So, who thought the show dragged a bit last night? Anyone?
127 Hours. Did the Oscars last that long last night? Nah, they were actually a bit shorter than they had been in previous years, but they weren’t much on suspense or sparks.
Were the “kids” all right? Well… I give newbie hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway points for giving it their best college try, but their chemistry was dodgy, and the musty writing did them no favors. Nor did the predictability of the major winners (Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, Melissa Leo, Christian Bale, and the very safe “King’s Speech” winning Best Picture).
Yes, Franco dragged it up for a moment, but even that was more clumsy, that exhilaratingly bold. He looked more Giuliani-ish, than “Some Like It Hot.”
High spots? I loved Melissa Leo’s babbling and candid acceptance speech. What a broad! Her F-bomb drop was kind of charmingly real.
They all won. But only one of them cussed onstage. Advantage: Leo!!!
Kirk Douglas was endearing, even if it is nervous-making to see a very elderly post-stroke gentleman muddling through a presentation onstage, milking it for all it’s worth. Er, who says Hollywood is ageist? (Ahem.)
Best use of social media during the show goes to cohost Franco, who was constantly posting his own behind-the-scene pics and videos to his feed at http://www.whosay.com/jamesfranco/.
One of Franco’s backstage shots. Cozy!!!
An actor prepares…
And yes… I did rather enjoy seeing Franco in his white tights during the Black Swan spoofy video. As AfterElton aptly put it: “Baby got back!”
But my favorite moments were the pair of small thank-you’s that just reaffirmed how integral and casually obvious it is that gay people are openly part of the core of showbiz. When the 2-man/1-woman Sound Mixing team for Inception accepted their prize onstage, their male acceptor sweetly thanked “all of our wives.” Yep, sound mixer Lora Hirschberg is gay (and she’s also worked on queer filims like Howl & Shortbus).
Inception’s Oscar-winning sound mixing team, with Lora Hirschberg flanked by Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick. Congrats, folks!
And when The King’s Speech won for Best Picture, its producer Iain Canning thanked his boyfriend. Well done. (And handsome.)
Steven Spielberg presents Iain Canning the Best Picture trophy.
And another pic of Canning. Just ‘cuz…
And there you have it… AfterElton.com has pics and an Oscar recap, too. As does MTV and every other site. Go fish!
Now we can move on to other news today… Cue that Lady Gaga video, please!
