My Oscar Picks And Comments (2013) Plus After-Ceremony News Stories

Academy Awards 2013

(My picks in in Bold type, the winner is in blue)

The Oscar telecast, hosted by Seth MacFarlane, will air on Feb. 24 on ABC at 8:30 p.m.

BEST PICTURE

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

 

I’m going with Argo.  Not because it was the best movie last year but it has incredible momentum- it’s won all the big preliminary awards.  I enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook and Lincoln more than Argo and I think Zero Dark Thirty is a more important film than Argo but Ben Affleck is going to stand on that podium tomorrow.  It won’t be as a director but I think he’d be almost as happy if he won as a producer.

  

BEST ACTOR

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight

Daniel Day-Lewis.  There is no doubt.  In any other year, it would probably be Hugh Jackman because he had a monster performance in Les Mis.  Maybe the singing wasn’t perfect but Oscars are for acting, not singing, and his acting was very impressive.  Still not good enough to wrest the statue away from Day-Lewis who channels Lincoln, the historically accurate Lincoln, in a mind-blowing performance. 

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

 

I have a little crush on Jennifer Lawrence’s uninhibited mouth- I love hearing what will unexpectedly tumble out of it next.  Plus, she looks pretty good too, as evidenced by the dance scene in Playbook.  More importantly, she blew me away with her performance.  I believed she was the damaged, socially awkward, abrasive character- it showed in her eyes.  That’s why I think she should win.  I could see everything in her eyes.  There was no “acting”.  She totally immersed herself in the role.  Jessica Chastain had much less demanded of her other than sounding determined and the award boils down to those two, based on the buzz.  I haven’t seen Naomi Watt’s movie and I get the sense that not as many voters did either so it will still be down to Chastain and Lawrence.

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Alan Arkin, Argo

Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

 

I didn’t see The Master so I can’t comment on Phillip Seymour Hoffman but you may recall I dislike him.  He just annoys me, no matter what he’s in or how good his performance is.  Tommy Lee Jones played himself, with a wig on.  De Niro, though, was someone else.  There is no way you look at the guy he played and thought “This is the same actor from Cape Fear”.  He completely loses himself in the role. 

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Again, I haven’t seen The Master but there is no buzz around Adams this year.  Helen Hunt has gotten lots of positive comments but they all point out that she is a lead role, not a supporting one.  You’d think that would guarantee her a win here but the voters don’t like being tricked into giving someone an award by  having a contender nominated in an easier category so everyone is dismissing her chances here.  That leaves it to anne Hathaway.  She’s the favorite anyway and the cutest of them all and I have a little crush on her and she reminds me of someone I play poker with so I have to go with Anne.

 

BEST DIRECTOR

Michael Haneke, Amour

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

 

It’s either Spielberg or Lee, especially since Ben Affleck, Katheryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper and Quentin Tarantino weren’t nominated. Spielberg did a masterful job of showcasing Daniel Day-Lewis and making political maneuvering utterly compelling while Ang Lee made a movie out of a book everything thought was impossible to bring to the big screen and did it with amazing 3-D glory.  Spielberg did a great job with people and Lee did a great job with visuals, technique and style.  Whichever ever one voters relate to most will be the winner.  Spielberg may get it simply because of who he is and because he won’t win Best Picture.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom

Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

John Gatins, Flight

Michael Haneke, Amour

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

 

I’m making a last minute change here.  I think Zero Dark Thirty will win this as a consolation prize for not winning Best Picture.  Not that does the director, Bigelow, any good.  Amour will win Best Foreign Picure so it doesn’t need the screenplay consolation.

 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Tony Kushner, Lincoln

David Magee, Life of Pi

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Chris Terrio, Argo

 

Beloved but unfilmable book becomes globally successful hit movie.  How can Life Of Pi not win?

 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Brave

Frankenweenie

ParaNorman

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

 

It’s tough voting against the Pixar AND Ardman studios, based on their track record, but I liked Ralph best of all the movies I saw (everything but Franenweenie) and I thought it had the most innovative animation.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey

Django Unchained, Robert Richardson

Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda

Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski

Skyfall, Roger Deakins

I picked this before I learned that Roger Deakins, a widely respected cinematographer, was 0 for 10 in his Oscar nominations.  This may be a consolation prize for Bond movies being slighted every year and a chance to honor a respected artist.  If not Skyfall, it will be Pi. 

