I haven't seen any of the Oscar movies. I want to see Slumdog and Benjamin Button, but the others don't interest me. Actually, I don't even remember what the other ones are - that says how much they interest me.

Sally

Hotness!

Yes, Wolverine is an awesome song and dance man! Saw him in Boy From Oz.

I hope it goes overtime:)

Ohhhh....Woodie.......

...Dishesdone?????

So far Jackman is one of those actors I don't get. I've seen him on a couple interviews and he seems charming enough, so I will watch him to night to figure what the fuss is all about.

I saw Slumdog and loved it although I wasn't prepared for the more difficult scenes. My mom wanted to see it so I went with her and she thought it was going to be all about a game show (which it was, but not in the way you might expect). I could tell she didn't like it because she kept sinking lower in her seat.

I just saw The Wrestler. Mickey Rourke was amazing. The movie was thought provoking for sure.

Anyway, I'll be checking out Jackman tonight.

Gina and Maggie - you KNOW I'll be watching tonight! I am not really a very big "Oscar" fan, we just do not watch much television, but Ken and I both would like to see Hugh - Ken likes him as much as I do :) I think he'll be up for a lot of criticism and I heard that he is the first non-comedian to host in many years, so I wish him a lot of luck!

Truth be told, I am a great fan of Hugh from The Boy From Oz, but that is the only thing I have ever seen him do. I think Maggie would agree that it was a special performance, truly electrifying. And I watched as he hosted The Tony's and I enjoyed him. I don't know how the Hollywood community will accept him, but I don't really care, he's certainly on my "A" list.

We saw Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon and thought both were wonderful. I do wish Gran Torino and/or Clint Eastwood was on the docket for tonight - we think it should be.

We're going to stay home, away from the freeways, and watch 'Robocop', just released on Blu-Ray, such a nice family movie

The only movie I saw was Benjamin Button. Woodie, I so agree. How did they miss Gran Torino and Clint? It was the best movies I have seen in years.

I just watched Hugh on Barbara Walters and he talked about being madly in love with is wife and it only gets better. Didn't think I could like him more but now I do!

I haven't seen The Wrestler but I would love to see Mickey Roarke win. I just love a come back and he looks to be phenomenal in it.

He certainly does a great lap dance...

[who is winning? too lazy to work]

Yay Slumdog!

I do prefer Hugh in Wolverine garb and not so clean-cut. What does that mean? (Rhetorical!) Now I'm watching him with Barb Walters - he's a big goof! I love that. Too bad he can't be shirtless all the time...

I watched everything from best director on.

Notes:

Were those emeralds dripping from Angelina Jolie? Yowza!

Trivia - was this the first time husband and wife were both nominated best actor?

I love Ann Hathaway's face.

I love Meryl Streep.

I dislike Sean Penn, Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins.

Clive Owen is sexy.

'kay! G'night!

Just finished watching the DVR of the show, 3 cheers for Hugh and a great Oscar show! Parts I didn't care for were few, but the outstanding way of presenting the best actor nominees was fabulous and innovative!
Hugh did a great job and I really liked the song and dance number. He's multi-talented and handled hosting duties with aplomb!
OT we watched Vicky Christina Barcelona last night after dinner. We all agreed that it was unique but totally Woodie Allen. I'm not sure that I agreed with Penelope Cruz's Oscar, I think that from what I heard, the actress from Doubt should have won. We also saw Slumdog, Benjamin Button (x2), Changeling, Milk, Dark Knight and Gran Torino--Clint was robbed!

Wow! I made it for the whole show without falling asleep.

On a fashion note, I loved Sarah Jessica Parker and Natalie Portman is perfection. I thought a lot of the young actresses dressed too old...does that make sense?

...general gossip...

Goldie and Sophia - va va vooom!

How sad and wonderful for Heath Ledger's family.

I adore Meryl Streep.

Angie and Brad - perfection. It's getting old - LOL.

I love Sean Penn but did he thank his wife? I have always loved Robin Wright.

Robert Downey, Jr looks amazing!!!!

Don't know if anyone watched the red carpet - what the heck was Heidi Klum wearing? Yuk! You have to be drop dead gorgeous to wear that and she is so I guess it works! lol

Jennifer Anniston looks different.

Tina Fey looked fab!

Reece Witherspoon's dress was odd on top.

