News

Tralee 7:11 p.m.: Ah...happy Oscars, Leah! I'm writing from snowy Fernie, B.C., where it's more about snowpants and balaclavas than evening gowns. Actually, I just came from the lounge where we were watching Casablanca. Sigh. Ingrid Bergman on the big screen...

Anyway, to the matter at hand. For starters, have you noticed how hot Helen Mirren's looking on the red carpet? She's in a shimmery silvery-nude dress by Christian LaCroix and she just told Ben Mulroney that it was the most beautiful dress she's ever worn. I have to admit I like it when starts admit that all the free clothes are a killer perk.

Tralee 7:15 p.m.: Newsflash: Celine Dion looks fantastic. No weird backward white tux and freaky hat. She's got flowy hair and a great old-school Hollywood-style green gown....how is it that Las Vegas has upped her chic quotient?

Leah 7:20 p.m.: Hi Tralee, Yes, I agree Helen Mirren looks gorgeous but if one more commentator gushes about how lovely she is "for her age" I'm going to chew my arm off. Spike Lee looks like a black Woody Allen. In fact he IS the black Woody Allen.

Tralee 7:22 p.m.: I hate that, too. Can we all please agree to stop being astonished when a women of any age looks fab.

Mark Walberg just tried to duck Ben M. on the rep carpet by saying he had to use the men's room. Tip: go before you leave the house. Really.

Liam 7:25 p.m.: You always wonder how all the stars seem to know the hosts of these television programs. Much of the time, they don't.

It's interesting to see the actual red carpet. The TV people have big signs indicating their television station and the name of the host in big letters so as the stars make the walk, they go from station to station and say a big, "Hello so-and-so" as if they're long-lost friends.

Once again, I'm afraid, it's all show-business.

Liam 7:28 p.m.: Celine leads the vanguard for the new "green theme" for this year. Can Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth not win?

Leah 7:36 p.m.: Yikes, Beyonce in green looking suitably envious of her costar Jennifer Hudson.

Kristen Dunst is a school marmish in that weird 20s number with the feathers at the bottom.

JLo looking like Mary Tyler Moore meets Ben Hur.

Any consensus on best dressed? My vote's for Gwyneth in delectable red.

Liam 7:40: Beyonce definitely looks good for her age. And greenish as well. Back to my environmental theme.

Tralee 7:42: Funny, the two guys I'm watching with really like Beyonce's figure-hugging number and, predictably, her long loose hair. I'd love to see a guy-girl poll on the Oscars....

I love the Dunst nerdy-chic thing. If I was a skinny minny I'd try for that aesthetic, too.

Haven't had a good gander at Gwynnie yet - but the top looks pretty and delicate. Reminicent of Michelle Williams' yellow number last year.

Leah 7:44: I can't believe I'm about to say this but I HATE the colour of Kate Winslet's dress. Hospital tray green. And she's lost a depressing amount of weight. They all do in the end.

Liam 7:46: Is there a cat on Nicole Kidman's shoulder?

Tralee 7:47: I thought it was a lizard. But it's Balenciaga (pronounced tres Francais, of course), dahling.

Leah 7:48: Gwyneth's in Zac Posen. What about Nicole Kidman's big red pussy bow? I think it's sort of daring.

Tralee 7:49: And yet, the CTV commentators mentioned Winslet's pretty fierce anti-skinny-minny (sorry to be a phrase repeater) gal....and yes, not sure exactly how she's curvy anymore.

Just saw a ghost - I mean, Peter O'Toole. A friend here called it: he's dressed like a lounge singer. Hi countryman Daniel Craig is faring better in his classic tux.

Leah 7:55: Meryl Streep just joked to Ryan Seacrest that not only is it her 14th nomination, she's also a size fourteen to match. A rare moment of charming self deprecation at the festival of smuggery and seriousness that is the Academy Awards.

Liam 7:56: I think Anne Hathaway's bow-tie slipped.

