It goes on for WAY too long.
Winner: "Paperman"
John Kahrs thanks his partners at Disney, his producers, his cast and his crew, as well as his wife and kids. Short and sweet. I like it.
We keep things moving, with Rudd and McCarthy presenting the next category.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Winner: "Brave"
That damn Pixar pedigree has done it again! And I'm 0/2 in the Oscar Pool (while my mother, of all people, is batting 1000).
Mark Andrews (in a kilt, which he swears is a coincidence) and Brenda Chapman thank their families. Again, short, sweet and to the point.
REESE WITHERSPOON introduces three Best Picture nominees
We get brief montages of "Les Miserables", "Life of Pi" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild." I don't think I ever got over the surprise of "Beasts" getting nominated. Not because it doesn't deserve it, but because it's so far outside what the Academy usually goes for. Sometimes, their tastes really do surprise me, in a good way.
Also, "Life of Pi" is a f***ing masterpiece. There isn't a single frame of that film I didn't love.
And The Avengers are out to present our next award...
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Chris Evans jokes about Robert Downey Jr. being short while Jeremy Renner jokes about Samuel L. Jackson being old, before admitting that he, too, was talking about RDJ.
Winner: Claudio Miranda, "Life of Pi"
Poor Roger Deakins. Will he EVER win a frigging Oscar?
Claudio Miranda: "This movie was such a beast to make." Oh, I believe it.
We get our first choked-up speech of the night. His hair makes him look like a homeless Fabio. Congrats to him though.
And we get right into our next award...
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Does the presence of The Avengers cast presenting mean that The Avengers will win?
...Nope.
Winner: Life of Pi
The four men to win the award admit that while what you see onscreen may be fake, a lot of work goes into the process of making it look as real as possible. They thank the usual suspects: family, cast, crew...until they get played offstage by the theme from JAWS.
That is just PROFOUNDLY awesome.
Back from break with Jennifer Aniston and Channing Tatum to present our next award...
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
And the Oscar goes to...
Winner: Jacqueline Durran, "Anna Karenina"
Durran: "My children are completely oblivious to this. They're fast asleep in England." I love the British.
We move right onto our next award...
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
It's the new addition of "Hairstyling" to the category that might clinch it for "The Hobbit," but I'm sticking with "Les Miserables." Let's see...
Winner: "Les Miserables"
More British folk, FTW! Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell talk about what an incredible honor it is to win, and it's only now that it's dawning on me what a pointless enterprise it is to report on acceptance speeches, particularly in the tech categories, since hardly anyone deviates from the boilerplate Family, Cast, Crew speech. But hey, in for a penny, in for a pound.
And now, former Bond girl Halle Berry is here to present a special tribute...
FIFTY YEARS OF JAMES BOND
-We get a montage, of course, because the Academy gets harder than rolled steel at the opportunity to present a montage. I forgot how silly some of these films were. Of course, still love'em. There's just something about a James Bond film that's sort of like pizza: even when it's bad, it's still pretty decent.
-DAME SHIRLEY BASSEY! She's dressed head-to-toe in a gold sequin dress, which is fitting since she's performing the theme from "Goldfinger." You know, she looks outstanding for her age. Sounds great, to boot.
Credit: AMPAS
-DAMN! #DatGloryNote
-Damn right, a standing ovation. Wait, THAT'S IT for the tribute? Really? Ah well, at least Dame Shirley brought it home.
-Back from break, Seth thanks Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and music producer Don Mischer, saying that working with these men is an experience everyone with Hollywood should get the chance to have.
-Kerry Washington and Jamie Foxx are out to present...
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
For the first time, screeners of the nominees were made available to ALL Academy members (previously, you could only vote for the award if you attended an official Academy screening).
Winner: "Curfew"
Shawn Christensen thanks his producer and his 12-year-old star. He also thanks the outstanding cinematography, and the crew in New York and France. Also his mother, his "devilishly handsome" father, and his wife, who he calls the center of his universe.
We keep things moving at a brisk pace, as Washington and Foxx present...
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Winner: "Inocente"
I think this might be the first year I got all three shorts categories. Trust me, it has nothing to do with skill and everything to do with luck.
Andrea Nix Fine speaks for her team. She's got this weird Black Swan-looking dress that looks really cumbersome. So glad I'm not a woman or a drag queen. I'd be tripping all over the place.
LIAM NEESON introduces three Best Picture nominees
We get clips of "Argo", "Lincoln" and "Zero Dark Thirty".
It's funny to see Liam Neeson presenting "Lincoln", since he was the frontrunner for the lead role when Steven Spielberg wanted to make the movie in the late-90s.
Also, it's a shame about Jessica Chastain losing all steam in the race. I really loved her work. Granted, it's still not impossible for her to win. Hell, nothing is impossible with this season. But I'd be surprised.