Love Kate Winslet - not the dress.

Not a fan of asymmetrical and thought the minimal make-up and nude matte lips on most was too little!

I think the posthumous award for Heath Ledger (or anybody else if it should occur again) should have been a special honorary award and the Oscar should go to someone alive. I don't begrudge the recognition for his performance, but I feel that life is for the living.

The only thing I've seen Hugh Jackman in is X-Men, and I didn't know anything about him other than he's a sexy actor, so I was totally surprised when I heard he was hosting. I watched the portion of Barbara Walters when she interviewed him, and that's the first time I learned he can sing and dance...and boy, can he ever! What a talented man, and more than that, I agree, the way he spoke reverently about his wife made him all the sexier and better.

I loved Kate Winslet's dress, and her whole look! I kept trying to think about who she reminded me of from the past...was it Ingrid Bergman? Grace Kelly? Well, the morning talk shows compared her to Grace Kelly, so that was it.

I admire Meryl Streep, but I thought her dress was odd, and didn't hang on her quite right. 15 nominations, though. How remarkable!

I agree that Reece Witherspoon's dress was not quite right, and she had way too much make-up. She usually looks so good at Oscars, I wonder what happened.

I have no problem with Heath Ledger getting the Oscar. It's about the specific performance. It would be interesting to see if he would have won if he was still alive. No way to know. I haven't seen any of the movies so I can't give an opinion.

I was frustrated with some of the production, especially the memorial, because much of it was hard for me to see, and the print saying the name and occupation of the person being memorialized was impossible to read. DH guessed that they assumed everyone has giant t.v. screens. There were very few close ups at all. Other than that, I loved the look of the stage and set.

Sally

Were those emeralds dripping from Angelina Jolie? Yowza!
I hope not, because they looked super fake to me, but what do I know?? LOL They looked like plastic. Her ring matched too.

I'm not a Hugh Jackman fan, he's ok, but nothing special in my book. Most of his hosting was pretty good though. The props for the opening number were silly though.

I did see all the best pic flicks and some of the others as well. My pick was Frost/Nixon which I knew wouldn't win. I guess Slumdog was a shoe-in.

Sean Penn makes me gag. No, he didn't thank his wife, and I like Robin Wright too.

The Reader was a big Yawn IMHO. Can't see how Kate Winslet beat out Meryl Streep or Angelina Jolie (The Changeling was really good) except that this was her sixth nomination without a win (till now).

woodie,
I agree with you! Give the award to someone whose career it can affect.

Watching Mickey Roarke on the Barbara Walters interview, it's almost shocking to see how different he looks now than he did 20 years ago. I'm sorry but he's a mess. He was good in the Wrestler and it was a pretty good movie, but would he have even been nominated if he wasn't sort of making a come back?

I agree that I liked how they did the actor/actress nominations. It's fun seeing previous winners and bringing them back live is a nice way of honoring them.

Always on the lookout for an outrageous outfit like Cher's or the Gold AmEx dress. There weren't any this year, the clothes were mostly tame, some very elegant (like Penelope Cruz's) and some pretty weird (like Reese Witherspoon's).

Two notes:
1. Adrian Brody's speech to Richard Jenkins -- he might as well have come out and said, Buddy, you're sure lucky to have been nominated but you don't have a bloody chance in hell of winning -- because that is what he said, in so many words. Ugh. (I saw The Visitor and it was a really good movie with a wonderful performance by Jenkins.)

2. Did anyone else notice that Michael Douglas called Phillip Seymour Hoffman: Seymour Phillip Hoffman? Reminded me of the royal wedding oh so long ago when Diana mixed up Charles' names.

Oh! One more thing (I'm sure I'll think of others later): What was up with Ben Stiller? I usually think he's pretty funny but I found him to be obnoxious and distracting last night.

I KNEW I'd think of more.

Jerry Lewis - it's ABOUT TIME the academy recognized his humanitarian efforts since apparently he has been raising money for MD since 1951 at least. Good thing they did it while he is still alive. And wasn't he gracious!

It's about the specific performance.
You know, if only that were true. Too many oscars (IMHO) have been given out for performances which fell short but were somehow in recognition of past performances which weren't recognized. Example: Paul Newman. Oh well, that's human nature I guess!