 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran

Les Misérables, Paco Delgado

Lincoln, Joanna Johnston

Mirror Mirror, Eiko Ishioka

Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood

 

Costume dramas usually win the costume award and none was more costumey than Anna Karenina.  It takes place inside a theater for goodness sakes!

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

5 Broken Cameras

The Gatekeepers

How to Survive a Plague

The Invisible War

Searching for Sugar Man

 

Apparently the only feel good nominee, so I’m picking it over the possible dark horses- The Gatekeepers, which sounds fascinating- and How To Survive A Plague.

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Inocente, Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

Kings Point, Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider

Mondays at Racine, Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan

Open Heart, Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern

Redemption, Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill

Just a guess.

 

BEST FILM EDITING

Argo, William Goldenberg

Life of Pi, Tim Squyres

Lincoln, Michael Kahn

Silver Linings Playbook, Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers

Zero Dark Thirty, Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

 

Every likes the complex, gripping scene of the raid on Bin Laden’s compound so that sounds to me like a winning editing job.

 

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Amour, Austria

Kon-Tiki, Norway

No, Chile

A Royal Affair, Denmark

War Witch, Canada

 

Amour, no contest.  Though I didn’t watch the movie because I’m still angry with the director for the unresolved ending of Cache.  And because I agree with one voter who thinks the director hates people.

 

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Hitchcock, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane

Les Misérables, Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

 

Consolation prize for losing the Costume and Best Picture awards.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli

Argo, Alexandre Desplat

Life of Pi, Mychael Danna

Lincoln, John Williams

Skyfall, Thomas Newman

 

Just a guess.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Before My Time from Chasing Ice, Music and Lyric by J. Ralph

Everybody Needs A Best Friend from Ted, Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane

Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi, Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri

Skyfall from Skyfall, Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

Suddenly from Les Misérables, Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

 

The strongest contender in a widely acknowledged weak field.  I thought the song Skyfall could have been a bit more intense, to match the subject matter, but everyone loves Adele so she is going to win easily.

 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Anna Karenina, Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright

Les Misérables, Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson

Life of Pi, Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

Lincoln, Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

 

Just a guess.  Everything else is mostly CGI so it isn’t as physically demanding to create the sets.

 

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Adam and Dog, Minkyu Lee

Fresh Guacamole, PES

Head over Heels, Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly

Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, David Silverman

Paperman, John Kahrs

I thought Paperman was ridiculous and unbelievable but everyone seems to smitten with it so I’m picking it.  I’d rather have the Simpsons win it though.

 

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

Asad, Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura

Buzkashi Boys, Sam French and Ariel Nasr

Curfew, Shawn Christensen

Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw), Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele

Henry, Yan England

 

Picking it simply because of the title.

 

BEST SOUND EDITING

Argo, Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn

Django Unchained, Wylie Stateman

Life of Pi, Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton

Skyfall, Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers

Zero Dark Thirty, Paul N.J. Ottosson

 

Picking it for the same reason I picked it for Film Editing.

 

BEST SOUND MIXING

Argo, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia

Les Misérables, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes

Life of Pi, Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin

Lincoln, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins

Skyfall, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson

 

Recorded live during the actor’s performances.  That sounds complicated and award worthy.

 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White

Life of Pi, Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott

Marvel's The Avengers, Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick

Prometheus, Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill

Snow White and the Huntsman, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson

 

I think Prometheus and The Hobbit had more imaginative effects but Pi used its’ CGI effects of normal environments to deliver a better end result .

 

Nominees and winners at the 85^th annual Oscars on Sunday night (winners' names in bold):
Best picture

Amour
WINNER: Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Best actor

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Best actress

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
WINNER: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best supporting actor

Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
WINNER: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best supporting actress

Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
WINNER: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Best director

Michael Haneke, Amour
WINNER: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best original screenplay

Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
John Gatins, Flight
Michael Haneke, Amour
WINNER: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best adapted screenplay

Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Tony Kushner, Lincoln
David Magee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
WINNER: Chris Terrio, Argo

Best animated feature film

WINNER: Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph

Best cinematography

Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained, Robert Richardson
WINNER: Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda
Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall, Roger Deakins

Best costume design

WINNER: Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran
Les Misérables, Paco Delgado
Lincoln, Joanna Johnston
Mirror Mirror, Eiko Ishioka
Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood

Best documentary feature

5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
WINNER: Searching for Sugar Man

Best documentary short subject

WINNER: Inocente, Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
Kings Point, Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
Mondays at Racine, Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
Open Heart, Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
Redemption, Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill

Best film editing

WINNER: Argo, William Goldenberg
Life of Pi, Tim Squyres
Lincoln, Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook, Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty, Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

Best foreign film

WINNER: Amour, Austria
Kon-Tiki, Norway
No, Chile
A Royal Affair, Denmark
War Witch, Canada

Best makeup and hairstyling

Hitchcock, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
WINNER: Les Misérables, Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

Best original score

Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
WINNER: Life of Pi, Mychael Danna
Lincoln, John Williams
Skyfall, Thomas Newman

Best original song

Before My Time from Chasing Ice, Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
Everybody Needs a Best Friend from Ted, Music by Walter Murphy; lyrics by Seth MacFarlane
Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi, Music by Mychael Danna; lyrics by Bombay Jayashri
WINNER: Skyfall from Skyfall, Music and lyrics by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
Suddenly from Les Misérables, Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Best production design

Anna Karenina, Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
Les Misérables, Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi, Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
WINNER: Lincoln, Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Best animated short film

Adam and Dog, Minkyu Lee
Fresh Guacamole, PES
Head Over Heels, Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, David Silverman
WINNER: Paperman, John Kahrs

Best live action short film

Asad, Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
Buzkashi Boys, Sam French and Ariel Nasr
WINNER: Curfew, Shawn Christensen
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw), Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
Henry, Yan England

Best sound editing

Argo, Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
Django Unchained, Wylie Stateman
Life of Pi, Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
WINNER (tie): Skyfall, Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
WINNER (tie):Zero Dark Thirty, Paul N.J. Ottosson

Best sound mixing

Argo, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
WINNER: Les Misérables, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
Life of Pi, Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
Lincoln, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
Skyfall, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson

Best visual effects

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
WINNER: Life of Pi, Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
Marvel's The Avengers, Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
Prometheus, Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
Snow White and the Huntsman, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson

 

At The 2013 Oscars: A Night Of Hollywood As Theater

(By Monica Hesse, Washington Post, February 25, 2013)

In the end, all that debate over which Washington-centric procedural would go big at this year’s Oscars (“Argo?” “Lincoln?” “Zero Dark Thirty?”) was for naught. They all won, a little bit.  “Argo,” Ben Affleck’s story of the L.A.-CIA plot to rescue U.S. Embassy workers during the Iranian hostage crisis, took home best picture at Sunday’s ceremony, as well as two other awards: film editing and adapted screenplay. It marked the first time since 1989’s “Driving Miss Daisy” that the director of a best-picture winner failed to receive a nomination for his own contribution to the film. (Last night, the directing award went to unexpected winner Ang Lee for “Life of Pi,” who thanked the Academy in multiple languages: ”Thank you. Xie xie. Namaste.”)

And — surprise! — was this also the first time that a glittery-gowned first lady was Skyped in from the White House in order to help Jack Nicholson present the top prize?  “You can’t hold grudges,” said a bearded Affleck as he accepted, in his producer role, the best picture award. “It doesn’t matter how you get knocked down again, because that’s going to happen. But you got to get back up.”  Earlier last fall, “Lincoln” was seen as presumptive top film, hoovering up 12 nominations — including a nod for director Steven Spielberg. But the snubbing of Affleck seemed to rally the voting populi around the erstwhile underdog film, whose 1970s plot was modernized by 2010s buzzwords: Benghazi. Tahrir Square. Movember moustaches.

“Lincoln” still finagled two awards, including Daniel Day-Lewis’s much anticipated third best-actor award. (His first two were for “My Left Foot” and “There Will Be Blood.”) The win made Day-Lewis the first actor to acquire three Oscars in the leading actor category, and also broke the “Spielberg Curse”: Until Sunday’s ceremony, no actor in a Spielberg film had ever won that award.  “I really don’t know how any of this happened,” he said. Oh, Mr. Lewis. You’re at your most Method-y when playing bashful.  “I had actually been committed to play Margaret Thatcher,” he deadpanned, after accepting his statue from Meryl Streep. “Meryl was Steven’s first choice for Lincoln.”  Jennifer Lawrence was also playing Meryl Streep — at least the breezy awards show version of her. “This is nuts!” she protested, after winning best actress for her portrayal of a damaged wannabe dance champion in “Silver Linings Playbook.” She remembered to wish fellow nominee Emmanuelle Riva a happy 86th birthday.