Tralee 7:59:Sadly, Meryl Streep is channelling the look of a grade eight art teacher. And the hair trend of the night is official. Everyone from Beyonce to Reese is wearing crazy-long hair extensions.

Leah 8:00: And I just cut off all my hair. Figures. I'd like to put out an all points bulletin on Nicole Kidman's freckles. What happened to those? Does botox get rid of freckles?

Liam 8:03: Re: Nicole's freckles. The freckles have been disappearing since she was a teenaged actress with red hair. She's a very strict sun avoider and, when you see her up close, there's a fair bit of make-up.

Tralee 8:04: I also suspect some funky laser-thingy is zapping them. Poor Naomi Watts. Dwarfed by her Aussie pal Nicole Kidman. And she's got an unofficial bun under her yellow dress - Liev Schreiber's apparently. On second thought, maybe Nicole is her baby-bump beard.

Tralee 8:04: So..while TV switches over to the real deal, may I ask you two what your personal Oscar rituals are? Who are you with? Who are you wearing? And what are you eating?

Leah 8:08:Neighbourhood friends. Jeans and sweatshirt (by The Gap). Indian take out and box wine. And you?

Liam 8:09: I'm not wearing anyone though I am dressed, sort of. I'm wearing a long-sleeve green T-shirt (the colour of this year's Oscars) and jeans and I haven't shaved because it's Sunday. I haven't eaten yet but I have some tofu waiting for duirng a commercial break. My wife and daughters and dog are down in the basement watching the big TV while I sit upstairs watching the little TV. This is the way they prefer it because I'm an obnoxious presence who interferes with their enjoyment.The dog doesn't get much out of the Oscars but sometimes popcorn hits the floor. I gave him an hour-long walk just before the red carpet so he has nothing to complain about. My Oscar ritual in recent years involves writing about the Oscars.

Tralee 8:12: Me? I'm in a condo right near the Fernie ski hill. With my beau and a pal, awaiting his girlfriend. Frankly, I'm looking forward to a another fashion-loving chick around. I'm awaiting a meal cooked by the gents, but since they've already fiddled with the remote, resulting in everyone turning Emerald-City green for a spell (you'll notice I refrained from mentioning colours for a moment..), I'm itching to take over.

Good news; a can of smoked oysters was just located. We have canapes!

Leah 8:13: Re: Kidman's freckles, my friend Liz says "Lemon juice."

So depressed Naomi's having Liev's baby. I'm in love with him. Just checking my To Do list and "steal Liev away from Naomi" is right there, number 9. If only I wasn't so busy! Now it's too late! Argh!

Liam 8:18: Opinions on Cate Blanchett's get-up?

Leah 8:20: It's risky but she pulls it off. Now if only she'd have a sandwich.

Tralee 8:21: Umm... does that qualify as bitchy?

Leah 8:23: oh shut up.

Leah 8:24: Cameron's looking downright tannorexic since the split with Justin. Okay, I'm going to stop being bitchy. From now on only positive thoughts. What an honour it is to be here, bloging about the Oscars. I'm so lucky to have choices -- CTV or Star. I'm just trying to live in the moment.

Tralee 8:30: Re; Liam's query. Cate always looks great, I love the pewtery dress and sleek 20s-style hair. "She's possibly the most photogenic woman on earth," according to one of my my resident males. "But not sexy; you don't want to defrock her."

Penelope Cruz, all sexy nudie coloured Versace and makeup to match, has been nominated as sexiest thus far.

But of Cate, this reassuring bit from one of my Oscar mates: "You want to have dinner with her, talk to her, then defrock her."

Another observation, from the due corner:"Everyone's wearing those broochy earrings," as we listened to a bit with Kate Winslet.

Liam 8:34: This hyper-edited thing with all the nees is really pretty boring. It makes me think of an end-of-year office video, with a lot of people who aren't as interesting as they're supposed to be.

Tralee 8:40: So far, Ellen's not doing bad. Great timing.

Liam 8:40: Hmmm. I haven't laughed.