I was frustrated with some of the production, especially the memorial, because much of it was hard for me to see, and the print saying the name and occupation of the person being memorialized was impossible to read. DH guessed that they assumed everyone has giant t.v. screens.

I have a 50" screen and I still couldn't read much of it. They usually zoom in on the screen and show it flat - why they choose to pan in and out for the memorials is beyond me. Very frustrating.

I only got to watch bits and pieces of the show. I totally missed Barbara Walters, which I always enjoy.

I thought there were so many beautiful dresses. Unfortunately there were some gawdawful hairdos to go with them. I can't stand the plastered down helmet head look.

Kate Winslet is one of those actresses that I just don't get. I don't think she is particularly attractive or so very talented for all the fuss. Meryl Streep isn't a beauty either, but the woman is so talented.

I was hoping Jennifer Aniston would be fabulous because of Brad and Angie in the audience, but she wasn't. I still like her, though.

Sophia Loren was stunning except I didn't like her dress.

I'm glad the kids in Slumdog got their due since their roles, expecially the girl, were equal to the adult roles. I want to learn to do that dance!

Oh yeah, Hugh Jackman. Now I get it!

Sally, see if you can get a copy of Jackman in Oklahoma!. Great performance. Personally I like Van Helsing....

May, come on over next year and watch the show on DH's (not mine!) 110 inch home theater screen. I'll provide the munchies. I'm glad I missed Jerry Lewis...not a fan of his MDA charity.

OMG, they were emeralds. Right on!

Yeah, the whole Micky Roarke "comeback" doesn't touch me at all. The guy threw it all away because he was an insufferable vain creep. And I think he probably still is.

Here's more comments--
May- you're so right about the memorium-- even on the big screen in HD. who the heck could read them!
Ben Stiller was parodying Joaquin Phoenix's appearance on last week's David Letterman. Phoenix must have been in an altered state and yes, that's how he looked and sounded!
Yep on the plastered down hair--SJParker's looked awful too! Could someone have smoothed the flyaways on Jenn Aniston's? On the red carpet, Amy Adams' hair was falling apart, someone cleaned it up by showtime!
Anne Hathway changed out of her gorgeous dress for the opening number, too bad!
Angelina's emeralds looked fake to me too. No settings, just big stones.
Sophia Loren- Her face didn't move an inch! Can you say Botox? And her messy hair and frilly dress with the hand on the hip LOL? She's an icon, that's for sure!
Reese Witherspoon's dress, I really hated the top of it, but the bottom seemed very pretty. I thought that her hair was not at all flattering, but she wore it that way another year too.
Didn't love Kate Winslet's hair or gown, but she looked regal and movie star-esque! I didn't see the Reader, so no comment, but she's looking matronly!
Glamour? Natalie Portman, Alicia Keys, so many!

Here is a link that might be useful: Joaquin Phoenix

I'm with you Gina I like my Jackman rolled in a little dirt.

Oh, yeah, where was Jack Nicholson? He's always been front and center whether he was in a movie or not. Is he ill?

I guess y'all are right about the awards not being just about the performance.

I thought Ben Stiller parodying Pheonix was hysterical, but irrelevant.

I'll have to look for that version of Oklahoma.

I didn't even notice Jolie's jewelry. I did notice Amy Whatshername's necklace. It was hard not to. I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. She is so cute and such a wonderful actress, but I have less than zero interest in seeing Doubt.

Sally

I guess those crazy earrings & ring were real, at least according to what I could find on the internet.

Amy Adams' necklace, LOL, yeah, how could you NOT notice that. I didn't like it per se, but in fact it always bugs me when they wear these strapless bare shoulder gowns and no neck jewelry. So between her and Tariji P. Hensen there was some major neckware going on.

I guess I just didn't hear about the Joaqin Phoenix buzz so the Ben Stiller gag went over my head.

Oh, yeah, where was Jack Nicholson? He's always been front and center whether he was in a movie or not.
Good question!I thought about him too, especially when they kept addressing Meryl Streep from the stage, I thought, she's this year's Jack Nicholson.

I did see Doubt and thought it was very well done, a very thought provoking film.

I saw Doubt on Broadway and it was just terrific, perfect for the stage - didn't get to see the film yet.

Woodie, when you saw it on Broadway, did Cherry Jones have the lead? She did in the Los Angeles production. Steeliest (sp?) gaze I ever saw.