Nice touches for this year’s Oscars, including insightful and sometimes touching introductions of this year’s acting nominees by notable past winners; a terrific musical sequence featuring A.R. Rahman, John Legend and the Soweto Gospel Choir; and a Busby Berkeley-style dance sequence, capped with Jackman’s shout, “The musical is back!” (well, not quite).
Best picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Said Christian Colson, Slumdog’s producer: “We had passion and we had belief and our film shows that if you have those two things then truly anything is possible.”
Best actor: Sean Penn, Milk.
Penn (joking): “You commie, homo-loving sons of guns. I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me, often” and “Mickey Rourke rises again, and he is my brother.”
Best actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Winslet: “I think we can’t believe that we’re all in the same category at all. I’m sorry Meryl, you’ll have to just suck that up.”
Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Foreign Language Film: Departures (Japan)
Original song: A.R. Rahman, “Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire
Rahman talked about how Slumdog is about “optimism and the power ofhope in our lives. All my life I’ve had a choice of hate and love. I chose love, and I’m here. God bless.”
Original score: Slumdog Millionaire
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was presented to Jerry Lewis, who has raised $2 BILLION — I was stunned by this number — for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. No surprises, just a brief thanks. I’m thinking that Lewis probably deserved a more extensive tribute, at least via a longer series of clips from his films and a more expansive explanation of his impact on film comedy than that offered by Eddie Murphy.
Editing: Slumdog Millionaire
Sound mixing: Slumdog Millionaire
Sound editing: The Dark Knight
Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Documentary short: Smile Pinki
Documentary feature: Man on Wire
Supporting actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Ledger’s father, mother and sister accepted on his behalf. Sister: “We proudly accept this award on behalf of your beautiful Matilda (his daughter)”
Live Action Short: Toyland
Director of Toyland: “I spent four years of my life making this 14-minute movie.”
Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
Ben Stiller offered a hilarious impression of Joaquin Phoenix, circa his recent, bizarre visit with David Letterman – i.e., Stiller, wearing an out-of-control beard, and chewing gum, was entirely distracted. Stiller: “I just want to retire from being a funny guy.” He aimlessly wandered around while Natalie Portman talked about cinematography.
Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Costume Design: The Duchess
Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Animated Short Film: La Maison en Petits Cubes
Director Kunio Kato ended his speech with “Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto” (from the Styx song)
Animated Feature: Wall-E
Wall-E director Andrew Stanton thanked his high-school drama teacher for casting him in “Hello, Dolly”
Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Simon Beaufoy said that the cast and crew taught him so much about India and “changed my life.”
Original Screenplay: Milk
Funny “instructional” sequence about screenwriting, with Steve Martin and Tina Fey. And terrific quick illustration of how screenplay translates to a movie.
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Cruz spoke about the long road from her lowly origins to the Oscars, and said: “Art in any form is and has been and always will be our universal language and we should do everything we can to protect its survival.”
After what feels like the longest Oscars PR run-up in Academy Awards history, the 81st annual