The Sound of the Crowd

Working from notes hastily typed during commercial breaks…

A preshow interviewer asked the little girl from Whale Rider which celebrity she was most looking forward to meeting, she said Johnny Depp. He asked why. You know, it’s been years since I was a 13 year-old girl…but I knew the answer to that question.

I’m officially sick of Billy Crystal’s “insert myself into the nominate movies” opening montages, especially in films like Monster and Mystic River, in the context of which his mugging is really bad taste. Thought he redeemed himself with the monologue and medley though. His joke about the vile Rumsfeld’s fave movie being “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” was funny, but “The Fog of War” would have been the edgier choice.

Thought Tim Robbins was very well spoken, but I expected nothing less.

My prediction average took a beating with Renee Zellweger. And how classy was it to cut to a shot of Nicole Kidman with a Joker-like grimace, just when she mentioned Tom?

Ok, here’s what happened. I walked back into the TV room. Saw Stiller and Wilson walking out. Noted what each was wearing. Said, “Cue jokes about how ‘we said we were coming in costume.”

I liked Anne Lennox’s performance tonight a little more than on the CD. She looks like she might have had work done, though.

Very nice tribute to Blake Edwards–slapstick entrance worked a treat. Nice to see a little life in one of those things–great speech, too.

It’s hideously inappropriate to laugh during the “in memoriam” montage, but you gotta love whoever decided to put director-rat Elia Kazan’s name right before director-Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl…

Is it just me or was there a post-Janet paranoia on the part of the director tonight about breasts? I could swear that every time they had a presenter (Angelina Jolie, Jamie Lee Curtis) who was, shall we say, blessed in that department, they zoomed in. So as to be above the nipple line as soon as possible, you see. But, that may just be a comment on where I was looking.

God bless Levy and O’Hara for doing the “Mighty Wind” song in character.

Jack Black & Will Ferrell were really funny.

Didn’t get the tie I was hoping for in best adapted screenplay but it’s not that kinda night. Return of the King had a streak–a record tying streak, it turns out–with Ben Hur and Titanic for the most Oscars in one night (11).

As you know, I was hoping for Nemo over Translation in original screenplay, but it was cool to have Sofia Coppola give a shout out to Bob Fosse.

Sorta missed on the best-score prediction–I was hoping for Nemo, but as I said Return of the King is a damn fine second.

I’m convinced that there must have been some bitching and remorse after Charlize Theron failed to mention Christina Ricci when she won the Golden Globe–at every award since (including this one), she’s scrupulously done so.

Hey, an actual surprise! I picked Bill Murray but, as I said, having just seen Mystic River this afternoon I can’t tell you Sean Penn didn’t deserve an Oscar. Good speech, too.

Having just heard the three nominated songs on the Oscars, I’m putting my “money” on the Cold Mountain song by Sting, “You Will Be My Ain True Love.” At least I liked it best.

ETA: Actually, the song from Triplets of Bellville was pretty good too.

Walked down to see Mystic River this afternoon. Fucking good movie. For one thing, unlike a lot of thrillers, this one actually is a murder mystery. Most movies and not a few novels are more like, let’s just spend some time with this guy or gal (the detective character) and then as you get towards the last reel or last chapter it’s oh, look! We stumbled upon the killer. Mystic River actually keeps you working to put the pieces together before the people in the movie do…or before the wrong people put the wrong pieces together. Very emotionally harrowing, too, and the kind of movie you think about on the way home and see how the pieces fit into place.

I liked it better than Master & Commander; it doesn’t change my predictions much, though, I still think this will be The Return of the King’s year, like everybody else. But should a surprise be in the works, I don’t think anybody who has seen both pictures could say that a great injustice had been committed.

Eastwood’s been well-honored as a filmmaker, so even if this is his best film as many have said, the Oscar is still probably Jackson’s. But the acting awards, ah, here’s where it gets interesting. Again, Murray is still my first choice in his category, but Sean Penn is fucking phenomenal in Mystic River. Johnny Depp just won the SAG award, which means it’s anybody’s ballgame, but really, this one is Murray or Penn’s to lose.

I’m staying with Holly Hunter for best actress, supporting–Marcia Gay Harden was very good in MR, but in a weakly written part. No argument that she made more than the most of what was given her, though.

Would still be best pleased by an American Splendor-Lord of the Rings tie for best adapted screenplay–MR’s script was good, theirs was better. And there is simply no other choice than Tim Robbins for best actor, supporting. He is both haunted and haunting.

The Washington Post has a longer article on the recently deceased Carl Anderson, who (as noted here a few days ago) memorably played Judas in screen and stage versions of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

If I may be permitted to go before a fall for a moment, I think this article–Return to The West Wing–is one of the best I’ve ever written, if not the best to date.

I warn you it’s pretty long–about eight “pages”–but I hope you’ll like it.

There’s also a shorter (much, much shorter) review of a new CD by the band Pas/Cal.

Rover captures a dusty sunset…a dusty blue sunset on Mars.

There are two photos avalible, one from the AP and one from the Canadian press. I think the picture from the Canadian newsfeed is the better, but see for yourself.

Among the teriffic things about a book I finished reading this week, Lonely Planets, is that it’s reawakened my fascination with stuff like this.

From the boys and girls at Buzzflash, who make me look like Joe Lieberman.

ETA update to the above: The GOP hypocrite in question has backed down.

But deliver us from evil.

…a press corp! Where the hell did that come from?

…if you can’t trust John Ashcroft, whom can you trust?