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2012 BOP Oscar Night Live BlogFebruary 27, 2012
Welcome to Celebrate The Artist Awards coming to you live from Hollywood, California, setting of The Artist. As a tribute to tonight's dominant performer, The Artist, all of our comments will be sub-titled with textual accompaniment. Warning: you will have to supply cute dog. - David Mumpower, 6:38 pm
Also, some technical achievements will be handed out to all of the movies that you actually watched this year. - David Mumpower, 6:40 pm Did anyone else know that Viola Davis wears a wig? My God she is gorgeous, but I didn't recognize her. - Tom Houseman, 6:46 pm Is that Nick Nolte, or did Jack Nicholson and Ron Perlman have a transporter accident? - Reagen Sulewski, 7:07 pm Rooney Mara rejects your feeble football metaphors. - Reagen Sulewski, 7:13 pm I don't get the fawning over Mara's dress, either. She looks like Bettie Page in a burlap sack. - Reagen Sulewski, 7:23 pm Fair warning: if you use the word "mominee" in my presence, I will slap you. - Reagen Sulewski, 7:25 pm Mara is so skinny that she really needs a slinky dress. I get confused any time a flat-chested woman wears a dress that draws attention to her boobs. - Tom Houseman, 7:25 pm Apparently I should have been watching E! That's long odds to suffer through Ryan Seacrest through for just in case something to happen. But Sacha Baron Cohen was BOP's Man of the Year for good reason. - Reagen Sulewski, 7:31 pm "Christopher Plummer: You're about to die soon, how does that feel?" - Reagen Sulewski, 7:32 pm Annie Mummalo and Kristen Wiig are showing just why they were nominated for Screenplay with their brilliant command of the English language. - Reagen Sulewski, 7:40 pm Does anyone else think Rico Rodriguez should host the Oscars? He is adorable. - Tom Houseman, 7:46 pm "He says... he loves San Dimas!" I'm not so sure about Jean Dujardin's English language career. - Reagen Sulewski, 7:47 pm An hour and a half of Red Carpet on ABC this year is like making all major league baseball games 27 innings. - David Mumpower, 7:49 pm There is a black cat that sometimes wanders into my apartment. I don't know if she belongs to anyone, but I'm naming her Aibileen. - Tom Houseman, 7:50 pm Jennifer Lopez is appearing as a human moire effect. - Reagen Sulewski, 7:52 pm I'm giving 50/50 odds that Nick Nolte knows where the hell he is right now. - Reagen Sulewski, 7:53 pm There isn't a lot of difference between Nick Nolte and Kris Kristofferson these days. - David Mumpower, 7:54 pm Zach Galifianakis has stolen Seth Rogen's five-day growth and Burt Reynolds' moustache. - Reagen Sulewski, 7:55 pm Hello, Ugly Troll from The Hangover franchise, what are you doing at the Beautiful People Ball? - David Mumpower, 7:56 pm Reagan, I don't know why you're hating on Nolte. That dude is a boss. - Tom Houseman, 7:57 pm Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin just dunked in the NBA All Star Game. I feel like the Oscars lack that sort of star power this year. - David Mumpower, 8:00 pm Nolte's performance in The Good Thief is one of the five best I've ever seen...but he looks like he got lost on the way to casting for The Walking Dead. - David Mumpower, 8:00 pm Tom, I think he's just never come out of character from Down and Out in Beverly Hills. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:00 pm I think more Oscar categories should be decided by dunk contests. Demian Bichir could throw down a 360 slam to take Best Actor. - Tom Houseman, 8:01 pm Reagan, you say that like it's a bad thing! - Tom Houseman, 8:03 pm Bradley Cooper stole Jean Dujardin's mustache! - Tom Houseman, 8:03 pm "evil Bradley Cooper" - Kelly Metz, 8:04 pm ZachG, Bradley Cooper...I'm deathly afraid at this point that Ken Jeong is going to streak the ceremony. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:04 pm Reagen, perhaps all of the Hangover guys decided to go Burt Reynolds with the mustache tonight. Bradley Cooper's is...well, wow. - Kim Hollis, 8:05 pm Glenn Close's dress qualifies her for mermaid status. The last time I saw something like that, Tom Hanks was chasing after Daryl Hannah. - David Mumpower, 8:06 pm We'll know for sure if Ed Helms or ... that other guy .... who's been in both of them but who no one knows his name are there. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:06 pm There are the accountants, who are apparently very, very good friends with Mark Wahlberg. - Kim Hollis, 8:07 pm When the best thing you can say about someone's performance is "your eyes are really piercing," you're probably not a big fan. - Tom Houseman, 8:07 pm Reagan, you're just trying to make me mad. First you rip on Nick Nolte, then my main man Justin Bartha, who was, among other things, the mentally handicapped guy in Gigli. - Tom Houseman, 8:08 pm Tom - who was the "piercing eyes" comment said about? - Kelly Metz, 8:08 pm Kelly, it was Glenn Close. I haven't seen Albert Nobbs so I don't know if her eyes are the best part of her performance. - Tom Houseman, 8:11 pm Brad is apparently shooting Legends of the Fall 2. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:12 pm Two-point analysis: Paltrow and Bullock both in white. White is the In color this year! - Max Braden, 8:13 pm Who is that wearing a Sandra Bullock mask? - Reagen Sulewski, 8:13 pm Before the awards begin, I have to say that I can never remember a year where there was this much apathy toward the ceremony. What I cannot decide is if this speaks to the appeal of the contenders to mainstream audience or a general indication of declining interest in Hollywood celebrating Hollywood. - David Mumpower, 8:13 pm I think the nominees this year don't have a lot of mass appeal. They are mostly made specifically for Academy voters, and are either mostly about nostalgia (Artist, Hugo, Midnight in Paris) or about middle-age guys dealing with middle-age stuff (The Descendants, Moneyball). - Tom Houseman, 8:15 pm This year kind of reminds me of the year The English Patient won. There's a deep sense of inevitability about the winner, but there's also a collection of films that no one bothered to see or came from outside the mainstream Hollywood factory. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:17 pm Watching Stacy Keibler at the Oscars is a surreal moment for me. I was watching wrestling the night she made her debut (don't judge me) and all she had to do was hold a clipboard. She couldn't even do that well. Now, she's dating the modern Cary Grant and is legitimately famous in her own right. - David Mumpower, 8:17 pm Thanks, Tom. I did see Albert Nobbs and now that I think about it, there were quite a few close-up shots of her face/eyes. - Kelly Metz, 8:23 pm Brian Grazer is starting to look like Joel Grey after a cartoon explosion. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:24 pm All of the show's producers look like they're related to David Lynch. - Tom Houseman, 8:24 pm Not only is Keibler famous in her own right, she always seems like she's the one holding all the cards in that relationship. - Max Braden, 8:25 pm Five minutes to showtime - it's still not too late to sedate Bruce Vilanch! - Reagen Sulewski, 8:25 pm So the countdown clock informs me there is roughly 5 minutes until the start of the show. I give it 4:50 until my child wakes up screaming. "I know you're hungry, baby, but wait until Best Supporting Actress has been announced to cry, okay?" - Kelly Metz, 8:26 pm Peronally I think Billy is going to shake things up by rapping the Best Picture nominees. Although can a dude his age get through a song and dance performance with nine nominees? - Reagen Sulewski, 8:27 pm Alright everybody, I want to know, what major category are you least sure of your pick for? I keep on second guessing myself on Cinematography, but I can't convince myself that any one movie has the best chance, so I'm sticking with Hugo. - Tom Houseman, 8:27 pm For those who don't know, Mark Wahlberg claims he was leaked the results for this year's winners. We'll track throughout the night to see how right he was. For posterity, here are his picks: Christopher Plummer will win Best Supporting Actor. Octavia Spencer will win Best Supporting Actress. Transformers: Dark of the Moon will win Best Sound Editing. Hugo will win Best Costume, Production [Design] and Cinematography. Jean Dujardin will win Best Actor. Viola Davis will win Best Actress. - Kim Hollis, 8:28 pm First time I've seen the trailer for Mirror, Mirror, during the commercial break. Good placement, since Julia Roberts is frequently (at least in my mind) associated with the Oscars. - Max Braden, 8:28 pm Apartment 23 may prove to be the worst television show of all time, but the Breaking Bad joke at the end is sublime. - David Mumpower, 8:29 pm I think Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction and the sound and visual effects categories have a lot of uncertainty to them. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:29 pm My rule with Mark Wahlberg is I refuse to believe anything he says while he is not holding a large fake penis. As such I refuse to look at his claims of what is going to win. - Tom Houseman, 8:30 pm Welcome to The Academy Awards! Morgan Freeman kicks off the evening by narrating...no wait, he's really there! I figured he spent all his time at a soundboard. - David Mumpower, 8:31 pm Incidentally, Vegas thinks there's only about a 5% chance that any of the eight films *besides* The Artist wins Best Picture. - Kim Hollis, 8:33 pm By far the best use of Justin Bieber ever. - Tom Houseman, 8:33 pm "And then we're going to go kill Hitler!" "Want to come along?" "More than you know." - Max Braden, 8:33 pm Billy Crystal as Tintin has definitely decided what my nightmare will be tonight. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:35 pm "I'm glad you're a gelding" is a solid throw-away joke. - Tom Houseman, 8:36 pm Hey, were A Better Life and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo stiffed in that montage? - Max Braden, 8:36 pm Tom, I went back and forth on Meryl Streep before eventually picking against her. - David Mumpower, 8:37 pm Billy Crystal reminds me of Jack Palance, which makes me think that Liam Neeson should come out on stage and do some one-armed pushups. - Max Braden, 8:37 pm Hey Billy, play Freebird! - Reagen Sulewski, 8:38 pm Jonah Hill gets a better seat than Scorsese? As much as I like Hill, that's just wrong. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:40 pm Billy Crystal is hilarious, but he needs to enunciate a little better. I'm missing some of his lines. - Tom Houseman, 8:40 pm I miss the big props and set pieces on stage from Billy's earlier openers. - Max Braden, 8:41 pm Carl is the 99%! - Max Braden, 8:42 pm Tom Hanks with a goatee? Someone kill the doppleganger and close the inter-dimensional rift! - David Mumpower, 8:42 pm He's been seat-filling for 59 years, which is about when he bought that tux. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:42 pm This is a big one. Will the Artist sweep? We're about to find out. - Tom Houseman, 8:43 pm The Academy Award for Best Cinematography goes to Hugo (Wahlberg is 1-1 so far.) - Kim Hollis, 8:43 pm YES!!!!!!!! - Tom Houseman, 8:43 pm Please welcome Sean Connery from The Rock. - Max Braden, 8:43 pm "And the award goes to: Jesus!" - Reagen Sulewski, 8:44 pm Marky Mark is 1/1. - Kelly Metz, 8:44 pm Tom was the only BOPer to predict Cinematography accurately. http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/column/index.cfm?columnID=14671 - Max Braden, 8:44 pm These were two of the categories we felt The Artist wouldn't win (although the staff collectively picked the wrong film for Best Cinematography). If it had, this would be a long night for all the other nominees. - David Mumpower, 8:45 pm The Academy Award for Best Art Direction goes to Hugo (Mark Wahlberg is 2-2). - Kim Hollis, 8:45 pm Tom Houseman is also 2-2, Kim. Why do people never pay as much attention to me as they do to Mark Wahlberg? - Tom Houseman, 8:45 pm I think that Italian set decoration lady's face melted. - Les Winan, 8:46 pm "Take that, Greece!" - Max Braden, 8:46 pm The difference, Tom, is that you have no Funky Bunch. - David Mumpower, 8:47 pm Pharell definitely put his mark on the show tonight. The music is bangin'. - Tom Houseman, 8:47 pm I just turned this on -- did the band get on Ticketmaster too late to get floor seats? I hate when that happens to me. - Les Winan, 8:47 pm Did Streep recycle the dress she wore in 1982 in the hopes it would be good luck? - Kelly Metz, 8:48 pm Billy Crystal is a huge fan of Billy Crystal's jokes!!!! - Les Winan, 8:51 pm Flipping over to the All-Star Game, there is a half court performance by Pitbull with rump-shaking dancers all over the place. The Oscars are in trouble. - David Mumpower, 8:51 pm "In lieu of tonight's nominated films, here's some films you'd actually like to see." - Reagen Sulewski, 8:52 pm I just heard David groan from multiple states away because of the Twilight inclusion. - Kelly Metz, 8:52 pm Oscar montages need themes. This is just "movies that somebody thought to write down." - Tom Houseman, 8:52 pm A silent French black and white film is the favorite this year, so let's have a long montage of much more interesting moments from better movies! - Les Winan, 8:53 pm The problem with this sort of movie montage is that five thousand people on YouTube have done ones just like it...and better. This is one of the difficulties in a modern broadcast. Creativity is almost you against the world. - David Mumpower, 8:53 pm Cameron Diaz looks like a goldendoodle. - Les Winan, 8:54 pm Oof, another category I'm nervous about. They're trying to torture me. - Tom Houseman, 8:54 pm The Academy Award for Best Costume Design goes to The Artist. (Mark Wahlberg is 2-3.) - Kim Hollis, 8:55 pm Mark Wahlberg has failed? I blame plants. - David Mumpower, 8:55 pm If your Oscar drinking game had you taking a shot for every time Billy Crystal made a reference to being old and out of touch, you're dead by now. - Reagen Sulewski, 8:56 pm I didn't think the black-and-white would be flashy enough for them. Guess I was wrong. - Tom Houseman, 8:56 pm "Ok, here's how I designed the costumes for The Artist...I picked two colors for the clothes -- black and white. And then, I put them on the actors!" - Les Winan, 8:56 pm Reagen, drinking games are something those crazy kids do. - Les Winan, 8:56 pm Better luck next time, Madonna. - Kelly Metz, 8:56 pm Dude, seriously, get to Supporting Actor or a category I'm confident about. - Tom Houseman, 8:57 pm Short and to the point, nice acceptance speech by Mark Bridges. - Max Braden, 8:57 pm ...Eww. - Kelly Metz, 8:58 pm The Academy Award for Best Makeup goes to The Iron Lady. (Marky Mark did not pick this category.) - Kim Hollis, 8:58 pm Makeup man is already my favorite for best acceptance speech of the night. Beautiful. - Tom Houseman, 8:59 pm Wow, this is not my year. I'm ohfer so far. - Kelly Metz, 9:00 pm I always like these mini interviews about what movie people love about movies. It feels real, and is really the reason people watch movies and the Oscars. - Max Braden, 9:00 pm Various award winning thespians are discussing the first movie they remember from their childhood. Sadly, mine was Star Wars. On the plus side, I had nowhere to go but up from there. - David Mumpower, 9:01 pm I think we just heard what Brad Pitt's next project is. Starring Jean Dujardin as the Bad Gargantua. - Reagen Sulewski, 9:01 pm Hilary Swank was willing to be interviewed because she thought it was for the Chechan Academy Awards. - Les Winan, 9:01 pm I never thought I'd say this before, but I agree with Max Braden. - Tom Houseman, 9:02 pm Also, they should never interview me about my early memories of movies. I have no idea what the first movie I saw in theaters was, and the first movie I remember loving was Rumble in the Bronx with Jackie Chan. - Tom Houseman, 9:03 pm My first James Bond movie was Moonraker. Now *there* is a great sci-fi movie...and a more interesting villain, Jaws. - David Mumpower, 9:03 pm Tom, did you know Jackie Chan broke his ankle filming a jump in Rumble in the Bronx? I'm pretty sure it's shown in the outtakes during the closing credits. - David Mumpower, 9:05 pm I guess it's telling that I'd rather talk about Jackie Chan than this year's Oscars. - David Mumpower, 9:06 pm Moonraker was also *my* first James Bond movie. I always loved it. - Kim Hollis, 9:06 pm Sandy has such wonderful comic timing. She should never do dramas. - Tom Houseman, 9:06 pm No one who speaks German could be an evil woman. - Reagen Sulewski, 9:06 pm The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film goes to A Separation. - Kim Hollis, 9:07 pm And here is your GOP talking point tomorrow. - Reagen Sulewski, 9:07 pm I think there were going to be riots if A Separation hadn't won here. There is so much love for that movie. - Tom Houseman, 9:07 pm (Mark Wahlberg had no pick for Foreign Language Film.) - Kim Hollis, 9:08 pm Don't bomb us, bro. - Max Braden, 9:08 pm Best Foreign Language Film is one of four categories where the entire staff at BOP unanimously predicted victory. The others are Best Original Song, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director and Best Picture. - David Mumpower, 9:09 pm While we sit around and wait, the first movie I saw in theaters was Cinderella, I think. It's the first one I remember. I also remember seeing Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the movie theater. That...was a long time ago. - Kim Hollis, 9:09 pm Reagen, the Super Tuesday joke immediately usurped it. - David Mumpower, 