All of Hollywood came out in their best last night for the 2016 Oscars, held at The Dolby Theatre. The night had several surprise moments, from Mark Rylance’s win over odds on favorite Sylvester Stallone and that really freaking weird Stacey Dash bit, but also had incredible ones from Leonardo DiCaprio’s triumphant win after seven nominations and incredible performances from Lady Gaga and The Weeknd. With all of that, we also have the fashion, which made quite the statement last night. So who did we think hit the top in terms of overall look? Let’s run down our top five, all of whom have fab stores right here in the heart of Manhattan.
[Read more…] about Manhattan Digest’s List of The Best Dressed at The 2016 Oscars
Academy Awards
VIP Oscar Viewing Party at The Manhattan Cricket Club
The 88th annual Academy Awards will be taking place live this coming Sunday night on ABC. Will this finally be the year that Leonardo DiCaprio wins an Oscar for his role in “The Revenant”? Will Lady Gaga steal the show again with her Oscar nominated song “Til It Happens To You”? One thing is for certain, around the country and in NYC there will be several parties being thrown for this once a year soiree. So what is a good example of a great place to view this event? Why not try the beautiful Manhattan Cricket Club, which is nestled in the heart of the Upper West Side on W. 79th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam.
[Read more…] about VIP Oscar Viewing Party at The Manhattan Cricket Club
Iconic New York City Locations Used in Box Office Blockbusters
The 88th Academy Awards are a mere ten days away, with host Chris Rock sure to bring the laughs and fun throughout the night. Movies and television alike have a great tradition of using New York City as the backdrop to whatever story they are telling (Hello, Sex And The City), and in that backdrop you will find some iconic locations that helped mold the story that turned these movies into the blockbusters that they are known today. So which locations made the cut? You probably know many of them already. From iconic restaurants to hotels, these are the ones that made their debuts on the silver screen.
[Read more…] about Iconic New York City Locations Used in Box Office Blockbusters
Manhattan Digest’s 2014 Oscar Chat
Manhattan Digest film reviewers Peter Foy and Dane Benko discuss the major categories of this year’s Oscar nominations.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
PF: Well, the Best Animated Feature Film category has always interested me, as some of my picks for best film of the year were actually the winners in that category
DB: And this year has surprising selections.
PF: Yeah, no Pixar!
DB: And The Croods, for some reason. Frankly three of them only have a chance, Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises, Frozen, and Ernest & Celestine.
PF: Yeah, and I regret to say I had not heard of Ernest & Celestine till the announcement.
DB: Right, me either… I don’t think it’s going to win, but the nomination itself is a huge honor for it.
PF: Still, it seems to be that Miyazaki is an almost sure-bet.
DB: Yeah, Frozen has perhaps a chance because of the surprising amount of audience fondness of it, but frankly Miyazaki is too big of a name, regardless of the fact he’s won before (for Spirited Away).
PF: Yeah, it’s just the film is being hyped as his “farewell masterpiece,” so that alone should edge it towards the Academy’s favor. I wanted to see Frozen, but somehow it eluded me amidst the bustle of Oscar Season.
DB: Yeah, my Facebook feed is alive with talk about how awesome the songs are, and I was surprisingly engaged by the trailer, but this is the only time I’ve looked at the Animated section and felt at a loss as to where my year of movie watching went, precisely. And why the Croods?
PF: Yeah, that does seem an odd choice. Especially as Monsters University did receive decent critical recognition for a sequel, while it seemed like both audiences and critics were lukewarm towards The Croods. Hey, maybe they were persuaded to nominate it just to have a dark horse in there.
DB: In the end, last year’s Oscar win for Pixar seemed a little shoed in, so all in all I’m glad to see different options this year (even though I’m a die-hard Pixar fanboy), but I don’t think Despicable Me 2 or The Croods really replace that slot. Ernest & Celestine would be the most interesting win, but it’s already reaped a major award just by being featured. Frozen could be a surprise hit but only because audiences were surprisingly keen on it. But this year goes to Miyazaki
PF: I would agree, and I’m also totally for it. I feel that Miyazaki really has earned his coveted title as being perhaps the most celebrated animator of our generation, and has really made the medium an art form
Not only has he used animation to tell fantasy stories that appeal to all ages, but does them with a sense for wonderment and joy that most directors (including live-action ones) couldn’t even hope to capture.
I would call him the Walt Disney of Japan, but in all honesty I think he’s even greater than that.
DB: I still am not 100% sure he’s finished in the world of animation, the last few movies he’s made grumblings about being his last, but since he seems to want this one to underline his ouevre, I respect that.
PF: Yeah, I don’t know if this will really be his last film. He had said that about Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away also. But giving his age, and the acclaim and anticipation that this film is already receiving, then I feel it only builds to it’s stature for us to envision this as being his last work. Kind of like with Jay-z’s The Black Album! Same standard!
DB: But why The Croods?
