Oscar!

It's been two days since my favorite annual television indulgence. And I have to say, this year produced some nice moments. Below are a few of my favorites in no particular order (and lets see if my attempts to embed video work!):

• seeing someone I've worked with before in the background on the red carpet (try to guess which one it is - not that I'd tell you, anyway.)
  
• Jon Stewart seemed much more at ease this time around than last
• A) that "Falling Slowly," from Once, a song that has haunted me for months, won for best song, despite how much I bloody loved "That's How You Know" from Enchanted; B) that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova seemed truly excited and humbled; C) that Jon Stewart is such an awesome guy, he worked it out so that Marketa could come out and deliver her full acceptance speech after the commercial break (that moment reminded me how much I liked the movie, want to get to know The Frames better, and that I really want to spend more than just a long weekend in Ireland sometime.)

• seeing Amy Adams sing live. I've really liked her since Junebug, and she's growing on me. Maybe I've just got a girl-crush on her because Honey does. I think I really respect an actor more who is well-rounded. She's not just a pretty face in Hollywood. She's multi-talented.
• that a girlfriend I called after the best supporting actor award wanted me to translate the last few phrases of Javier Bardem's speech.
• that Cate Blanchett was visibly excited when Tilda Swinton and Marion Cotillard beat her out in the actress categories. My screen goddess Cate was nominated for both supporting and lead and got neither. But if you watched her reactions on the nominee cam, she was the only nom who was visibly excited that her competitors beat her out. I love that because it shows me she is an actor who realizes what she does is art, not ego.
• that Tilda Swinton (who I've had a crush on since Orlando) was whomperjawed when she won. And that Marion Cotillard, despite being the only good thing about La Vie en Rose (hell, she MADE that movie), and despite mopping up every award along the way, was still humbled and overwhelmed that she won.

• that Diablo Cody won for best original screenplay. AY-MEN! I can't even begin to describe how much I loved Juno. Plus, I love the Cinderella story of the blogger turned overnight sensation screenwriter. (Yes, Honey, I have plotted out a short to write and I will write it soon.) I loved that she wore a cheetah-print dress; that she was caught off-guard by her win; that it looked like she felt so undeserving of the success; that she choked up when thanking her family. I just really liked that moment.
• The Coen sweep. I love the Coen brothers. I've probably mentioned it before. Of their library, there's only one movie of theirs I've not liked. Though to be fair, I still haven't seen Ladykillers. Nonetheless, I think No Country for Old Men may be their dark masterpiece. It was flawless. About as flawless a movie as I've seen in quite a while. For as much as I loved Juno and really wanted it to win, it had a speedbump or two. No Country was smooth, eerie as hell sailing from lights down to lights up.
  
• Better transitions and presentations this year than last. John Travolta waltzing across the stage with dancers from the "So Close" number to the podium; Jon Stewart and Jamia Nash playing Wii tennis when the commercial break was over; Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen selling the scripted banter about Halle Berry vs. Dame Judi Dench a lot better than virtually any of the pro-duos do; Armed Service members in Iraq presenting best documentary short via satellite. I enjoyed when Ellen hosted (was that last year or '05), but I think the transitions this year were better.
• watching the loved ones of the No Country crowd when the Coens would go up for awards. Something I love is when a cast and crew really gel; you can tell they love each other when their people win. Though McAvoy and Ronan were the only Atonement cast (that I saw) in attendance, they thrilled at the awards their film got and you could see it in the way they strained to touch their winners on their way to the podium. When No Country was announced best picture, the cast all stood and hugged each other. It reminded me of the Crash cast from two years past. That cast practically had a cuddle party in the seats. But what I loved most was that the camera, when not on the brothers themselves, was trained on Frances McDormand, Oscar-winning wife of Joel (and another goddess in my cine-pantheon). Her face was red, her eyes moist and you could tell she was sitting on a gusher. She's been making movies with her husband for about 25 years, and to see her face, you can tell that she's his greatest cheerleader. I like them as a couple: shy director, fierce bad-ass actress. Plus, the one Hollywood experience I've had to date involved them, and she was so bloody nice and approachable. Hell, when I was quietly reading my book on set, she brought her husband over to me to meet me. I've never forgotten her kindness to me that summer, so I'm always happy when she and her husband do well.
• lastly: that none of the performance award winners were American. Not that I pay that much attention to that, but I know VA Gal does. And each year she likes to rant about the xenophobia of the bald, gold statuette. (Despite recent memory wins by Helen Mirren, Rachel Weisz, Cate Blanchett, Roberto Benigni, Geoffery Rush, Russel Crowe, Jim Broadbent, Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Juliet Binoche, Judi Dench and Catherine Zeta-Jones to name a few.) So the fact that Europeans took home the gold in each of the four acting categories made me think: ha, ha, Virginia Gal! Where's your soapbox now? ;)