Leah 8:47: Afraid I'm with Liam on Ellen. I'm finding her unfunny and obsequious. And what's with this church choir running through the aisles? Why do the Oscars make me so grumpy?

Tralee 8:48: Yeah, I'll admit it. Monologue good, aisle-running not.

Tralee 8:49: I like the kids-named Oscar quip...and the one just now. I wouldn't want to follow that... And she didn't do her dancing schtick right off the bat. My pals just dubbed Kidman and Craig "Botox and the Beast."

Leah 8:55: will ferrel and the boys presenting the the achievement in make up award just sprung me out of my funk.

Tralee 8:55: And I'm liking the acccents of the Pan's Labrynth crew as they nab that one, their second.

Tralee 9:00: Rah rah. First Canadian Oscar for The Danish Poet. Now, how do we get to see the film??

Leah 9:00: Wait -- what's going on? Someone just said "Canada."

Liam 9:02: This is a movie based on West Side Story about Palestinians and Israelis.

Tralee 9:02: The clip looked pretty funny, no?

Leah 9:07:I 'm over Liev -- am now in love with nice sexy Jewish boy director of West Bank Story. Nice speech -- smooth, funny, to-the-point, prepared without being cocky.

Tralee 9:07: They MUST we working up to big-ish award soon, right? Like Best Supporting Actor or Actress....please, say it is so.

Liam 9:07: I don't think so. I understand the plan this year was to push the best supporting actor awards back to the bigger awards with the theory that it would build expensve.

Tralee 9:07: You mean suspense? It's hard to type and watch...

Phew. That wacky "choir" number is over. Kinda neat to know that a group of humans can imiitate the sound of a prop plane...but I just see minutes ticking away.

Leah 9:17: Controversial choice for best sound editing, don't you think?

Liam 9:18: Actually I picked it. I"m going for Dreamgirls for sound mixing.

Leah 9:18: So much expense, so little suspense.

Tralee 9:19: Touche. With an accent. Finally...best supporting actor is up now.

Tralee 9:22: You win, again.

9:23 :Alan Arkin wins best supporting actor Little Miss Sunshine

Liam 9:23: Unbelievable. Eddie Murphy was the favourite in this category from the get-go. I have a horrible feeling that the offensive Norbit promotion sank Murphy for this one.

Tralee 9:23: Totally. I bet there were epic meeting begging the Norbit producers to hold off.... Liam, a quasi-serious question; When will Hollywood do away with the fat suit? Ugh.

Leah 9:24: According to one of the members of my peanut gallery, one of the nominees for sound mixing was just passed over for the 20th time. He's the Susan Lucci of sound mixing.

Leah 9:27: I'm very happy for Allan Arkin, but couldn't he have memorized his speech? He's an actor for god's sake.

Liam 9:27: Ah, the blissfully short penguin interpretive dance number. I mean, it could have been as long as the sound effects choir.

Tralee 9:30: But now we have James Taylor. Yawn.

Tralee 9:34: Followed directly by Melissa Etheridge's song for Gore's Inconvient Truth. With a power point presentation behind her reminding us about climate change. In this moment, I'm more bummed out about the thin original song category than global warming.

Liam 9:34: The other three songs nominated are all from Dreamgirls.

Gosh, I thought I was just getting an Oscar show and now I've learned a lot of cool recyling tips. Like you can melt your Oscar down and re-use it to fill the teeth you've broken off grnding them through these speeches.

Tralee 9:37: On the first point, I'm praying for a medley.

Leah 9:40: I know Al Gore's trying to save the polar ice cap, but in the meantime he should consider cutting out carbs. And what's this about the Oscar's going green? Spotlights ablazing, Hummer limos ahumming, oh but wait, we have a website with recycling tips!

Tralee 9:42: And isn't Leo the one who drove around and around with his posse in a Prius, taunting le tout Hollywood, forgeting that he was actually, like, using fuel?

Leah 9:42: Ellen is bombing but in a weird, self-conscious/on-purpose kind of way. Ironic bombing.