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
DB: Scrolling up, how do you feel about the Supporting Actress nominees? I always have a difficult time with the actors segments., but it’s the actors that bring in the viewers, as the Oscars is really a celebrity showcase.
PF: Yes, very much so. I’m happy with the Supporting Actress nominations for the most part. I’m glad that they nominated Sally Hawkins, as I felt she gave a really strong and careful performance in Blue Jasmine, and I felt that some people didn’t acknowledge it due to Cate Blanchett’s lead.
DB: Sally Hawkins and June Squibb are the interesting ones. I… don’t see Jennifer Lawrence winning again. I love Jennifer Lawrence. She’s awesome. And she won last year. And I think the Academy thinks the same way I think about that.
PF: Yeah, Jennifer Lawrence was great though… and if the Academy wants to make history they may let her win as if she did win the best supporting role again this year, she would be the youngest actress to do so
DB: If the Academy Awards wants to make history (more on this when we discuss Best Picture), they’ll pick Lupita Nyong’o, which I wouldn’t be surprised to see. She did an amazing job in 12 Years a Slave, and 12 Years a Slave is pretty much a showcase of Oscar-quality talent. She may even be my pick.
PF: Yes, that’s true. She gave a very gripping performance, and her performances in the film’s most harrowing scenes were simply astonishing. She might be my pick as well, as any actress would need to go to intense places to deliver in a movie like that. I can’t comment on Julia Roberts as I haven’t seen August: Osage County
DB: I haven’t either. Fact is I’d be surprised if it wins many, or any, awards. I actually have the suspicion that the movie itself is different from the trailer, as the trailer seemed to highlight the reprehensible character Meryl Streep plays.
PF: Yeah, it’s not uncommon for trailers to be misleading these days.
DB: The movie clearly operates on that basis of ensemble performance. This is one reason why it would be sort of interesting to have an ensemble cast section for Oscars. But people’s reactions to it seem to be along the lines of, “I’m jealous of the dead character.”
PF: Ha, well if one film legitimizes the necessity for an inclusion of that category then it’s American Hustle, a film I think we will be discussing quite a bit of…
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
DB: I sort of want to head this one off by saying, I like Jonah Hill and all, and I loved This is the End, but his performance in The Wolf of Wall Street seemed more like he was acting out a sketch about being in a Martin Scorsese movie, than him actually acting in a movie directed by Scorsese. I’d even, in this list, eagerly give him the award for This is the End, because he played off himself perfectly, really subverting his own celebrity. I think Barkhad Abdi and Jared Leto seem like good contenders to add diversity to the list, but this really seems to be a showdown between Cooper and Fassbender.
PF: Yeah, I don’t think Jonah Hill has a chance. Barkhad Abdi is a fantastic actor though, and was just as strong a screen presence in Captain Phillips as Tom Hanks. Jared Leto might also get my honor for “best comeback performance” of the year, but yeah, it looks like it’s a showdown between Cooper and Fassbender, and I think the Academy is likely to tip in Fassbender’s favor.
BEST ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE:
PF: I actually was having a conversation with someone that Tom Hanks was snubbed a leading actor nomination the other day.
DB: Oh? I don’t know, hasn’t Tom Hanks sort of proven his Academy chops?
PF: Yeah, and in actuality I don’t think his performance was quite as remarkable as the other 5 gents that the Academy nominated this year. Although the climax to Captain Philips shows that there’s still plenty of range for the veteran actor
DB: The Best Actor category seems like one of the most competitive. It’s not surprising that many good roles were lost in the shuffle. I honestly have about as good a chance predicting this one as a Magic 8 Ball.
PF: Yeah, I know that feeling. I can tell you I’m rooting for Matthew McConaughey though. In fact I wanted to see him nominated for Killer Joe last year
DB: Yeah, I can see that. The Academy has this really bad habit of awarding talent the year after the movie they deserved to win for. It seems a lot of people feel Leonardo DiCaprio is overdue for an Oscar. I throw my support behind Chiwetel Ejiofor.
PF: Yeah, as 12 Years a Slave really is a star making performance for him. Getting back to snubs… I still think they could of fit Joaquin Phoenix in there…
DB: Oh man…
PF: …as I felt he deserved to win last year for his incredibly unique and volcanic performance in The Master.
DB: It was ridiculous. I didn’t even see Phoenix the person in Her. I certainly saw Phoenix in The Master, and still thought he was powerful. Oh and by the way, as a terrible Pynchon fan, I can’t wait to see him in Inherent Vice. He’ll rock Doc Sportello. But believe me, we’ll get to discussing Her in a bit!
PF: Ha! I can’t wait to see Inherent Vice!
DB: Maybe that’s why Phoenix wasn’t put up for this year. Next year is being prepped for a long anticipated Pynchon adaptation Oscar streak.