Seth MacFarlane makes quips about John Wilkes Booth being the only actor to really get in Lincoln's head, and another comparing Ben Affleck to the Kardashians. Aaaand we segue into the introduction of our next presenter, Ben Affleck.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
I'm guessing "Searching For Sugar Man," but really none of these films winning would surprise me. It's a really strong year for this category.
And the Oscar goes to...
Winner: "Searching For Sugarman"
The Jaws theme kicks in again to play the winners off, and it's less cute the second time around. What, could they not get the rights to the theme from "The Terminator"?
Seth MacFarlane: "We're all dressed up. It's Sunday. This is like church, except more people are praying."
Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain are out to present the next Oscar...
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
And the Oscar goes to...
Winner: "Amour"
Michael Haneke accepts the award and thanks his producers and his actors, saying that without them, he wouldn't be standing here. I've never seen Salma Hayek looking more bored.
Seth MacFarlane thanks the Oscar band, which apparently isn't even in the building! They're performing the music live from an adjacent studio. Crazy.
In keeping with the theme of "Music In Film", John Travolta is out to introduce a tribute to movie musicals, featuring Jennifer Hudson, the cast of "Les Miserables" and Catherine Zeta-Jones, on behalf of "Chicago."
TRIBUTE TO MOVIE MUSICALS (PERFORMANCE)
Yup, Catherine Zeta-Jones has definitely still got it. And no, I don't give a damn that it's a lip-synced number. "All That Jazz" is more about the choreography than any other element, I'd argue. Don't get me wrong, it's a good song and all. But I'd rather see CZJ lip-sync the song and dance than sing it live and stand still.
Credit: AMPAS
And we move on to the "Dreamgirls" portion of the tribute. Jennifer Hudson performs "And I Am Telling You, I'm Not Going". I bet she's just glad to be in something on TV that more than a million people are watching. You know, a smash....instead of a "Smash."
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To the surprise of no one, it's a total showstopper that nets her a standing ovation. Even Jack Nicholson is blown away. But we're not through yet, as we move on to...
The cast of "Les Miserables", starting with Hugh Jackman performing Best Original Song nominee "Suddenly," followed by Anne Hathaway joining him in a duet - a medley of songs from the show. And here's Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried. Oh hey there, Samantha Barks. That backstage area is like a clown car of singers. Here's Aaron Tveit and Russell Crowe looking slightly irritated. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen seem amused by the entire spectacle. At least until they're engulfed by a small army of background singers. They conclude with "One Day More", earning a standing ovation from the crowd.
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-Back from break with Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana to present...
THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARDS MONTAGE
-We get a brief video about the honorees at the Scientific and Technical Awards honoring innovations in (what else?) film science and technology.
Seth takes a shot at his own movie, saying that bums are probably urinating on it at a Redbox outside a supermarket somewhere. We just wanted a little humility, Seth.
And out comes Mark Wahlberg and TED himself. The CG for this is outstanding. Their presenters' banter, considerably less so.
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BEST SOUND MIXING
Winner: "Les Miserables"
Not a surprise, since Musicals tend to do well here.
After a sweet, if boilerplate, acceptance speech, Wahlberg and Ted present the next category. Ted tries to get Wahlberg to pretend he's Jewish, rationalizing that he'll never work in Hollywood again if he doesn't. Ted then insists to the audience that he's Jewish himself.
BEST SOUND EDITING
WE HAVE A TIE?!WE HAVE A TIE!
For the first time in close to twenty years, I believe. Crazy!First winner: "Zero Dark Thirty"
Second winner: "Skyfall"
This is out-of-this world. So glad "Skyfall" won something, but if you'd have told me there would be a tie, and that "Life of Pi" wouldn't even be one of the winners, I'd have had committed you to a sanitarium.
We then move into my favorite bit of the night so far, where Seth reenacts the escape scene from "The Sound of Music" while introducing Christopher Plummer, motioning to "The Von Trapp Family Singers", who are, of course, already gone.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
I love that, after all these years, Plummer still seems to resent that he's best known for "The Sound of Music." That said, his introductory speech is both beautiful and funny, talking about the talent of the women involved, and how honored he would be to work with any of them "in my next thirty films."
Winner: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Credit: AMPAS/ABC/AwardsDaily.com
The easiest category to predict, of all the awards tonight. I'll never understand, in a million f****** years why every last person I meet, to a man, hates this woman. I can't think of a single film star in the last twenty years who received this much irrational, undeserved hatred. She's a tremendous talent and a beautiful, guilelessly charming individual. I couldn't be happier for her.
Anne Hathaway, fighting back tears: "It finally came true."
She thanks Hugh Jackman, Tom Hooper, and everyone involved in the making of the film, along with her personal team. She adds that, in several years, she hopes that the troubles of Fantine will only be found in stories.