How classy those actress winners were on Sunday. Can-do, chirp-chirp Anne Hathaway took home the supporting actress award for her tremulous, bald performance in “Les Miserables” on Sunday evening’s Academy Awards ceremony. Some said she was owed it for, if nothing else, enduring the ensuing transitional haircut. Some said she was owed it for, if for nothing else, her take-one-for-the-team co-hosting duties with a somnolent James Franco two years ago.  Either way, the win was symbolic of the Hollywood as theatah theme that permeated the program — Hathaway herself representing everyone’s high school thespian president. Like me. Love my art.  “It came true,” she said, cradling the statue. (Yes! It came true! You dreamed a dream!) One can’t blame her for trying to deliver the hairbrush-as-microphone mirror speech favored by teen girls everywhere. It was, after all, her first win.

The best supporting actor award, on the other hand, went to second-time winner Christoph Waltz — the Austrian-born actor whose theatrical training actually was in the theater. His turn as a bounty hunter in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” was as cartoonishly heroic as his character in 2009’s “Inglourious Basterds” had been cartoonishly evil.  “We participated in a hero’s journey, the hero here being Quentin,” Waltz said in his acceptance speech. “You slayed the dragon because you’re not afraid of it.”

As this year’s Oscars approached, the evening was hailed as a showcase of Hollywood-in-Washington (Hollyton? Washingwood? Los Sequesterlos?), with big nominations for “Argo,” “Lincoln” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” all of which laud the D.C. back-door brokering that voters claim to haaate, but viewers apparently love.  But the awards were ultimately spread among a far more disparate group of honorees.  “Zero Dark Thirty,” the movie that launched a thousand torture debates, only ended up with one award - a rare tie, with Bond movie “Skyfall,” for sound editing. “Skyfall” also won for original song, treating the audience to an Adele/podium encounter: “I love you, bay-bey!!” she called to her “man.”

And, another early winner did have a Washington connection, although it wasn’t the one that viewers had predicted: Washington residents Sean Fine and his wife, Andrea Nix Fine, won best short documentary for “Inocente,” their chronicling of the struggles of a homeless immigrant.  “She was homeless just a year ago, and now she’s standing in front of you, and she’s an artist . . . and all of us are artists.” Sean Fine said, as he squeezed a blushing, flabbergasted Inocente Izucar on stage.
Oscarologists spend weeks leading up to the awards ceremony dabbling in over/unders and if/thens and but/maybes, trying to hone their predictions enough that it becomes unnecessary to even watch the 3¹ / ₂-hour telecast. (Straight to the photo galleries, America! Everything you really need to know about the Oscars is encapsulated in Halle Berry’s dress.) A few days ago, even accuracy meister Nate Silver rung in with his wonkified, sabermetrixed take on the evening.  As a result, everyone already knew that sobfest “Anna Karenina” would take home the prize for costume design. Still: “This is absolutely overwhelming,” said Jacqueline Durran, thanking her children in a delightfully British acceptance speech. “They’re completely oblivious to this,” she insisted. “They’re fast asleep in England.”  Oh, no no no, mummy. Some dear nanny let them stay up a wee bit late.

As a result, everyone already expected “Life of Pi,” a lush tale about a young Indian boy’s fantastical journey across the sea, to take home early visual awards. “The irony is not lost on us that in a movie about questioning what is real, most of what you see is fake,” said Bill Westenhofer, acceping the honor for visual effects. Claudio Miranda, he of the flowing silver Fabio hair, accepted the cinematography award for the film. (We caught up with him on the red carpet beforehand and asked who styled his mane. “Bed de la Morning,” he said.) The film also won for original score.

Everyone expected that “Searching for Sugarman,” the decades-long quest of a South African fan to track down a Detroit music legend, would take the award for Best Documentary.  Everyone most certainly knew that Austrian tearjerker love story “Amour” would win the award for best foreign-language film — it had transcended its language boundaries to also be nominated for best picture. That did not make director Michael Haneke’s speech any less pleasing to listen to. “Zank you very much vor zis honor . . . Zank you to my vife,” he said. “Zank you to my actors. Zank you.”

 

Hugh Jackman Rushes To Jennifer Lawrence’s Aid At Oscars

Hugh Jackman “out Hugh Jackmaned” himself as he rushes to help Jennifer Lawrence as she takes a tumble collecting her Best Actress award for Silver Linings Playbook at the Oscars.