PF: If he wins next year, then I’ll be completely ecstatic about it! Back to the best acting nominees though…What do you think about Christian Bale getting another nod? I feel he might have another good chance to win, just cause it’s a role so different from what he’s played before, and he once again perfects it
DB: My opinion on Bale is best described by the scene in Rescue Dawn where he eats maggots with a …. maggot-eating grin: Dude chews scenery in a way I adore, but I wouldn’t give him an award. I feel like I’m more on a rollercoaster than watching a performance. I’d almost feel like giving him the golden man for American Hustle would be more boring than his performance deserves. But I’m not one of the voters, so what do I know?
PF: Bruce Dern is another likely contender. Either for an Oscar, or a lifetime achievement award. As you said all five of the nominees gave career highlights this year, but, who knows, maybe the average age of academy voters will dictate them voting for the oldest nominee in the bunch.
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
DB: Let’s start talking about Best Actress! No in all seriousness, this is one of the better line-ups of actresses in my memory, being that women are finally not always secondary characters in their own stories anymore.
PF: Yes, very much, although I feel that Brie Larsson was snubbed for her performance in Short Term 12
DB: Oh really? I… I don’t know what that is.
PF: It’s just it was a little-seen independent film with an arthouse veneer. So yeah, it’s not exactly the type of movie that would attract Oscar voters. I felt she just gave such a complex and hard-edged performance for that film.
DB: Well, you certainly caught me off-guard. I was gonna mention that Melissa McCarthy should have been nominated for The Heat. I am absolutely serious, she’s the Lou Costello of our generation.
PF: Yeah I didn’t see The Heat, but I thought she should have been nominated for Bridesmaids.
DB: But since Sandra Bullock got nominated instead for Gravity, that’s about the only segue I had to this otherwise eclectic mix of characters. Like Best Actor, I don’t even know where to start here.
PF: I feel Cate Blanchett might be the most likely contender
DB: Yeah Blue Jasmine was something else. I never thought Blanchett would top her performance in Coffee and Cigarettes. And of course there she only had a segment. Now she had to hold up a movie.
PF: Yeah, she gets serious props from me as she was able to balance the humor of her character against the distraught nature of her as well. What an ending too? It was rather disturbing I found.
DB: Actually now that you use that word, pretty much all the actresses this year had disturbing roles.
Bullock’s was the most lighthearted, and it was about the grief of losing a child! Or maybe Meryl Streep’s because we were supposed to laugh at her character?
PF: Yeah, that’s true. Although there aren’t many years when an actress gets nominated cause of how “happy” their performance was. Well for me Brie Larsson’s performance outshone the rest.
DB: Right. So we’re agreed. Brie Larsson should have won, and, uh… we have no clue who will win. But we can agree that all of these actresses do a fine job at making you feel sad.
PF: Yep! Exactly!
BEST PICTURE:
PF: Moving onto best picture now!
DB: Well alright then. To cut to the chase, I can’t help but feel this comes down to 12 Years a Slave versus Her. The rest of the movies are great.
PF: Really, I don’t think Her has much of a chance of winning. To be honest I wouldn’t have been surprised had it not even been nominated
DB: It’s been pretty much universally embraced by critics and audiences alike. And as a separate, specific feature, it’s good up and down and through and through. Good design, good performance, good acting, good editing, and a story that seems to be hitting close to an area big on people’s minds.
Plus Megan Ellison is about as celebrity as producers get.
PF: Yeah, but it’s not exactly an Oscar-type of movie. While it is a film about contemporary relationships, it’s also a high-concept sci-fi film that also seems aimed at indie-rock fans.
I think the two most likely picks for best picture are American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave. The former just comes off to me as this year’s Argo
DB: Yeah but that might be why it loses…
PF: Yeah, I thought about that as well, but it also seems hard for The Academy to resist it.
DB: 12 Years a Slave seems like a good pick because in a weird way we’re overdue for the sober social consciousness film. It also fits the Academy’s MO.
PF: Yeah, although I do notice that the Academy does still tend to like film’s that have a little bit of levity to them. Which 12 Years a Slave certainly does not have
DB: Well in theory, the purpose of these awards are to argue for artfulness of film. 12 Years a Slave is an important film whether you enjoyed it or not. So that sort of sets it to demand people’s, including Academy voters’, attentions.
PF: Yeah, and if we’re talking about craft, then the film is a shoe-in for best picture. I absolutely feel that 12 Years a Slave will win for best director. Steve McQueen really has established himself as such a visionary with only just three films.
DB: I feel like Gravity is misplaced in these two departments. Strictly speaking Cuaron is worthy of being considered for Best Director and the movie is astounding, but it is a technical showcase that should sweep whatever technical awards its up for. But it’s kind of the odd-man-out of the rest of the titles in the Best Picture category.
PF: Yeah, well they have one of those every year (i.e. Inception)
DB: I feel like American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street will cannibalize each-others votes as historical looks at decadence and power. 12 Years a Slave has the biggest chops and Her has the feverish word-of-mouth. Which makes them create an interesting sort of unintentional narrative about whether the award will go to the mistakes of our past, or the hopes of our future.
