Oscars 2008: The Good, the Bad, and the Photos

When I was seventeen, I actually had the chance to attend the Academy Awards. It was a fluke. I had sent a letter to the Academy telling them I wanted to be a film editor and was there any way I could go. The answer -- for some reason -- was yes. So my high school friend and I got dressed up and had her dad drop us off. It was the year Star Wars was up against Annie Hall , and as a senior in high school, I much preferred Lucas space saga to a romantic comedy by Woody Allen. When Annie Hall beat Star Wars , I had my first real taste of Oscar disappointment. As the years have passed and I see more movies, I seem to taste that disappointment more and more. But no matter how annoyed I get at the Oscars, I have to watch. But the thing to always keep in mind is that its a very clique-ish organization and "office politics" play a big role. West coast people are favored over east coast ones; people who are nice to work with score points for that as well as for their work. So as long as you realize that skill and outstanding achievement aren't the only thing that's being voted on, then you should be able to contain any disappointment -- or at least be prepared for it.

Here are a few observations about the night's events:

Since Oscar was celebrating its 80th birthday, there were a number of "Oscar memories" sprinkled throughout the evening. These were quickie interviews with past winners about what it felt like to win. But do we really need to hear Steven Spielberg talk about going up to receive his Schindler's List Oscar and feeling like he was going through male menopause? Doesn't he get enough press already? Couldn't they have singled out someone else? Plus, these "memories" extended the length of a show that everyone already knew would run long, and they added nothing to the proceedings.

There was a montage celebrating 80 years of Oscars and it was so painfully bad that it prompted my friend to say that he's seen better work on public access. The montage even had cheesy photo freeze frames. The clips were pieced together randomly with some of Oscar's best moments - like Clint Eastwood filling in for Charleton Heston when Moses had a flat tire and was late, or Brando sending Sacheen Littlefeather to reject his Oscar for The Godfather - were nowhere to be seen. This and other montages reminded me of how many awards went to either the wrong people or the right people but for the wrong films. Seeing a clip of Forrest Gump receiving the Best Picture Oscar, or Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson picking up their directing honors was almost enough to make me burst a blood vessel. The clips also reminded me that Al Pacino won his Oscar for one of his worst films, Scent of a Woman , while his stunning work in The Godfather films and Dog Day Afternoon were all passed over. Host Jon Stewart was grateful the writer's strike was over. Otherwise, he said the ahow would have had more montages. As an example he showed one of binoculars and periscopes. That was bad but deliberately and hilariously so.

Javier Bardem having fun with his new Oscar (Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S.)

The awards showed their international flavor with Javier Bardem thanking his mother in Spanish, and French director Philippe Pollet-Villard of the Best Live Action Short Le Mozart des Pickpockets confessing that he "doesn't really speak English." France's Cotillard struggled charmingly with both her English and her obvious excitement in her acceptance speech, while Dante Ferretti probably would have preferred to accept in Italian for his Best Production Design award for Sweeney Todd.

When the nominations for best editor were announced, I was shocked to see a picture for No Country For Old Men's editor Roderick Jaynes. I don't know who the gray-haired gentleman in the picture was but Jaynes is a pseudonym for the Coens who edit their own films.

Production designer Robert Doyle receiving an Honorary Oscar (A.M.P.A.S)

This year's honorary Oscar went to production designer Robert Boyle, who at 98, was helped out by Nicole Kidman and another woman. He may be physically frail but he seemed mentally sharp as he looked out at the Oscar crowd and his award and said: "this is the good part of getting old, I don't recommend the others." Boyle worked repeatedly with Hitchcock and on films such as In Cold Blood, Fiddler on the Roof and Winter Kills. And I guess it wouldn't be an Oscars commentary without a catty remark, but did it seem like Nicole Kidman had a hard time smiling? I thought it was a bad facelift but my friend suggested it was the side effects from too much botox. Either way she seemed pained when she tried to smile.

Best Song winners Marketa Irglova (a mere 19 years old) and Glen Hansard (A.M.P.A.S.)