(By Australian Times, 25 February, 2013)

The collective sighs of thousands of Australian women could be heard across the world last night as Hugh Jackman once again proved his credentials as a true Aussie gentleman.  Hugh Jackman was filmed leaping to the aid of Jennifer Lawrence, as she tripped up the stairs on the way to the podium to receive her Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. With millions watching from around the world, Jen struggled to negotiate the stairs to the stage in her large pink ball gown. The 22-year-old star recovered gracefully however, not needing Jackman’s help after all to right herself and go on to collect her well-deserved award.  Hugh Jackman later told People magazine about his heroic dash: “I had to help her, poor thing! I didn’t know if she could get up.”

Once at the podium the audience gave her a standing ovation, although Lawrence laughed it off saying: “You guys are just standing up because I fell and you feel bad, thank you.”  Predictably tweeters on Twitter had many words of advice to offer, including this from Arianna Huffington of Huffington Post: “Lesson of Jennifer Lawrence’s walk to stage: flats!”  However, other tweeters used the opportunity to comment on Hugh Jackman’s gentlemanly actions.  @Molly 23 told Jennifer: ”JLaw! When Hugh Jackman runs to help you up, YOU STAY DOWN UNTIL HE GETS TO YOU.”  @itscarinae said: “I fell in love with Hugh Jackman even more for sprinting to Jennifer Lawrence’s side after she fell.”  @nessienakivell summed it up well, saying “when Hugh ran to help Jen he was the biggest Hugh Jackman this world has ever seen. He out Hugh Jackmaned himself to the highest degree.”

 

Oscars 2013: Winners And Losers

(By Lanford Beard, Entertainment weekly, Feb 25 2013)

 WINNER: Seth MacFarlane's Self-Awareness

The Family Guy creator handicapped himself from the start, slipping in sly jokes about his destiny as a one-time host and playfully ribbing the audience when they groaned at jokes that went too far (we're lookin' at you, ''I would argue that the actor who really got inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth.'') Still, lowering the audience’s expectations was the best favor MacFarlane could have done for himself. Throwing his haters off-kilter, he was able to drop in some legitimately funny bits, including a Sound of Music gag before Christopher Plummer’s introduction of the Best Supporting Actress category and a self-deprecating riff on his own accomplishments compared to the nominees. (''You guys have made some inspiring movies. I made Ted. Your movies are going to win awards. My movies are in Redboxes outside of grocery stores being urinated on by bums.'') Early polls show that MacFarlane's gambit paid off. Well-played, voice man. Well-played.

TOSS-UP: MacFarlane's Monologue

While we credit Oscar 85's host for knowing his limitations, his ''High Hopes'' shtick felt forced during an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink monologue. A Fred and Ginger homage from Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron? Surprisingly charming. A little soft-shoe from the always game Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Sure. Enlisting William Shatner to save MacFarlane from himself, all while playing the gags that — in the Shatnerian future — were proven to tank MacFarlane's hosting stint? You're losing us, Seth. The monologue had some funny elements that were ultimately overshadowed by an over-long, under-edited execution. (Bonus winner: EW, which got a begrudging shout-out from the Oscars 2013 host.)

LOSER: Best Picture Nominees

The night had its share of awkward moments, but what was with the on-the-nose clusters of Best Picture contenders? Perhaps most streamlined was the America's Got History block of Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, and Lincoln. But then there was the DIY Rafting bloc of Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, and...Les Misérables? Not to mention a trio of meditations on mental health including Silver Linings Playbook, Amour, and...Django Unchained? We appreciate the brevity, but this was a stretch.

Winner: Oscar Historians

Could this year be any more historic? Best Actress nominees Quvenzhané Wallis and Emmanuelle Riva represented the category’s youngest and oldest contenders ever, respectively; the Best Sound Editing category ended in a tie between Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall — Oscar's first tie since 1995, and Daniel Day-Lewis became the first thesp ever to win three Best Actor trophies. Movie nerds everywhere, rejoice!

LOSER: Life of Pi's Bill Westenhofer

Is there any greater indignity than being played out of your acceptance speech by the Jaws theme? Nope. One of the ceremony's most cringe-worthy moments, hands down. More to the point, Best Visual Effects winner Westenhofer was addressing the collapse of VFX studios, including Life of Pi's Rhythm + Hues, which prompted red carpet protests before this year's ceremony. Where's Julia Roberts when you need her?

WINNER: Ted

Cinema's raunchiest stuffed animal wangled his way into announcing two Oscar winners and Jack Nicholson's ''big, post-Oscar orgy.'' What can we say? The bear has had a phenomenal go of it.