PF: I don’t think Wolf of Wall Street has much a chance of winning. But that’s fine, you can tell Scorsese didn’t make it to win an award
DB: I don’t think Scorsese made The Departed to win an award.
PF: Yeah, but he did make The Aviator to win one. I personally think he wouldn’t have done that movie had he won an Oscar at that point, and I do feel it’s one of his weakest films because of that
DB: I wouldn’t want to answer for him. My feeling is that Scorsese is a case in point that the Academy tends to award a filmmaker about a year or two after the point when people feel the filmmaker deserves it most. Which is why Leonardo DiCaprio is either getting an award this year or next.
PF: A very solid accusation. In fact bearing that in mind, then maybe Leo will indeed win this year as the he has said he’s going on hiatus from acting, so the academy may want to award him now before he takes off for a bit.
DB: I trust his hiatus about as much as I trust Soderbergh’s various retirements. Film people seem to be like that one guy on message forums that’s always announcing his departure from the community. The ones that make the loudest announcements are typically the ones that can’t quit. Heck, Phoenix’s hiatus was a performance in and of itself. Anyway, perhaps I am being too confident in Her. I just strongly feel it is the title that SHOULD win, though 12 Years a Slave is the title to beat.
PF: Yeah, well I didn’t mention it earlier, but I would of liked to see my favorite film of the year nominated (Before Midnight). Her and 12 Years a Slave are my favorites of the batch nominated and Her is what I feel should win, but 12 Years a Slave seems the more probable outcome.
MINOR AWARDS AND ERRATA:
PF: What do you think about how Inside Llewyn Davis didn’t receive any major nominations?
DB: Don’t feel it should have. Loved the movie, isn’t as caustic and daring as A Serious Man and the Coens already settled their score with No Country for Old Men. It still got cinematography award nomination, and it looks friggin’ beautiful. I actually really hope it wins that category.
PF: Yeah, I liked how the film looked like the cover of a folk album. Really evoked The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’s, but it wasn’t surprising to see it wasn’t nominated for best picture. But, I don’t think the Coens really care either way.
DB: It’s also up for sound mixing but that should go to Gravity. Full dynamic atmospheric subjective sound. Llewyn Davis’ audio award should be for Music. But those categories have to be original song or original score.
PF: Well, it will be interesting to see which movies win in the screenplay categories, as once again, this year saw so many great scripts. Although I’m not exactly sure why Before Midnight is up for best adapted screenplay…
DB: Yeah I was wondering that as well. I guess “Adapted from the characters by Linklater.”
PF: Yeah, probably just an excuse to put the film in that category, but hey, you hardly see sequels nominated for Oscars also.
DB: It would be kind of funny if the Adapted Screenplay went to 12 Years a Slave and the Original Screenplay went to Her. “We’ve adapted to the past, and now we’re originating the future!”
PF: Yeah I was thinking that myself. It could very well happen too, as Her demonstrated that Spike Jonze is a talented screenplay writer, in addition to being a fantastic director, and as you said, The Academy seems due to acknowledge a somber film about America’s darkest past.
85th Annual Academy Awards Live Coverage
The Oscars: Tonight starting at 7 p.m. On ABC
6:30 pm: Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen! I’m Mike Tyminski, and I’m back to live blog this years Oscars. The Oscars always tend to be the apex of awards season, and there are a number of intriguing questions that go along with this years ceremony.
First and foremost on many viewers minds: Who is going to pick up the Oscar for Best Picture? We have a diverse group of films here, ranging from musical classics (Les Miserables) to historical period pieces (Lincoln) to contemporary action dramas (Zero Dark Thirty) to foreign artsy flicks (Amour). The real question here though is, can this award season’s juggernaut Argo, be stopped (it did seem to be the most snubbed of the Best Picture contenders)? Will early favorite Lincoln recapture its’ luster in the eyes of voters? Will Quentin Tarentino finally get some respect for Django Unchained? Or will it go to a dark horse like Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook, or Beasts of the Southern Wild?
The most hotly contested category this year, however, is for Best Supporting Actor. With five former Oscar winners in Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert DeNiro (Silver Linings Playbook), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), and Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), each of whom turned in stellar performances in their respective films. While I’m personally pulling for Waltz, I could get behind any of the candidates winning.
As with the Grammys, my primary focus will again be on the presentation. We have a controversial host choice this year in Seth McFarlane. The question is, which Seth McFarlane will we get? Will we get the man who has a clear reverence for the golden ages of film and TV to the extent that he made six homages to the “Road To…” series in his hit series Family Guy, or will we the get the man whose also responsible for some of the most line-obliterating jokes on broadcast TV? It should be interesting to see the mix, and whether he will go in the pantheon of great hosts like Billy Crystal in the mid 90’s, or the pantheon of awful hosts like David Letterman. I’m personally cautiously optimistic here, and I can’t wait to see how the show itself turns out.