Liam 9:51: This is expected to go to William Monahan for The Departed, which was adapted from the Hong Kong film, Infernal Affairs.

9:53: The Departed wins in the screenplay-adapted category

Leah 9:55: My host Dave Eddie shared the same US publisher with Monahan way back when and says Monahan was jealous because he got sent on a book tour. Now guess who's feeling jealous?

Liam 10:05: I liked Tom Hanks "You bet Chris -- more fun!" The first hint of any Oscar deprecation this year. It's such a safe flat year despite the three upsets so far (Best animated film, best animated short and best supporting actor). The set pieces -- sound effects choir, writers montage -- have had no zing at all.

Tralee 10:07: So, an adaptation can be from another script? I suppose I always thought it was about adapting books....

Kinda fun to see the costume montage. Marie Antonette won. Not a great movie, but worth seeing for the frothy girly gear.

Liam 10:10: Sherry Lansing's husband, Billy is William "The Exorcist" Friedkin. In "Hollywood Animal: A Memoir", Joe Eszterhas said Sherry Lansing asked him to issue a statement that he supported Paramount's hiring of William Friedkin as director for his Jade (1995) script. Friedkin was Lansing's husband, and she wanted protection from charges of nepotism. Eszterhas says he did not want Friedkin, who he considered to be washed up but he gave in to her wishes.

10:14: Pan's Labyrinth wins best cinematography

Liam 10:14: Marie Antoinette should have won for best food but that isn't a category yet.

Leah10:14: and best cocaine too.

Liam 10:14: Adapted can be from almost anywhere. Borat was from Sacha Baron Cohen's television show character.

Leah 10:15: Interesting the way Sherry Lansing implied that making movies for a living was a "cause," as in "I'm sure you all have causes you are equally passionate about." It's called a job, honey.

I actually laughed at Ellen getting Speilberg to take her photo with Clint.

And I rarely find fault in Gwyneth, but what's with the hair over one shoulder. She can't move her neck. Flip it. Just flip it. You know she's dying to.

10:14: Pan's Labyrinth wins best cinematography

Tralee 10:15: Maybe all that philanthropic work is penance for bad behaviour...

Tralee 10:20: I could use one of those pink petits fours right about now.....

Liam10: 25: Okay visual effects. My third attempt at a technical award correct guess -- Pirates of the Caribbean!

Tralee10:25: Right you are. How do you do it?

Leah 10: 26: Naomi, Naomi, Naomi, how your yellow sleeve thingies woe me.

Tralee10:27: Lansing had them too....not flattering. But you might just be jealous because of her Liev bump. Is anyone else Jonesing for a weepy or over-the-top speech? Or a Sean-Penn-defends-Jude-Law moment? Nothin'.

Liam10:28: We have a Canadian here. Deepa Mehta's Water. Given the Pan's Labyrinth role though, it's going to be tough. Also Lives of Others is quite strong.

10:29: The Lives of Others (Germany) wins for best foreign-language film

Liam10:33: There's an interesting back story about The Lives of Others. The actor in the glasses they cut to -- Ulrich Mühe -- came from East Germany and discovered, after the wall came down, that his former wife had been informing on him for years.

Liam10:33: Jennifer Hudson is expected to win for Dreamgirls and is expected to make a speech making references to dreams.

10:34: Jennifer Hudson wins for best supporting actress

Leah10:38: Jennifer Hudson in the obligatory tearful ingenue role. Irresistable and charming -- especially since she took off that heinous silver bolero jacket.

Tralee10:39: But we can't scrape by on that alone. "The Oscars are sucking my will to live right now," says one of my co-watchers.

Tralee 10:40: You have all the good gossip, Liam. I only seem to have US-magazine-level juice. So, Jennifer Hudson for best actress in Dreamgirls. Does this mean that her alma mater, American Idol, will continue to thrive?

10:43: The Blood of Yingzhou District wins for documentary short

Liam 10:44: This is a film about AIDS orphans in China which kind of had to win.