LOSER: James Bond

Ian Fleming's superspy franchise celebrated its 50th anniversary, had a blockbuster year at the box office, and won its first Academy Award since 1965, and yet…the Oscar tribute to 007 was surprisingly unimpressive. All due respect to legendary diva Shirley Bassey, who belted ''Goldfinger'' with aplomb, but there were more than a few missed opportunities in this lackluster homage — including the chance to organize a for-the-ages duet between Bassey and Best Song winner Adele. Bottom line: We were neither shaken nor stirred.

TOSS-UP: Movie Musical Montage

This year's ceremony was impressively restrained in terms of gratuitous montages. With Les Misérables up for Best Picture and Broadway vets Neil Meron and Craig Zadan at the telecast's helm, it was only natural we'd hear about the triumphant return of the movie musical. Dreamgirls' 2007 Best Supporting Actress winner Jennifer Hudson blew the roof off reprising her Oscar-winning rendition of ''And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going,'' but 2003 winner Catherine Zeta-Jones turned in an obviously lip-synched performance of Chicago's ''All That Jazz.'' Capped off by a mixed-bag group number from Les Miz that was unevenly mic'd and out of costume, and it was hard to find the melody in the muddle.

WINNER: Adele

Let's face it: Best Original Song was hers to lose. Adele has won all the awards since 21 was released more than a year ago. And yet she was, as ever, surprisingly emotional and off-the-cuff when she stepped up to the podium, alongside ''Skyfall'' producer Paul Epworth, to collect her Oscar. Adele, we love you. EGOT, you're on notice.

WINNER: In Memoriam

The annual tribute to the Academy's dearly departed has been notoriously tricky. Live performances often fall flat, and the decision to leave on ambient sound during the reel (thus revealing how much applause each late great receives) has felt gauche. This year, both got the kibosh in favor of an elegant segment capped off by Barbra Streisand's poignant performance of ''Memories,'' the iconic tune penned by three-time Oscar winner and In Memoriam notable Marvin Hamlisch

LOSER: Anne Hathaway's speech

If there was any guaranteed winner this year, it was the Les Misérables star. As Fantine, she was breathtaking, wrenching, stunning. As a Best Supporting Actress winner, she was as uninspired and rote as her underwhelming Prada gown. Oh, Anne. We had a dream your speech would be so different from this list you're giving.

WINNER: Jennifer Lawrence

Now the second-youngest actress to win the Best Actress award, Lawrence had an unfortunate stumble on the way to the stage. But she picked herself up, dusted herself off, and collected her trophy. Then, in typical J.Law style, she was delightfully candid as she told the audience in the Dolby Theatre, ''You guys are just standing up because I fell, and that's so embarrassing.'' She also wished dark horse nominee Emmanuelle Riva a happy birthday. Classy

WINNER: Meryl Streep

To quote MacFarlane, ''Ladies and gentlemen, our next presenter needs no introduction [leaves stage].'' La Streep wasn't nominated this year, but that didn't stop her from being the belle of the ball as she presented Best Actor statuette. You almost have to wonder, is there a universe in which Oscar can exist without Meryl Streep? Smart money says no.

WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis, Comedian

The über-Method actor typically hasn't been known for his sense of humor. His speeches throughout this awards season have been generally earnest and dignified, as befitting a true thespian. So, to the surprise of everyone at Sunday's ceremony, he waxed comedic about the one-for-one swap he'd made with Meryl Streep the year before: In DDL's version of the story, he booked the role of Margaret Thatcher, while Streep was Steven Spielberg's ''first choice'' to play Abraham Lincoln — ''I'd have liked to see that version,'' he quipped.

WINNER: Ben Affleck

Argo has been riding a once-in-a-lifetime wave of support to the top prize since Affleck's snub in the Best Director category. Still, despite all signs in his favor, Affleck seemed genuinely touched to win the Best Picture prize and get all due credit from co-producer Grant Heslov. He admitted that, after his Good Will Hunting screenplay win, ''I never thought I'd be back here, but I am — because of so many of you.'' (Bonus to Heslov, who joked about the win: ''I know what you're thinking: Three Sexiest Producers Alive.'')

LOSERS: Jack Nicholson and Michelle Obama

In one of the night's most unnecessary, unnatural pairings, the First Lady teamed up with the three-time Oscar winner (via satellite) to present the final award. All respect to FLOTUS Michelle Obama, but what was she doing there? Not only was it a clear tip-off that Argo would take top honors, it also made us wonder: If Jack's not enough, who is?

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