6:55 pm: Some news and opinions from the red carpet.
We will see a number of medleys tonight, including one from Les Miserables and another involving past Oscar winners singing hits from their respective films (including Catherine Zeta-Jones singing a number from Chicago and Jennifer Hudson singing a song from Dreamgirls).
The red carpet seemed to move at a considerably slower pace than the Grammys with only a handful of stars arriving as of 6:40 pm. Most of the early arrivals have been fashion successes with no real fashion nightmares along the lines of Adele’s from two weeks ago.
On the red carpet front, Jessica Chastain is looking amazing in an elegant coral dress that works despite all of the potential pitfalls that could have came with that dress. In terms of more edgy outfits, Samantha Barks succeeded with a cute black dress with a plunging neckline.
I’m a little torn on Zoe Saldana’s dress, which has a feathered top leading to a sleek, multi-shaded bottom the split up the leg that Angelina Jolie, popularized last year. While I’m not a huge fan of feathering or overly busy top, as your eye moves towards the legs, the dress picks up in elegance.
My highlight of the Red Carpet so far?: Jennifer Lawrence lamenting the lack of food before the show mentioning that the show is “way too long”.
It’s 7pm, time to switch over to the ABC feed.
7:30 pm: Some more news from the red carpet…
In terms of fashion, I’m slowly finding that most of the looks that are not clicking with me seem to be isolated to ABC’s red carpet coverage team. Neither Kristin Chenowith nor Kelly Rowland’s looks are particularly resonating with me, with Kelly’s looking awkward due to the way the wrap up top feels around her bodice. Anne Hathaway’s dress is failing with me similarly, as the cut feels very awkward and more like an apron than a classy dress on what has to be the classiest fashion night of the year.
On the star front, the stars are trickling in at a faster rate, Catherine Zeta-Jones is looking fabulous in an ornate gold dress. Naomi Watts has a modern Silver Sparkled number that looks classy even with an open shoulder and a clawlike cut.
In an update, having gotten to see a wider shot, Zoe Saldana’s dress has officially won me over.
8:00 PM: With only one network showing live Red Carpet coverage from here on out (ABC), I’m going to take a minute to pop out some quick pre show predictions:
Best Picture: Lincoln (I think Argo doing as well as it did everywhere else was as much a response to the Academy keeping Ben Affleck out of the race for best director).
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (Less a prediction, more an inevitability)
Best Actress in a supporting role: Anne Hathaway (See Above)
Best Director: Michael Haneke (This could really be anyone BUT Ang Lee, my inner geek demands payback for the 2003 Hulk movie, I feel like Amour needs a nod in a major category somewhere and here seems to be the best place).
Best Supporting Actor: Robert DeNiro (Silver Linings Playbook needs a little love somewhere along the way).
In red carpet news, Charlize Theron looks magnificent in a very modern (almost futuristic) looking white Dior dress. I’m also pretty fond of the Black and Gold sparkly dress that Nicole Kidman is rocking tonight. Lots of black, white, and gold tonight on the red carpet, but I feel that’s standard issue for the Oscars.
In what has to be a redemption for her from two weeks ago, Adele is wearing a black dress that seems miles better from the flower print disaster she wore two weeks ago.
This may be me, but I feel like there’s a small trend of people bringing their mothers to the show, as both Bradley Cooper and Chris Evans have brought their mothers to the show tonight.
8:25 PM: One last batch of updates before we go inside for the show:
The quote of the Red Carpet so far: “Win or lose, I’ll be drinking” – George Clooney
It was teased tonight that we should be getting some kind of Bond tribute in an interview between Robin Roberts and Halle Berry. Speaking of Ms. Berry…those shoulder pads are killing me and really need to be left in the 1980’s where they belong.
Jennifer Aniston is rocking a dress that feels like a tale of two dresses: From the waist up it’s a dress that looks classy, elegant and timeless, that train however, doesn’t seem to flow naturally from the material itself, and as a result gives off an unflattering vibe.
One final spoiler, Kristin Chenowith is somehow involved with the finale of the show.
On that note…the show’s about to start, be back with more after the first commercial break and keep checking in throughout the night for more opinions and news!
8:55 PM: We open to Seth McFarlane walking out to the usual fanfare and a brief introduction. McFarlane opens with “the quest to make Tommy Lee Jones laugh begins now”. McFarlane’s speech so far seems to be tacking closer to reverence for the classics than the irreverent side that people dreaded we would see from him. Seth announces this year has a theme for the first time in “Music in Film”.
We get a cameo from William Shatner trying to stop Seth McFarlane from singing a number titled “We Saw Your Boobs” (backed up by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles). This leads into Seth McFarlane singing “Just the Way you Look Tonight” backed up by Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum. Shatner also tries to prevent McFarlane from re-enacting the film flight with sock puppets. This leads to another song and dance number with Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. William Shatner only then finally upgrades it to mediocre, only for Seth to find out he offends and takes home Sally Field after he fawns over her role in the flying nun. He amends that by singing “Be Our Guest”
This leads to Seth McFarlane bringing out Octavia Spencer for our slugfest of the night: Best Supporting Actor.