Host Jon Stewart deserves praise for bringing out Glen Hansard's co-writer on the Oscar-winning song Falling Slowly , and allowing her to give her thanks. She was cut off by the Academy's stupid rule that allows winners some 30-45 seconds for their acceptance speeches. When they go over, the orchestra swells, microphone is cut, and teh winner booted off the stage. Since Hansard used up all their time, Irglova was unable to say anything. Thanks to Stewart or an attentive stage manager in the wings for being considerate enough to bring her back out so she could voice her appreciation and encourage everyone out there to dream big. I have always hated that rule about cutting off acceptance speeches. I understand if someone goes Mrs. Miniver on their acceptance speech (that refers to Greer Garson's 45 minute acceptance speech for Mrs. Miniver) , yeah cut them off. But the Oscars are supposed to be about honoring these people. Yet at their moment of glory, their time in the spotlight is limited to 30 seconds, and that's reduced to 5 or 10 if you are sharing the award with others. Cut the damn musical numbers or the stupid montages or the lame banter but let the winners have a chance to say something.

The happy winners backstage. (Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S.)

In the montage of people who have passed away in the last twelve months, another friend of mine accurately predicted that the final fade out would be saved for Heath Ledger, and it was. A moment of silence please. The montage also included African filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, which was a surprise since his films barely received any screen time here in the U.S. But at least Hollywood was willing to give him 2 seconds of their attention for a career of exquisite work.

Halle Berry and Dame Judi Dench... uh, I mean Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen (A.M.P.A.S.)

Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen, looking like twins were two of the evening's more amusing presenters. They claimed to be filling in for Halle Berry and Dame Judi Dench but they kept figting over who looked more like Halle Berry. Hill won through sheer persistence.

Taxi to the Darkside, Alex Gibney's exploration of the Bush Administration's interrogation practices and extraordinary rendition, won best documentary. The category has become the accepted place for politics within the Oscars. Gibney urged people to consider what our U.S. policies mean. But the focus on documentaries as political statements meant that two of the year's best documentaries - Deep Water and Crazy Love , two films without any politics - didn't even make the nominations.

One of the visual effects winners for Golden Compass offered a nice quote from Walt Disney about it being "kind of fun to do the impossible."

Fabulous filmmakers but not great speech makers -- The Coen Brothers. (A.M.P.A.S.)

The Coens, not known for being the most talkative of filmmakers, were done with their speeches well before the music started to play. Ethan said "thank you" for his Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, and then when he came back up on stage for the Directing award he said "I don't have a lot to add to what I said earlier. Thank you." Joel, the more gregarious of the two, offered thanks for "letting us play in our corner of the sandbox," and revealed that he and his brother had made a film about Henry Kissinger when they were kids.

The evening also boasted a few surpeises, at least for me. I never expected Tilda Swinton to win. Not because she didn't deserve the award but rather because I thought her too much of a Hollywood outsider and too audaciously original a talent to win over Academy voters. Hollywood is sometimes scared off by such talent. Her shocked reaction when they announced her name says it all. But I'm glad she won. Another surprise was Marion Cotillard's win. I was not a fan of La Vie En Rose but Cotillard's gleee at winning the Oscar was so genuine and effusive that I could almost forgive her for beating out the more deserving Julie Christie in Away from Her. I've noticed that in recent years, as the age of the Academy voters seems to be dropping, older performers such as Julie Christie and Hal Holbrook (another vet losing out to a younger star in the Supporting Actor category) are no longer winning even though often favored by oddsmakers.

Marion Cotillard reacts to her award. (A.M.P.A.S.)

Marion Cotillard still seemed in a state of disbelief back stage with Forest Whitaker.

Cotillard backstage at the 2008 Oscars. (A.M.P.A.S.)

The Queen Helen Mirren and her loyal subject Daniel Day-Lewis. (A.M.P.A.S.)

There was a nice moment when Daniel Day-Lewis came up to accept his award from Helen Mirren. He bowed at her feet and then told the audience that would the closest he'd ever get to being knighted. But if he keeps racking up awards, that might change. Earlier, actor Josh Brolin got down on bended knee before his writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen as he bestowed their Best Adapted Screenplay award on them.

Javier Bardem and Jon Stewart after the awards at the Governors Ball.

(A.M.P.A.S.)

Jon Stewart, who did a solid job of hosting, joked about the Vanity Fair party being cancelled. But he was happy to attend the Governors Ball. Here are a few pictures from those festivities.

A happy Javier Bardem and filmmakers Joel and Etahn Coen. (A.M.P.A.S.)

The Award-winning trio again. (A.M.P.A.S.)

And here's the final image I want to go out with, the happy award-winning performers of 2007. And did you notice? Not an Hollywood actor in sight. There's the Irish Day-Lewis, British Swinton, French Cotillard and Spanish Bardem. It was a nice change of pace.

Daniel Day-Lewis, Tilda Swinton, Marion Cotillard and Javier Bardem. (Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S.)

Well that's it for this year's awards. Check out the Academy's web site for a complete list of the nominees and the winners.