-Back from break with Academy president Hawk Koch, who makes an announcement that an Academy Museum will be opening soon, adding that it's the first such Museum of its kind.
He also introduces the winners of the Academy Student Filmmaking Awards.
-We then move on to Sandra Bullock, out to present the Oscar for...
BEST FILM EDITING
After an amusing life-or-death struggle with the envelope, the Oscar goes to...
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Winner: "Argo"
Editor William Goldenberg thanks his crew, Warner Bros., producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov, writer Chris Terrio, and director Ben Affleck (first "thank you" to Ben tonight!). He also, naturally, thanks his family.
Jennifer Lawrence is out, looking absolutely stunning, to present...
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ADELE PERFORMING "SKYFALL"
For a night that's ostensibly about "Music In Film", this is only the second of two Best Original Song performances so far (and "Suddenly" was only a forty-second portion of the "Les Miserables" medley). That said, Norah Jones is performing "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from "Ted" later. Unfortunately, I fear the other two nominees, "Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi" and "Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice", are going to be SOL.
This is neck-and-neck with "Nobody Does It Better" as my favorite Bond theme. And Adele absolutely slays this. She also looks gorgeous, although I'm surprised she never seems to get sick of sequins.
-Back from break with...
NICOLE KIDMAN presenting the final three Best Picture nominees
Nicole Kidman doesn't appear to have aged a day since she won Best Actress ten years ago for "The Hours." Seriously, I guess something about being wed to Keith Urban does a body good.
We get clips from "Silver Linings Playbook," "Django Unchained" and "Amour."
Loved the "Django" segment, intercutting the Broomhilde story of legend with the Broomhilde story of the movie.
Daniel Radcliffe and Kristen Stewart are out next. For once, Kristen Stewart doesn't look like she'd rather be anywhere else in the f****** world.
Actually, scratch that. The smile is gone.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
And the Oscar goes to...
Winner: "Lincoln"
Took "Lincoln" long enough. I was beginning to wonder if/when they'd ever actually win something, as I just couldn't imagine they'd get through all of the tech categories without winning anything. Of course, being something of a moron, I didn't actually predict it in any of the tech categories.
Salma Hayek is here to present clips from The Governors Awards, which used to be on the Oscar telecast itself, before producers decided that the Honorary Oscars are part of the reason the ceremony runs so damn long. I've always felt that was a pretty big shame, if only because the Honorary Awards have produced some great Oscar moments in the past.
-Back from break with a haggard-looking George Clooney to introduce...
THE "IN MEMORIAM" TRIBUTE
I completely forgot Ernest Borgnine passed away. R.I.P.
And Barbra Streisand closes out the "In Memoriam" segment with her tribute to her friend, the late composer Marvin Hamlisch. She gives her first Oscar performance in 36 years, singing one of Hamlisch's best-known compositions, "The Way We Were." Ol' Babs hasn't lost a step, although I'd get a little choked up hearing this song out of just about anybody.
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She receives rousing applause from the audience (and possibly a standing ovation, though we don't get to see if she does, as fade to black -- as the show does every year after the In Memoriam -- before we can see).
We return from break with the reunited cast of "Chicago" (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere and Queen Latifah) to present our next award...
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
And the Oscar goes to...
Winner: "Life of Pi"
What a wonderful, well-deserved win. The "Chicago" cast remains onstage to present the next category...
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Norah Jones performs "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" after we see and hear brief clips from the other two nominated songs, from "Chasing Ice" and "Life of Pi," respectively. Such a shame that those other songs didn't get an opportunity to be performed on the show. This is one of the strongest years for the category since the back-to-back awesome of the 2001 and 2002 nominees.
Winner: "Skyfall"
Adele looks like she's going to start crying half-way down the aisle. She nearly trips over her dress.
She breaks down during her acceptance speech, simply finishing by thanking her "man", saying "I love you, baby" and letting co-writer Paul Epworth speak.
-We return from break with Dustin Hoffman and Charlize Theron to present the next award. Hoffman first, however, compliments Theron on her dancing. (I KNOW, right?)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
And the Oscar goes to...
Winner: Chris Terrio, "Argo"
Terrio is breathless, and says he shares this with the other nominees in the category, particularly the legendary Tony Kushner. He also thanks Ben Affleck, citing that fifteen years ago he stood on the stage accepting an Oscar for screenwriting, and that without him, the movie would never have been made. He also thanks Tony Mendez and the men and women who find ways to solve conflicts non-violently. What a lovely, poignant speech.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
And the Oscar goes to...
Winner: Quentin Tarantino, "Django Unchained" (!!!!)
Credit: AMPAS
Wow. Totally shocked, but in a good way. I was beginning to think they'd never give him another Oscar again.