Our nominees are: Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert DeNiro (Silver Linings Playbook), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained).
AND THE WINNER IS: Christoph Waltz! He’s 2 for 2 (his prior win for Inglorious Basterds).
Waltz has a very grateful tone, thanking Quentin Tarantino and his fellow costars.
Overall I thought this opening was stellar. McFarlane was funny except for one misplaced jab at Mel Gibson, the musical numbers were on point, and opening on the biggest bloodbath of the night has already given this night a sense of importance. We seem to be getting more of class Seth than crass Seth and if that’s the case this should be a very enjoyable three hours.
9:12 PM: Seth calls out Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy to present the award for Best Animated Short Film
The Nominees Are: Paper Man, Maggie’s Longest Day Care, Adam and Dog, Fresh Guacamole, and Head Over Heels.
The Winner is: Paper Man, John Kahrs.
They also present the best Animated Film:
The Nominees are: Brave, The Pirates, Frankenweenie, Paranorman and Wreck It Ralph.
The Winner is: Brave
Mark Andrews walks up rocking a kilt. He gives a quick set of thank yous.
Reese Witherspoon is out to highlight three of our Best Picture nominees: Les Miserables, Beasts of the Southern Wild, and The Life of Pi. Clips of all three of those movies are played.
We then get a quick cut back to Seth McFarlane, who gives credit to Quezevahne Wallisfor scoring a Best Actress nod at the tender young age of nine.
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner are out to present the award for Best Cinematography.
The Nominees are: Anna Karenina, Life of Pi, Django Unchained, Lincoln, and Skyfall
The Winner is: Claudio Miranda of Life of Pi.
Robert Downey Jr. and Sam Jackson then get into a mock argument after Sam skips most of the introduction for Best Visual Effects (and then fails to get the envelope open).
The Hobbit, The Life of Pi, The Avengers, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman.
The Winner is: The Life of Pi. (and thankfully NOT Snow White and the Huntsman).
The Jaws theme cuts off the Visual Effects speech, proving that the guys in the back don’t really get that much respect.
That segment moved at a fever pitch, going through four awards in about 12 minutes, hopefully the show gives it’s segments a little more time to breathe from here on out.
9:27 pm: We return to Seth McFarlane, who introduces Channing Tatum and Jennifer Aniston, who come out to announce the awards for Achievement in Costume Design:
The Nominees Are: Anna Karenina, Les Miserable, Lincoln, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman
The Winner is: Jacqueline Durran (Anna Karenina).
They then announce the Nominees for Achievement in Makeup and Hair Stiling
The Nominees Are: Hitchcock, The Hobbit, Les Miserables.
The Winner is: Les Miserables.
Seth McFarlane then introduces Halle Berry, whom then introduces a tribute to the fiftieth anniversary of James Bond in film. Halle Berry stumbles a little on the teleprompter, before a montage with the Bond Theme, Live and Let Die. The montage then seamlessly integrates into a live performance of “Goldfinger” by Dame Shirley Bassey. It seemed like a solid tribute if you’re sort of person whose into the 007 films (which admittedly, I am not).
9:46 pm: Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington come out to announce the award for best short film.
The Nominees are: Curfew, Death of A Shadow, Assad, Bukhazhi Boys, and Henry.
The winner is: Curfew
They also present the award for best short documentary film.
The nominees are: Kings Point, Open Heart, Inocente, Monday’s At Racine, Redemption
The award goes to: Inocente.
The documentary’s producers, Sean and Andrea Nix Fine then take the opportunity to request for increased funding for the arts, noting the change for the subject in their documentary from homeless to artist in one short year.
Sean then introduces Liam Neeson, whom introduces three more best picture nominees: Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty. It seems particularly interesting that the three most America-centric movies are grouped together.
Seth gives a little bit of an Oscar tidbit mentioning that Daniel Day-Lewis was the second actor to be nominated for playing Lincoln (Raymond Massey was the first), before pitching it to Ben Affleck (after making sure to bring up Gigli, of course).
Ben Affleck is out to present the award for Best Documentary Feature, getting a jab back at McFarlane stating “I thought this show was going well, but there’s still time for you to turn it around”.
The nominees are: The Gatekeepers, How to survive a plague, The Invisible War, Searching for Sugar Man, and Five Broken Cameras.
The winner is: Searching for Sugar Man.
This may be me, but using the Jaws music as the “Speed up, your speech is too long” music feels pretty tasteless.
10:05 PM: Seth brings out Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain, whom are both here to present the award for Best Foriegn Language Film.
The Nominees Are: Amour, Kontiki, No, A Royal Affair, War Witch.
The winner is: Amour (did you really expect anything else? It is nominated for best picture).