Tralee 10:46: But we can't scrape by on that alone. "The Oscars are sucking my will to live right now," says one of my co-watchers. We're reduced to agreeing that we like Seinfeld's tux...well, actually, Seinfeld's pretty humourous.

Leah 10:47: Jerry Seinfeld's brilliant presentation for best documentary makes me wish that he was hosting.

10:48: Inconvenient Truth wins for best documentary feature

Tralee 10:49: Pity the earnest folks who made a documentary in the year of An Inconvenient Truth. It was a ringer....

Psyched for the Morricone tribute. I adore spagetti Western music.

Liam 10:45: Seinfeld For Oscars campaign starts now.

Liam 10:50: An Inconvenient Truth has a Canadian connection as well. Jeff Skoll, the multibillionaire former chairman of ebay started a company called Participant Producitons which financed An Inconvenient Truth, North Country, Murderball, Good Night and Good Luck, all with a strong social agenda. Laurie Davis, one of the producers, is Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry Davis' wife. He drives a Prius on the show, of course.

Leah 10:55: Interesting Liam. Answer me this: Does Al Gore actually get to keep that Oscar, or does it technically belong to the director guy? Is Gore credited on that movie or is he just "the talent?"

Liam 10:57: I think the best documentary award goes to the producers of the documentary because it's the best documentary, not the best directing of a documentary., Al Gore was approached about filming his power-point show and he, according to him, reluctantly agreed so he's more the subject of the film, if anything.

Leah 10:59: Celine Dion is rocking the house tonight.

Liam 10:59: I understanding Celine and her husband Rene Angelil.are thinking about renovating -- they're adding a fifth octave on top of her voice.

Tralee 11:00: While she looks better than usual, I'm not feeling Celine Dion's warbly, over-emoted Morricone moment. Montage of all his film work was fine, but I'd like those 5 minutes back.

Liam 11:06: Officialy, there's less than 25 minutes to go. Why am I feeling nostalgiac for last year's Three 6 Mafia's Hard Out There For A Pimp?

11:08: Babel wins for best original score.

Liam 11:10: Gustavo Santaolalla, the Argentinian composer, also won the Oscar for Brokeback Mountain.

Tralee 11:12: It would certainly be better than anything here...I'm finding it hard to figure out what tomorrow's water-cooler conversation is going to be.

Leah 11:12: Yes, Melissa Ethridge just doesn't compare. I'm bored of the speeches, I'm bored of the clothes, I'm bored of the presenters and of Jack Nicholson's front row mugging. I'm even bored of being complaining about it.

11:13: Little Miss Sunshine wins for best original screenplay.

Liam 11:17: Still, it's a funny use of 40-million viewers. So far there hasn't been anything remotely political unless you include the environmental message. The sound mixing guy from Iwo Jima said something about supporting troops but you wouldn't know from this awards that the United States was in the midst of an unpopular overseas war. For all of Hollywood's supposed liberal conscience, you just don't see it here.

Tralee 11:17: True - it sort of feels like it's all taking place in a vacuum.

Liam 11:18: Hey! The phallic shadow pitchfork, just like Prince's weird guitar on halftime at the Superbowl. What was the point? I have no idea.

Leah 11:19: I'm happy for the Little Miss Sunshine guy. Staid as it is, I enjoy this year's concerted effort to bring the Oscars back to the focussing on the art and craft of filmmaking. It's a back to basics, artists-rule approach. For instance, the screenplay presentation -- showcasing the scripts themselves -- would have been somewhat unthinkable in years past. It's quite admirable. And like most admirable things, also sort of boring.

Tralee 11:25: The Beyonce-Jennifer Hudson sing-off is slightly interesting. We're all voting on who has the better pipes.

11:30: Melissa Ethridge (An Inconvenient Truth) wins for best original song.

Leah 11:31: Queen Latifa's breasts grew back. (She had them reduced a couple of years back.) And her hair is way too blonde. Yikes Melissa Etheridge for best song. And Dream Girls had three of five noms. What are the odds? One in five actually. But you know how I mean.