9:09 pm Do *not* fiddle with the lights while Bale is presenting this. - Reagen Sulewski, 9:09 pm And the tv audience yet again blinks and says, "oh yeah, he has that accent." - Max Braden, 9:10 pm I'm so glad they've gone back to showing clips for the nominated actors. It's always my favorite part of the show. - Tom Houseman, 9:10 pm That was the least of Jessica Chastain's perfomances I saw last year. - Reagen Sulewski, 9:11 pm McCarthy is the nominee I want to win out of all this evening, but McTeer was great. And... this is probably the strongest category this year. - Max Braden, 9:11 pm The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress goes to Octavia Spencer, The Help. (Wahlberg is now 3-4). - Kim Hollis, 9:12 pm Reagen, I agree with you. She was fine in The Help, but much better in everything else (still haven't seen Coriolanus). - Tom Houseman, 9:13 pm Is Spencer going to faint? - Kelly Metz, 9:13 pm I don't care that she didn't win. This particular Gilmore Girls fan (again, don't judge me) is thrilled that the rest of the world finally realized how talented Melissa McCarthy is. BOP is 2 for 2 on our universal picks, which isn't a good sign for those of you who root for surprise, unpredictability and chaos. - David Mumpower, 9:13 pm Highlight reel item #1: Octavia Spencer's win. - Max Braden, 9:14 pm Octavia Spencer played the DMV woman in an episode of Big Bang Theory. She was funny in it. - Tom Houseman, 9:15 pm Are there honestly no other (clean-ish) scenes from Bridesmaids that could be shown? - Kelly Metz, 9:16 pm But there have been three categories in which the majority of us were wrong (Cinematography, Costumes, and Makeup). That's promising. - Tom Houseman, 9:17 pm Octavia Spencer becomes the most famous alumnus of Auburn University since Cam Newton. - David Mumpower, 9:17 pm Kelly, it's funny because she poops. - Reagen Sulewski, 9:18 pm And now: a salute to how films get ruined! - Reagen Sulewski, 9:19 pm I feel cheated that there isn't actually any historical footage in this focus group joke. - Max Braden, 9:19 pm Maybe it's just that I'm in a good mood, but every joke tonight is hitting with me. - Tom Houseman, 9:21 pm OH NO! Castle and Beckett are trapped in a car underwater! Wait, are we not liveblogging about what we're actually watching right now? - Les Winan, 9:21 pm So to sum up: go out and watch movies, but don't tell us if you don't like them. - Reagen Sulewski, 9:22 pm Castle and Beckett made it out of the car safely, you guys. - Les Winan, 9:22 pm Bradley Cooper doesn't deserve to be onstage with Tina Fey. - Tom Houseman, 9:23 pm The Academy Award for Best Film Editing goes to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Mark Wahlberg had no pick here). - Kim Hollis, 9:24 pm Wow! Upset of the night! - Tom Houseman, 9:24 pm Oh, poop is funny? Huh. My 3-week old has a chance at comedy, then. Awesome! - Kelly Metz, 9:25 pm Now that's interesting. I presume 80% of the people who voted for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did so because of the James Bond on crystal meth introductory sequence. The guys accepting the award have been caught completely flat-footed by winning this award. They too expected The Artist to win. - David Mumpower, 9:25 pm Castle's personal history with a CIA agent and penchant for freelancing might mean the END OF AMERICA, you guys. But not if Castle and Beckett can solve the case before the CIA does. - Les Winan, 9:25 pm The Academy Award for Best Sound Editing goes to Hugo (Mark Wahlberg is now 3-5). - Kim Hollis, 9:26 pm Hey Mark Wahlberg, who's predicting the Oscars correctly? Not you. - Reagen Sulewski, 9:26 pm After two straight terrible acceptance speeches, we come to realize how rarely the tech guys get to interact with actual human beings. I bet their Farmville towns are spectacular, though. - David Mumpower, 9:27 pm The Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing goes to Hugo (Mark Wahlberg had no pick here). - Kim Hollis, 9:28 pm I hedged my bets with Mixing and Editing to ensure I'd get at least one of them right. Good job, me. - Tom Houseman, 9:28 pm To answer the previous question, these categories (other than the Shorts I haven't seen) are always my least confident, and I typically just go with the most nominated movie to win. - Max Braden, 9:29 pm Prep the EMTs for a possible heart attack on stage... - Max Braden, 9:29 pm That makes for four awards for Hugo. They are Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. With only one win thus far, The Artist has some work to do if it is to be the most lauded film of the year. - David Mumpower, 9:30 pm Memo to famous directors: Listen to your kids. But I'm afraid we've maybe just seen the last Scorsese film where someone gets wacked. - Reagen Sulewski, 9:30 pm Also, this is Greg P. Russell's 15th nomination without winning Best Sound Mixing. Let's all take a moment to laugh at him for having dreams. - Tom Houseman, 9:30 pm With four minutes left in the third quarter of the NBA All-Star game, the West is leading the East by a score of 113-101. Also, Kobe Bryant has passed Michael Jordan for most points in the history of the All-Star game. Jerk. - Kim Hollis, 9:30 pm Ellen Degeneres commercials bias me toward thinking we should have her back as an Oscar host. - Max Braden, 9:32 pm The Artist needs a clean sweep from here on out. If it loses Score, Actor, Director, or Picture, it will at best tie with Hugo for most Oscars. If it loses either Director or Score to Hugo, then this is Hugo's year even without Best Picture (of course, Hugo had the advantage of having sound, which gave it two categories). - Tom Houseman, 9:32 pm On an entirely different note, Transformers: I Can't Be Bothered to Differentiate the Subtitles of These Monstrosities is in danger of being shut out. It has lost two of its three categories and faces off against Harry Potter in Best Visual