The Globe's Liam Lacey, Tralee Pearce and Jennie Punter share their insights on the glamour and the gaffes of the 80th Academy Awards -- as they happen.
Tralee Pearce: Hi Liam, Jennie: Are you settled in yet, getting carried away by the red carpet?
Snuggled up with your laptops? I've already eaten all my snacks. I'm ready. People are starting to trickle in, to face the Ben Mulroney/Jeanne Beker tag team....
Jennie Punter: I've watched the Oscar show ever since I was a movie-obsessed kid and I still get excited on Oscar night -- even though I always feel mildly disappointed (and tired) at the end of the night. I've been to a few Oscar parties but usually there's too much talking so I prefer a cozy night at home with the TV. snacks and lots of red wine ...
That being said, my boyfriend is cooking up gourmet burgers (and will be taking care of our two-month-old baby for the duration of the broadcast) while I sit with the dog and blog.
Liam Lacey: Well, it's Oscar's 80th birthday so I guess we should light up a lot of candles and yell loudly in its ear.
This has got to be an interesting year even for someone like me who doesn't always like the popularity contest aspect of it. With a couple of seriously good films in contention -- No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, and a general shift in the Oscars to favour quality movies over studio driven pictures in the last few years, the whole event is much more worth taking seriously.
It's also quite wide open. It will be hard to see a sweep when no film has more than eight nominations. The one category the Vegas oddsmakers have considered pretty much a lock is best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood and I suspect the same for Javier Bardem for best supporting actor in No Country For Old Men. So, what I'm really interested in is best actress which has a double Canadian interest: Ellen Page for Juno or Julie Christie in Sarah Polley's directorial debut in Away From Her.
Also, with the 100-day writers' strike, we're watching a show that has been put together fairly quickly and to me, that's what I like about the awards, the feeling that, outside of sports, it's one of the last holdouts of live television. Also, I'm a big fan of Jon Stewart and I'm glad he's back again.
Tralee Pearce: 6:48 p.m. How wonderful to see a dad be so proud of his son to give him a smooch on national TV! [Ivan Reitman and his son Jason Reitman].
Jennie Punter: 6:55 p.m. OF course the animators are thanking the National Film Board, Tom Perlmutter the top banana at the NFB was hovering in animated fashion right behind them!
Tralee Pearce: 6:56 p.m. Totally. That was sweet. A glimpse of a weepy acceptance speech to come?
Jennie Punter: 6:57 p.m. What's up with Ben's two-tone suit, the grey with the dark lapels? For some reason it makes him looks like the guy who should be parking the limos rolling up to the red carpet!
Tralee Pearce: 7:15 p.m.: Here's a moment to make you think: The very enchanting Amy Adams holding up her tiny mesh handbag for show and admitting there was absolutely nothing in it.
Liam Lacey: 7:20 p.m. Julian Schabel is a well-known painter and he has said that he could have made more money in one afternoon doing a painting than he made directing The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. So, it's one of those works of obsession and he wasn't lying when he said it was personal.
Jennie Punter: 7:26 p.m. Since it's a big anniversary year you'd expect a big production number -- it was a writers' strike, not a choreographers' strike so maybe they've been preparing some a little soft shoe number! I hope not ... that brings back memories of awkward boring moments in Oscar history.
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