Seth then introduces John Travolta who then introduces a medley of the finest tracks from Les Miserables, Chicago, and Dreamgirls. It opens with Catherine Zeta-Jones performing “All That Jazz” before segueing into Jennifer Hudson performing “I’m telling you, I’m not going”. This then merged into a track from Les Miserables, with a large segment of the cast performing “One Day More”.
Something seemed off with Zeta-Jones’s performance (there were parts where it seemed like either her sound cut off or she was off lipsync), but I thought Jennifer Hudson did an excellent job on her song, bringing the power that a song like “I’m telling you” needs. On the Les Miserables portion, both Hugh Jackman and Samantha Barks stood out the most, as they seemed to be strongest singers in the ensemble.
10:25 pm: We return to Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana, whom are out to present the awards for the scientific and technical awards.
After the quick montage, we return to Seth McFarlane, who busts out a little self-deprecation about Ted before introducing both Mark Wahlberg and the Titular bear of his movie, Ted. They present the award for best sound mixing:
The nominees are: Argo, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Skyfall, and The Life of Pi.
The winner is: Les Miserables.
They also are presenting the award for Best Sound Editing. We finally get some of McFarlane’s line crossing humor, as Ted is trying to explain to Mark that you have to be Jewish to work in Hollywood.
The Nominees Are: Argo, Django Unchained, The Life of Pi, Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty.
The Winners Are: (a tie) Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall.
Seth then introduces the next presenter, who were the Von Trapp family singers (with a joke where where a Nazi storms in and screams, “They’re gone!”), before turning it over to Christopher Plummer, whom presents the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
The Nominees are: Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook).
And the winner is: Anne Hathaway (shocker, I know). She gives a seemingly interminable speech but doesn’t get the Jaws music (also a shocker, I know).
10:40 PM: Hawk Koch, president of the Academy of Film Arts and Sciences, announces the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, it will show how movies are made and announces the winners of a program where a number of young filmmakers whom won the right to hand the Oscars to the presenters tonight.
Seth then kicks it to Sandra Bullock, whom presents the award for Best Film Editing.
The Nominees are Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook.
And the winner is: Argo.
Jennifer Lawrence is out to introduce the theme from Skyfall as performed by Adele. The performance is everything you’d expect from Adele with tons of movements from a single arm, and her killer pipes doing most of the work. If you saw her Grammy performance last year, it basically is the same but with a different song, but i’m perfectly fine with that, as it’s become an Adele trademark at this point.
10:53 PM: Nicole Kidman is out to present the last three nominees for best picture: Silver Linings Playbook, Django Unchained, and Amour. We see trailers of all three.
Seth then kicks it to Daniel Radcliffe and Kristen Stewart, whom are out to present the award for Achievement in Production Design. Kristen sounds either high, sick, awkward, or disinterested…I can’t tell which but it seemed like she was ill at ease up on stage.
Anna Karenina, The Hobbit, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, or Lincoln.
And the winner is: Lincoln.
Seth then introduces Selma Hayek discusses Governor’s and Humanitarian awards. D.A. Pennebaker, George Stevens Jr., and Hal Needham. Jeffrey Katzenberg won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
11:05 PM: George Clooney is out to introduce the “In Memoriam” segment of the Oscars. Amongst those that passed in the movie industry in calendar year 2012 are: Ernest Borgnine, Eiko Ishioka, Ralph McQuarrie, Jack Klugman, Celeste Holm, Adam Yauch, Michael Clarke Duncan, Charles Durning, Carlo Rambaldi, Erland Josephson, Richard Robbins, Stephen Frankfurt, Harris Savides, Tonino Guerra, Ulu Grosbard, Herbort Lom, Bruce Surtees, Andrew Sarris, George A. Bowers, Tony Scott, Theodore Soderberg, Lois Smith, Geoffrey Ammer, Neal Travis, Mike Hopkins, John Lowry, Hal Davis, Nora Ephron, Charles Rosen, Jake Eberts, Mike Kohut, Frank Pierson, Chris Marker, Charles Washburn, Ray Bradbury, Richard Rodney Nennett, Roger Sherman, Richard Zanuck, Matthew Yuricich, and Marvin Hamlisch.
The in memoriam then led to a Musical number by none other than Barbara Streisand, who sang “The Way We Were” in tribute to Marvin Hamlisch.
11:18 PM: Seth introduces the stars of Chicago, Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, and Queen Latifah to introduce the award for Best Movie Score:
And the nominees are: Anna Karenina, Argo, Life of Pi, Skyfall, and Lincoln.
And the winner is: Life of Pi! (real shocker!, but that’s because as anyone whose ever taken a music of film course in college, it’s instinctive to assume that John Williams wins any score award in the history of everything ever, so seeing John Williams (Lincoln) not win is a mild upset by default).