Effects. Transformers went 0 for 3 while Revenge of the Fallen went 0 for 1. So, the franchise currently has seven nominations but is 0 for 6. - David Mumpower, 9:34 pm Can someone help him open his jar of rainbows? - Reagen Sulewski, 9:35 pm My first movie experience memory: I was eight and my dad took me to Raiders of the Lost Ark, which I enjoyed up to the scary ending, where I thought "am I old enough to be watching this?" - Max Braden, 9:35 pm Where's that slackline jumper from the Super Bowl? Where's Pink? - Max Braden, 9:37 pm I took mushrooms before I went to see Tron Legacy. This is awfully similar to that movie-going experience. - Tom Houseman, 9:37 pm In summation, this is the difference between the NBA All-Star game and The Oscars. One has booty shaking dancers. The other has the Cirque du Soleil offering artistic interpretations of why we love movies. Needs more dunking. - David Mumpower, 9:37 pm Is Clooney the new Nicholson? - Kelly Metz, 9:38 pm If this about the experience of going to the movies, where's the guy talking on his cell phone over the key moment in the film? - Reagen Sulewski, 9:39 pm Hail Ming! - Max Braden, 9:40 pm Oh no, there's a rogue operative trying to start World War III -- can Castle and Beckett save the world? - Les Winan, 9:40 pm Documentary and Sound Editing were the only two categories where I'm pretty sure my pick was wrong. Let's see if I go 0-2 in those. - Tom Houseman, 9:41 pm The bad guy isn't actually the bad guy, you guys. #CastleandBeckettsavetheworld - Les Winan, 9:42 pm The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature goes to Undefeated. (Mark Wahlberg did not have a pick in this category.) - Kim Hollis, 9:43 pm Wow, that is literally the last of the nominees I expected to win. I was sure if Paradise Lost 3 lost it would be to Pina or Hell and Back Again. - Tom Houseman, 9:43 pm Is that a new thing? Every time I curse inappropriately I'm gonna say "Documentary!" - Tom Houseman, 9:44 pm Wow, I wanted Undefeated to win, but I didn't think the Academy would give it the time of day. It's nice to have Weinsteins championing you. Also, this is not to be confused with another 2011 film, The Undefeated. That has...a different subject. - David Mumpower, 9:44 pm (I'm getting bored of tracking Mark Wahlberg's Oscar picks.) - Kim Hollis, 9:45 pm The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature goes to Rango. - Kim Hollis, 9:49 pm David, I'm pretty sure if Harvey had been championing the Sarah Palin doc it would have at least gotten a nomination. - Tom Houseman, 9:49 pm (And with that, the only category I had a real investment in is over. Yay Rango!) - Kim Hollis, 9:49 pm aw, I was the only one to get this category wrong. (The animation in Rango was great, but I enjoyed the storytelling in Puss in Boots more.) - Max Braden, 9:50 pm As Chris Rock talks animation, I reiterate that he's one of the best hosts the show has ever had. - David Mumpower, 9:50 pm The Animated feature Oscar goes to one of my least favorite movies of the year. - Kelly Metz, 9:51 pm How tall is Ben Stiller, like five two? - Reagen Sulewski, 9:53 pm I love Emma Stone, but she looks like she should be laying on top of a gift car on Christmas morning. - Max Braden, 9:53 pm Emma Stone for host! - Tom Houseman, 9:53 pm I will say this. Emma Stone presents herself like a superstar. I don't know if she's faking it until she makes it, but the confidence she has is remarkable for a 23-year-old. - David Mumpower, 9:55 pm This is a crazy good category. I wouldn't complain about any of the winners. - Tom Houseman, 9:56 pm Every time a person hates on Rango, a devil get its horns. - David Mumpower, 9:56 pm The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects goes to Hugo. - Kim Hollis, 9:56 pm Xang Ganghong, you guys! #CastleandBeckettsavetheworld - Les Winan, 9:56 pm I was almost gonna add "except Hugo" to that. Oof. - Tom Houseman, 9:57 pm Okay, that's five wins for Hugo and if I were involved with The Artist, I would be getting a bit uncomfortable. Whether it wins Best Picture and Best Director, it's still being overshadowed. This is a huge boost to Hugo's DVD/Blu-Ray release on Tuesday, that's for sure. - David Mumpower, 9:57 pm Is it possible that Hugo pulls off an upset tonight? At the very least, I think it's more in the running for Director than I had believed up to now. - Kim Hollis, 9:57 pm Hugo has now won as many Oscars as The Aviator did. That's not surprising. - Tom Houseman, 9:58 pm Kim, I am of the opinion that people voted for Hugo at the bottom of the ballot to offset the fact that The Artist had the top locked up. I expect Vegas has moved up the odds for the Best Picture field from 5%, though. - David Mumpower, 10:00 pm The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor goes to Christopher Plummer (Wahlberg is back on track, y'all!). - Kim Hollis, 10:00 pm Charlton Heston, Clint Eastwood, and Nick Nolte walk into a bar... - Max Braden, 10:01 pm Suck it, Michael Caine! - Tom Houseman, 10:01 pm Sorry, he will always be Georg von Trapp to me. - Kelly Metz, 10:01 pm You know, I think this Christopher Plummer dude might amount to something. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:02 pm Seems like Jennifer Beals really went off the deep end when Chicago Code was cancelled. #CastleandBeckettsavetheworld - Les Winan, 10:02 pm I've already gotten five categories wrong, which means that the best I can do is 19/24, tying my all-time best. And we haven't even gotten to the short films, yet. - Tom Houseman, 10:02 pm They did it, you guys. Good job, Castle and Beckett! - Les Winan, 10:02 pm Christopher Plummer, Max Von Sydow, and Ian McKellen walk into a wholly different bar... - Max Braden, 10:04 pm Christopher Plummer to host! Okay, maybe not, but hearing his acceptance speeches has been the highlight of awards season. - Tom Houseman, 10:04 pm It always shocks me that Plummer wasn't a nominee for The Sound of Music. - Max Braden, 10:05 pm Max, Plummer spent so much time snarking on that movie ("The Sound of Mucus"), he probably wasn't nominated intentionally. - Kelly Metz, 10:07 pm Scrolling through Christopher Plummer's filmography is a ten minute process. My favorite movie of his is 12 Monkeys and my favorite performance of his is Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The most surprising film he's done in the 2000s is Dracula 2000. I bet he fired his agent after that. - David Mumpower, 10:10 pm The best thing about Billy Crystal hoping is that he's actually having fun. The first-time hosts are always so nervous. - Tom Houseman, 10:10 pm Who had 'an hour and a half in' for the time elapsed when Billy Crystal would finally be funny? - Kelly Metz, 10:10 pm I think even Jay Leno would have rejected that "what they were thinking" bit. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:11 pm "Thank you, Tom, and thank you for whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Mr. Excitement." - Max Braden, 10:11 pm In that shot of Nick Nolte, his face was exactly the same color as a pumpkin. That can't be healthy. - David Mumpower, 10:11 pm This is where The Artist starts its comeback... I hope. - Tom Houseman, 10:13 pm Why don't Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson present together anymore? Did they have a falling out like Cusack and Piven? - Kim Hollis, 10:13 pm The Academy Award for Best Score goes to The Artist (Mark Wahlberg did not choose to pick this one, either). - Kim Hollis, 10:14 pm Competing in the Best Original Score category against The Artist is like being in the Best TV Show Set in Kentucky category against Justified. - David Mumpower, 10:14 pm And here comes Kim Novak to crash the stage. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:14 pm Best Original Score was our only reminder for the evening that Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg did a movie together. - David Mumpower, 10:15 pm Although from those short clips, the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy score sounded stellar. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:15 pm Wow. I want to watch someone try to teach Ludovic Bource how to pronounce Iglesias. He was not even close. - Tom Houseman, 10:15 pm I think he just invited us all back to his hotel room. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:16 pm Reagen, it is, although Iglesias' work was even better in The Skin I Live In. - Tom Houseman, 10:16 pm Kim, I think Wilson is trying to be taken seriously with Midnight in Paris (theoretically) in contention. That's never an issue for Ben Stiller. - David Mumpower, 10:16 pm I think I caught 3 words of that speech. - Kelly Metz, 10:16 pm "Yo, Ludovic, I'ma let you finish, but Vertigo had the best score of all time!" -Kim Novak. - Tom Houseman, 10:17 pm Will Ferrell and that Wolfpack guy from The Hangover are doing a cymbals joke. Basically, this is the black tie formal wear version of More Cowbell. - David Mumpower, 10:17 pm I would have LOVED to see Man or Muppet performed live. It would have been the best part of the show. - Tom Houseman, 10:18 pm The Academy Award for Best Song goes to "Man or Muppet" (Wahlberg also didn't pick this category. He should have - he had a 50/50 shot!). - Kim Hollis, 10:18 pm Pepsi or Coke? McDonald's or Burger King? Rio or The Muppets? - David Mumpower, 10:18 pm Oh look, human party favors. - Max Braden, 10:20 pm Jason Segel has never looked more excited to hear his name said. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:21 pm Apropos of nothing, Rio was the most beautiful movie I saw in 2011. The plot was glacially slow, but the animators did an amazing job. - David Mumpower, 10:21 pm There's just one second left in the NBA All-Star game, everyone! The West is up by three points. Can they hold on? We'll know in a minute. (They're in time out right now.) - Kim Hollis, 10:21 pm Ellen Degeneres is doing so many JC Penny commercials tonight that she's getting more face time than when she actually hosted the Oscars. - David Mumpower, 10:23 pm The West held on to win the All-Star game. Final score 152-149. That...is outrageous. Lebron looks sad. - Kim Hollis, 10:23 pm That's a lot of leg. - Max Braden, 10:25 pm I need to get Adapted Screenplay right to catch up with Tim Briody. - Tom Houseman, 10:25 pm Billy Crystal is going to be making these exact same jokes when he hosts the 100th Academy Awards. - Les Winan, 10:26 pm Showing us the script over the scenes is my other favorite part of the Oscars. - Max Braden, 10:26 pm The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay goes to The Descendants (Mark Wahlberg doesn't care about writers; thus, he didn't pick in this category). - Kim Hollis, 10:27 pm Angelina Jolie wouldn't be visible if the Oscars were broadcast in 3D. - Les Winan, 10:27 pm Yay Dean Pelton! - Reagen Sulewski, 10:27 pm Dean Pelton to host! - Tom Houseman, 10:27 pm The MVP Award for the NBA All-Star Game goes to Kevin Durant (Mark Wahlberg did not pick in this category). - Kim Hollis, 10:28 pm That guy on the left looks like Santorum. - Max Braden, 10:28 pm The Descendants wound up getting shouted down during awards season because it had the audacity to have speaking parts and color imagery. What I find remarkable about it that hasn't been discussed much is that without George Clooney in the lead, that's a cast of relative unknowns. The fact that it is so good speaks volumes about Payne's ability to get the best out of people and I say that as someone who isn't (historically) a fan of his. - David Mumpower, 10:29 pm The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay goes to Midnight in Paris and Woody Allen (again, no pick from Wahlberg. Way to put yourself out there, big guy). - Kim Hollis, 10:30 pm Werner Herzog for host! - Reagen Sulewski, 10:31 pm David, Payne is great with working with actors, nobody can deny that. But he never challenges himself as a filmmaker, which is why he'll never make a movie as good as Election. - Tom Houseman, 10:31 pm Interviewer: Define what makes a great movie. Robert Downey Jr.: "I think that's a great question for Werner Herzog to complicate." - Max Braden, 10:31 pm Reagen, now you're thinking! - Tom Houseman, 10:31 pm Tom, Election is one of those movies that will be on a loop for me if I wind up in Hell. I hated Reese Witherspoon's character like I hated Lucy Punch's character in Bad Teacher...my vote for Worst Performance of 2011. - David Mumpower, 10:34 pm Payne's Citizen Ruth may be the ultimate example of "Take no prisoners" comedy. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:36 pm Upon reflection, what Pixar did earlier was rather obnoxious. Their qualifying release, Cars 2, wasn't nominated for Best Animated Feature because...well, you know. So, immediately after a competing studio's title is lauded, they show an extended commercial for Brave. It's like they're saying "Okay, here is the REAL animated movie that matters." It's chippy behavior. - David Mumpower, 10:36 pm Look out! She's a zombie! - Max Braden, 10:37 pm Could they not have found someone relevant? - Kelly Metz, 10:37 pm Okay, the short categories. This is where my night can go from good to terrible. - Tom Houseman, 10:39 pm The Academy Award for Best Live Action short goes to The Shore (obviously, Mark Wahlberg didn't pick in this category. No one likes to pick these). - Kim Hollis, 10:40 pm I wanted Time Freak to win. It sounded like Best of Primer. Or Doctor Who fan fiction. - David Mumpower, 10:40 pm I'd love to know who they had yell "Scorsese!" from the audience. - Max Braden, 10:42 pm The Academy Award for Best Documentary Short goes to Saving Face. - Kim Hollis, 10:42 pm Having a drinking game on stage makes me love them about 1000% more. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:43 pm Okay, who yelled "Scorsese?" Hilarious. - Kelly Metz, 10:43 pm I don't want to say Rose Byrne is too skinny, but her left side is on her right. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:43 pm I don't care, Max. That was awesome. See? Everything is better with Melissa McCarthy. (McCarthy and her Bridesmaids co-host Rose Byrne did a drinking game chug on the word 'Scorsese') - David Mumpower, 10:43 pm The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film goes to The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. - Kim Hollis, 10:45 pm Rose Byrne has been eating at Angelina Jolie's restaurant. - Les Winan, 10:45 pm This Academy Award winner is available for immediate download on iTunes. It's an app. - David Mumpower, 10:45 pm A man in a hat! I like it. - Max Braden, 10:45 pm I went 2-3 in the shorts. I haven't done that well in half a decade. Go me! - Tom Houseman, 10:46 pm I'm going to sleep soon, so I'll just say that George Clooney was fantastic in The Descendants and it's a shame he didn't win. - Les Winan, 10:47 pm In a few minutes, I will agree with the dude watching Castle all night. - David Mumpower, 10:48 pm A year from now The Dark Knight Rises will have won all the awards, including Documentary Short and Animated Film. Also, the ratings will have been the highest ever. - Kim Hollis, 10:51 pm I think it would be really cool if Malick won here. - Tom Houseman, 10:52 pm I don't want to alarm anyone, but these awards are in danger of finishing on time. - Reagen Sulewski, 10:52 pm "Michel Hazanvishu! Haza... Haza... Hazanaggaworkhereanymore!" - Reagen Sulewski, 10:53 pm Game over folks. If you were worried about The Artist losing Best Picture you can sleep sound. Congrats to Michel, easily the second best director of the year behind Steve McQueen. - Tom Houseman, 10:54 pm The Academy Award for Best Director goes to Michel Hazanavicius of The Artist (Mark Wahlberg did not pick here, either. He would have chosen David O. Russell if he had the option). - Kim Hollis, 10:54 pm I'm so pleased that he won that award that I almost clapped in front of my TV at the end of his speech. - Max Braden, 10:55 pm Where pronunciation is key: "She's either the greatest actress of our time, or a really dedicated hoarder." - Max Braden, 10:56 pm Jessica Chastain has just said that Terence Malick's films "are the perfect interpretation of who he is as a man". Based on The Tree of Life, this means he is a wounded dinosaur. - David Mumpower, 10:56 pm Oprah: "I get an Oscar! ... and none of you do. I'm not crazy, you know." - Reagen Sulewski, 10:58 pm I love James Earl Jones the way that Houseman loves Shame. - David Mumpower, 10:58 pm Is this the first time they've had a live musical performance accompany the In Memoriam reel? - Max Braden, 11:04 pm This segment is a lot more difficult to make fun of since they got people to stop applauding during it. - Reagen Sulewski, 11:06 pm I think that for the rest of my life every time I hear Falk say "as you wish" I'm gonna tear up a little. - Tom Houseman, 11:07 pm The way you can tell how old I am is that I have no idea who that was performing What a Wonderful World, but I know that Sheila E. is playing drums in the balcony. - David Mumpower, 11:10 pm It has actually been almost 20 minutes since they handed out an award. (I'm not counting the honorary ones.) - Kim Hollis, 11:11 pm Billy's hosting this show like a talent show or The Gong Show. Which I guess isn't that far off. - Max Braden, 11:14 pm This is the moment when Natalie Portman appears on stage and dares bloggers and tweeters to link her to Your Highness. - David Mumpower, 11:14 pm David, she's the woman who denied Justin Bieber his crown at the Grammys last year. - Reagen Sulewski, 11:15 pm I've half convinced myself that Portman's necklace is made up of twinkling LED lights. - Max Braden, 11:15 pm If you count each bark as a word, Uggie