Liam 11:31: Producer Laura Ziskin split her time between producing the Oscars and Spider-Man 3 at the same time. Let's hope the Spider-Man thing worked out a little better. Melissa Etheridge wins for the dullest song. It really was an Al Gore kind of Oscars, wasn't it?

Tralee 11:31: Precisely. At least the Dreamgirls tunes has some sass and vocal showing off.

Tralee 11:32: Is Melissa Ethridge's Oscar win for best song for Inconvenient Truth a try at liberal conscience? What a burn on the Dreamgirls crew.

Leah 11:36: Ah yes, an Al Gore Oscars: earnest, well-intentioned, wooden, bloated and ultimately, sadly, a loser.

Tralee 11:40: Now that Will Smith is at the mic, it occurs to me that while the women have all opted for long locks, the male do of the night is a shaved head. Will, Jack Nicholson, Eddie Murphy. It's not the best week for the shaved head trend (see: Britney Spears) but in a telecast devoid of other things to notice, well, there you have it.

11:42: The Departed wins for best film editing.

Leah 11:44: The other talking point of the night is about the earrings. Chandeliers out. Clingy little forties earrings in.

Liam 11:45: Thelma Shoonmaker's a great figure in film. Scorsese introduced her to Michael Powell, the legendary British director of The Red Shoes and Peeping Tom, who was one of Scorsese's biggest influences, especially for the poetic use of the moving camera. She married Powell, who died in 1990.

Tralee 11:47: My beau aptly dubbed them "broochy" earrings. I like em.

Tralee11:49: Her speech was graceful and lovely - a few winners could take lessons tonight.

11:55:Helen Mirren wins for best actress.

Tralee11:58: Helen Mirren. Able to juggle her Oscar statue, purse and an earring that fell off and still make a pretty eloquent speech. Is this what we wait for? The last 10 minutes of the Academy Awards?

Leah12:00 a.m.: I love Helen Mirren taking her handbag on stage with her. But could that have been a calculated move? The perfect little chink in her otherwise perfectly dignified amour.

Tralee12:01: The scene here: Bodies scattered on various pieces of furnture and bits of floor. Everyone nodding off. We've stopped making quips, even. And it's only 10 p.m. here.

12:04: Forest Whitaker wins best actor.

Leah12:05: Wow, Forest Whitaker for best actor. A member of my peanut gallery observes, "Black is the new Old."

Tralee12:07: And he's making an Oscar-worthy weepy speech.

Liam12:07:Do you think tthat Steven Spielberg., George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola are on hand in the expecation that their old movie brat buddy, Martin Scorsee, will win?

12:08: Martin Scorsese wins for best director.

Leah12:08: I feel as exhausted as Scorcese looks.

Tralee12:10:Now that he did, it seems that way, doesn't it? Any Scorcese naysayers out there?

Liam12:12: This is pretty much tonight's coronation ceremony. The only question is whether The Departed or Little Miss Sunshine takes the best picture nod. In a way, though, this fulfills the purpose of this year's Oscars, to give Scorsese an overdue award.

Liam12:13: My only nay is that it wish it were for another film. The Departed didn't hit me as his best work by a good measure but it made a lot of money and had a lot of stars so, I suppose, it was an easier choice than some of his great films.

12:14: The Departed wins best picture.

Liam12:15: Ah, I feeel good. At least it wasn't Little Miss Sunshine which would have depressed me, frankly.. Now I swear I won't watch another movie awards show until next January.

Tralee12:16: Wow - The Departed wins. A double whammy. But a boring producer speech, eh? Unless someone streaks across the stage RIGHT NOW, this one's ending with a whimper.

Leah12:16: The Departed for best pic. I'm so stunned I can barely keep my eyes open. What a night it's been. Until next year, Oscar -- goodnight and good riddance. Over and out. Leah

Tralee12:20: Yeah, too little a movie, LMS was. Cute, though. "We were duped into watching people thank each other all night," is our last word. Over and out, my Oscar pals.