They also presented the awards for Best Original Song:
“Suddenly” (Les Miserables), “Skyfall”(Skyfall), “Before My Time” (Chasing Ice), “Pi’s Lullaby” (The Life of Pi), “Everyone Needs a Best Friend” (Ted).
And the award goes to: “Skyfall” (Skyfall). Adele gives a short tear laden speech before passing it over to Paul Epworth, whom gives the short generic “Thank You” speech we’ve seen 100 times already tonight.
11:29 PM: After a very brief introduction, Charlize Theron and Dustin Hoffman appear to announce the awards for Best Screenplay (Adapted). Charlize and Dustin get in a great dig, with Charlize saying “A great screenplay comes from an inner light, or an inner darkness”, with Dustin finishing the sentence saying “or a writer who needs work.”
And the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook.
And the winner is: Argo. Suddenly it seems like Argo has a real shot at taking home the big prize tonight.
They also present the award for Best Original Screenplay.
Original: Amour, Django Unchained, Flight, Moonrise Kingdom, and Zero Dark Thirty.
And the Winner is: Django Unchained. Quentin looks disheveled, but thanks his cast, cuts off the music, and then fawns over the competition in the writing category saying “This will be the writers year”.
And on that note if my count is right, we’re down to the two big acting awards, the award for Best Director and the Award for best film.
11:37 pm: Seth introduces Jane Fonda and Michael Doglas, who walk out through a background of glass flower like objects to present the award for Best Director.
And the Nominees Are: “Michael Haneke (Amour), Benh Zaitlan (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), David O. Russell (Silver Linings).
And the winner is: Ang Lee (for the Life of Pi and ruining the Hulk so badly they had to make a remake three years later…no i’m not still bitter he took my nine dollars and two hours of my life).
12:04 pm: Seth introduces last years best actor winner, Jean Dujardin, to present the award for Best Actress.
The Nominees Are: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Emanuelle Riva (Amour), Qevenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), and Naomi Watts (The Impossible).
And the winner is: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook).
Jennifer nearly trips on her dress on the way to the stage, she gives what feels particularly like a heartfelt speech that leaves Jennifer on the verge of tears. Oddly enough ABC cuts to a shot of Robert Deniro falling asleep on his shoulder.
Seth then gives no introduction to Meryl Streep (his exact words, “our next presenter needs no introduction), whom is out to present the award for Best Actor.
The Nominees are: Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Jaoquin Pheonix (The Master), and Denzel Washington (Flight).
And the winner is: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln). Daniel Day-Lewis is the first actor to win three Oscars in the best actor category.
Daniel Day Lewis gets in a quick joke about being committed to play Margaret Thatcher, while Meryl Streep was Spielberg’s first choice for Lincoln. He gives a humble, endearing, and funny speech in which he thanks his wife for putting up for his method acting.
Finally, Seth introduces Jack Nicholson to announce the award for Best Picture. His copresenter is First Lady, Michelle Obama.
And the nominees are: Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amour, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, The Life of Pi, and Les Miserables.
And the winner is: Argo!
Ben Affleck is up to accept the award for Best Picture for Argo. In a touch of class, the producer who isn’t Ben Affleck or George Clooney gets the first crack at the speech, and immediately thanks…George Clooney. Affleck acknowledges the other 8 great films in a very rapid fire speech, eventually thanking everyone ever even remotely affiliated on this movie including his wife (Jennifer Garner) whom “he dosen’t associate with Iran”.
Finally, everything moves back to Seth, whom moves to the plugs segment, where all the major fee plugs of the show were given. Seth then brings out Kristin Chenowith, whom then perform a musical number dedicated to the losers, including Lincoln and Amour.
I will be back in a few minutes with a wrap-up and final verdict.
The Final Verdict: While I’m steamed about Ang Lee winning, by award shows standards this show worked. The gimmick of making McFarlane as McFarlane being mostly classy with some affectionate parody to old hollywood while hiding McFarlane’s more brusque jokes in a Teddy Bear or behind the whims of William Shatner seemed to strike the perfect compromise between the two aspects of McFarlane’s humor, and he totally deserves a second go (though like all of us, we wouldn’t mind getting a year of Fey and Poehler also). Seth was also particularly strong once the show hit hurry up mode (and his introductions were reduced to 15 words or less) around 11ish.
The presentation generally worked with the few performances involved generally hitting (Catherine Zeta-Jones was the only one who felt particularly off). For a show that was supposed to be all about “Music in Film” though, there seemed to be very little music within the show itself, with only three or four notable performances.
If I will dig at ABC for one thing, it’s the fairly misleading advertising. They advertised a 7 pm start time online, only for those who tuned in to find out that they were instead giving you a 90 minute (of strictly worse than E!’s) Red Carpet Show.
For those looking for more Oscar coverage, stay tuned to Manhattan Digest as our movie experts break down the show. Additionally, my other gig (The Mike Staub Pod Show, find us on Facebook) will be putting out an Oscar themed show later in the week where some of our actor friends put in their two cents on the show.