said a lot more than Jean did in The Artist. - Tom Houseman, 11:16 pm I fell asleep again just watching that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy clip. - Kelly Metz, 11:17 pm The Academy Award for Best Actor goes to Jean Dujardin (Mark Wahlberg is back on track!). - Kim Hollis, 11:18 pm I'm waiting for him to start climbing over the seats. - Tom Houseman, 11:18 pm I'll say what we're all thinking: the dog out-acted him. - David Mumpower, 11:18 pm I'm pretty sure they could have picked a clip to showcase Dujardin without showing the best scene in the movie. - Reagen Sulewski, 11:19 pm I say again, I've been a fan of Dujardin since catching OSS: 117. Everyone should rent his spy spoof series. I'm really pleased he won here. - Max Braden, 11:19 pm The dog deserved a Best Supporting Actor nomination. - Kelly Metz, 11:20 pm With "I love your country" and excitement to burn during his speech, Dujardin says exactly the right thing to guarantee he isn't in his 15th minute of fame. Free advice: aim higher than The Merovingian. - David Mumpower, 11:20 pm The network censor was hovering over the mute button for a tense moment there at the end of his speech. - Max Braden, 11:20 pm OK, everyone who voted for Dujardin - justify leaving Andy Serkis off your ballot. - Reagen Sulewski, 11:21 pm Max, the OSS series is on Netflix watch instant. Is renting movies still a thing? - Tom Houseman, 11:21 pm Reagen, Serkis was good, but I thought it was a fairly one-dimensional part. Dujardin brought so much nuance to Valentin. - Tom Houseman, 11:22 pm In the spirit of The Artist, Tom, rent it for the historical nature of the thing! - Max Braden, 11:23 pm At the risk of being exposed as an Ocean's 11 superfan, the best two performances of the year were by Danny and Rusty. - David Mumpower, 11:24 pm What I learned from Rooney Mara's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: two rapes don't make a right. - David Mumpower, 11:28 pm They keep improperly showing clips of The Iron Lady with Thatcher in her prime, but the movie is really about Thatcher years after the fact. - Max Braden, 11:28 pm The Academy Award for Best Actress goes to Meryl Streep (Wahlberg got this one wrong). - Kim Hollis, 11:29 pm Meryl Streep wins her first Oscar in 30 years. It's about time. - Tom Houseman, 11:29 pm It looked for a second like Viola was just going to go up on stage anyway. - Reagen Sulewski, 11:30 pm This is somehow the surprise of the evening and not at all shocking when put in perspective. - David Mumpower, 11:30 pm Yeah, Meryl. I was part of that half. - Kelly Metz, 11:30 pm Streep's repeated humility always reminds me of the scene in Hardware Wars when Augie Ben Doggie says "no, no, go on without me" and they all yell "Martyr!" - Max Braden, 11:31 pm After watching Colin Firth present the award and make Meryl Streep cry, I'm of the opinion that out of all the people we've mentioned as a possibility, he is THE best choice to host the Oscars. He's deceptively hilarious and he classes up the proceedings to boot. - David Mumpower, 11:32 pm Since he was 19 years old...could it be...Mickey Rooney?? oh. - Max Braden, 11:33 pm I think Best Actor should really have gone to anyone who could plausibly make out like Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close deserved a Best Picture nomination. - Reagen Sulewski, 11:33 pm This is one of those years where I would love to see the order of finish for Best Picture. At least two of the films are more disliked than liked by most. - David Mumpower, 11:34 pm This presentation of the nominated movies is effective. - Max Braden, 11:35 pm Also, does Tom Cruise's presentation of Best Picture mean that he is officially forgiven? Is the MI4 comeback complete? - David Mumpower, 11:35 pm The Academy Award for Best Picture goes to The Artist. (Does it even matter who Wahlberg picked here? We know he was just joshing by now.) - Kim Hollis, 11:35 pm ...aaaaand the backdrop turns out to be cheeseball. - Max Braden, 11:36 pm This is the first year since 2002 when the Calvin Award and the Oscar went to the same film. Everybody loves The Artist. - Tom Houseman, 11:37 pm "Hey Jean, you just won an Oscar! Now look after the dog." - Reagen Sulewski, 11:38 pm Do my eyes deceive me? David is complimenting Colin Firth? - Kelly Metz, 11:38 pm And with the close of the acceptance speech for Best Picture, Billy Crystal announces the end of the 84th annual Academy Awards. Hugo and The Artist wind up tied with 5 awards each although The Artist did win three of the five most important categories while Huge won none. So, they are 1 and 1A for 2011 cinema. - David Mumpower, 11:40 pm There were a couple of surprises, but this mostly went about as expected. Thanks for joining BOP once again while we watched Hollywood's biggest night of celebration. - Kim Hollis, 11:42 pm I don't think I've ever seen a win as surprising as Dragon Tattoo for Best Film Editing. - Tom Houseman, 11:43 pm Tom, how quickly we forget Three Six Mafia. - Reagen Sulewski, 11:45 pm I got 17-24, which is above average for me, but nothing spectacular. I was most disappointed in my wrong picks for Actress and Sound Editing, and very, very pleased that I got Cinematography right. - Tom Houseman, 11:45 pm Reagen, I was not at all surprised by Three Six Mafia winning. I predicted that as soon as the nominations were announced. - Tom Houseman, 11:45 pm BOP consensus was 9 for 10 on the majors. Meryl Streep caught most of us off guard. - David Mumpower, 11:51 pm "And finally, the results of all the secret voting are known only to the independent accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers until the sealed envelopes are opened on the air." You hear that, Mark Wahlberg? - David Mumpower, 12:00 am
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Thursday, January 16, 2025
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