He mentions that Charlize is his neighbor, and shouts out Dustin Hoffman as well. He says that his movies will be remembered by the characters he creates, and that he only had one shot to get this right. He thanks the competition in both Adapted and Original Screenplay races, saying that this will be The Writer's Year. Kerry Washington struggles to hold back her tears, and you know she's gorgeous because she can look achingly lovely while crying. That's a rare feat. Leave it to actors, I guess.
-We return with a few jokes about Hollywood parenting from Seth before seguing into our next presenters, screen legends who are the children of screen legends, Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda.
BEST DIRECTOR
And the Oscar goes to...
Winner: ANG LEE, "LIFE OF PI" (YES!)
I got this category wrong and I could not possibly be happier. He gets a standing ovation, as he damn well should.
Ang Lee is a man for all seasons. I can't possibly communicate my respect for him in words.
Credit: ABC/AMPAS/AwardsDaily.com
He thanks the studio, his team, Yann Martel for writing the book, and his lawyers (because, as he says, he has to -- in one of the few funny moments of an acceptance speech tonight).
-Back from break with last year's Best Actor winner Jean Dujardin weaving some more of his infamous charm, saying that if he were like this year's Best Actress nominees, he'd be a better actor.
BEST ACTRESS
And the Oscar goes to...
Winner: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
She trips on her way up.
Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
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Once onstage, she attributes the standing ovation she's receiving to having tripped on her way up. She's completely out of breath and thanks everyone involved with the making of the film, as you might expect an Oscar winner to do. She gets off the stage as if she's in a hurry to come down off whatever cloud she's riding. It's one of the shorter speeches of the night, actually.
BEST ACTOR
Seth MacFarlane: "And now, a star who needs no introduction." He then exits stage left as Meryl Streep takes the Oscar stage. Cute.
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Meryl Streep, who opened the envelope during the performance clips, wastes no time announcing Day-Lewis as the winner. He receives a triumphant standing ovation, as the first man to win three Oscars in the Lead Actor category.
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Once again proving what a remarkable actor he is, DDL looks about ready to break down with emotion before transitioning into a joke about being a frontrunner for the role of Margaret Thatcher, while adding that Meryl Streep, ironically, was the frontrunner to play Abraham Lincoln. Awesome.
He talks about the strange men his wife has lived with throughout their marriage (in reference to his notoriously rigorous method acting skills).
He thanks the three men who made this possible: Steven Spielberg, Tony Kusher, and the MInd, Body, and Spirit of Abraham Lincoln. "For My Mother."
BEST PICTURE
Has anyone presented this category more times than Jack Nicholson? Seriously.
Jack introduces a special guest co-presenter, live via satellite: First Lady Michelle Obama!
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She gives a brief speech about what each of these films means to us as a community, and my brief recap can't really do it justice. She throws back to Jack Nicholson, who reads off the list of Best Picture nominees.
Michelle Obama receives an envelope and rads the winner.
And the final Oscar of the evening goes to...
Winner: "ARGO"!!!
Producers George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Ben Affleck take the stage to accept the award, and I imagine the standing ovation is more for Ben than anyone else. Grant Heslov is the first person to speak, briefly joking about the three of them being "the sexiest producers in Hollywood", and acknowledging George Clooney and others who worked on the film, before thanking his family. He says he wanted to speak for Ben because he's the producer on the film and the director, and it would be awkward for him to thank himself. He thanks Ben Affleck for his tremendous work on the film, before introducing Ben Affleck to speak.
Ben thanks Steven Spielberg, who he feels is a genius. He also thanks Jackie Gleason, Martin Brest, his brother, all the Best Picture nominees as well as the other great films that weren't nominated, all the people who worked on the film, and all the people of Canada and Iran, and his wife ("who I don't normally associate with Iran!"). He breaks down as he thanks Jennifer Garner for their marriage, saying that it's been work, but it's the best kind of work. This is a beautiful mirror of his first Oscar speech, all rambling, emotional enthusiasm. He says that you can't go through life holding grudges, and that if you get knocked down, you're defined by how you get back up. (Or something to that effect. I was really caught up in what a beautiful moment this was. I'm a sucker for Ben)
Credit: ABC/AMPAS
SHOW-CLOSING NUMBER
Over the credits, Kristin Chenoweth takes the stage with Seth MacFarlane to sing a show-closing song dedicated to everyone who didn't win an Oscar this year.
To Quvenzhane Wallis: "You'll be at the future Oscars when all of us are dead."
To Bradley Cooper: "Get your chin off the floor. You'll get over it with Hangover 4."
They then mess up the lyrics of the song, and Kristin covers by thanking Seth MacFarlane in song. They then get back on track and finish strong, and dammit, I really enjoyed that song. Seth not only has a great voice, but he has this weirdly Bob Hope-esque, old-fashioned entertainer vibe (I mentioned it in the beginning, but it's even more apparent here). I can't imagine anyone would agree, but I'd love to see him back as host in the future.