Oscars? But NASCAR won't be over by then! And since that race is currently red flagged, I'm heading to McDonalds...

We just sat down to a large bowl of popcorn and my cold glass of milk. DH doesn't care for it but it's my fav. Watching the early arrivals right now. Clooney and McDreamy...yummy.

Finger foods like wings.

Given the politics of most of those celebrities, make sure they're left wings.

Grinning Big;)! Sounds good everyone...It will be fun to see what the night brings. I'm watching Harrison Ford on BW's special before the red carpet arrivals. (Midwest here!) Enjoy the evening!

This year is really a "who cares" event for us. We didn't see most of the movies and have very little interest. That's not the norm, usually I make an easy dinner to eat in the den. Gee, Hollywood wonders why they're losing money? LOL!

Besides we have the little ones tonight, so we'll be doing something easy!

Just had Coq au Vin, BW on here also.

Nancy

Only watch the last 30 minutes of it cuz it's the categories that most interest me.

It is on here too. I love the fact that being on the West Coast means we get to watch it early. It came on here at 5:30.

We had take out. Moe went over to our local Fish and Chip shoppe and picked up Halibut and chips for our dinner.

Steak, garlic horseradish mashed potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, green salad with toasted almonds and crumbled blue cheese with sherry vinaigrette. We have seen all of the nominated Best Pictures this year and while I think the show is waaaay too long and just dragged, it seems to be somewhat of a tradition here.

Ordered in Chinese. This is the one TV show that I really care about (don't watch TV otherwise) and although this is the first year in a long time I haven't seen any of the movies, I still love watching it. Here's my review:

Jon Stewart - mildly amusing, bring back Billy Crystal!
The clothes - all the same: Bare shoulders; with few exceptions: no neck jewelry; lots o' smashed boobs and flowing trains. (what happened to the good ol' days of outlandish outfits? Cher, where are you!?)
The acceptance speeches - none were too long this year, thank goodness. But nothing all that memorable either. Good thing we had Jon Stewart there to tell us which ones were really moving.
The montages - Generally very good, including the comedic ones, I love these.
The montage of those who passed away in the previous year - They used to just show actors, then (deservingly) they added directors, writers, costume, sound, etc. This year we also got studio execs & agents??? What's next, best boys, gaffers, the studio gate guard, the cashier at the commissary?

Hi Claire!

We had...

1. Mini crab cakes with mustard creme fraiche sauce
2. Shrimp cocktail
3. Shrimp and mushroom risotto (yum)
4. Braised short ribs

Kind of an eclectic menu I suppose. We usually have Filet of Beef Oscar, but my husband felt like doing different things and who was I to complain as he kept bringing these wonderful dishes!

I found the Oscars rather boring though. I think it was the slate of movies this year. I've not seen any of the top 5 - and some of them I don't plan to. There will be blood? I'll pass on that one! Plus it seems that a lot of hollywood doesn't really want to walk the red carpet anymore if they don't have to. They slip in the side door these days. I like to see the dresses more than anything.

LOL May! I agree about Jon Stewart - is that the best they can get?

I haven't watched this in years since I don't like most movies since I'm jaded and cynical, LOL. But I caught the end and I have to tell everyone - I LOVE DDL! I have for ages. Sigh.

Gina,
I'm so glad he won, especially over George Clooney, who, sorry! but I've never understood what it is about him that people like. Like I said, I didn't see the movies but Nathan did and he was rooting for DDL as well.

A couple more comments I thought of:

Three cheers for Robert Boyle, the 98 year old Art Director/Production Designer who received the lifetime achievement award. He looked great for his age!! However, the woman staning to the left (not Nicole Kidman) had a worried look on her face during his speech. She looked like she wasn't sure he was going to survive long enough to finish his Thank Yous.

One of the montages of previous Oscar moments showed the streaker who ran behind David Niven in 1974. Too bad they didn't go ahead and include Niven's quick thinking reaction which was classic, "The only thing he will be remembered for are his shortcomings."

And.... is it now de rigeur to have Jack Nicholson sitting in the front row, (whether or not he's nominated or even involved with a nominated picture) and so that several "clever" remarks can be made about him during the show? What's UP with that? Jack, next year, stay at home and watch it on TV, the jokes about you are getting more and more inane!

I'm relieved to read your critiques. I had the tv on during the evening, even if I was only catching glimpses as I chased the two little ones. My parents came to dinner and my 84 year old father said the exact same thing about Billy Crystal! Jon Stewart wasn't great, and the amount of montages was overwhelming. I know that they paid a bunch for those to be assembled during the writer's strike but they seriously should have taken a second look and eliminated some of them!
I agree about Jack Nicholson, enough already! What was Jon Stewart's thing about bagging on Dennis Hopper? It was like an inside joke that no body laughed at, including Dennis or his wife!
Hairstyles? What was with that loose ponytail thing? For all the money these celebs spend on stylists and the like, you'd think they all wouldn't look like they all came from one hair stylist! Jennifer Garner looked beautiful, except for that messy hair IMHO

Everyone's menu sounds so good! Ann, I always love a (yours) beautiful picture of fish and chips; it makes me want to go find some. (I've never made it so I don't think I'd know how. I do love eating it however!)

OK, can anyone tell me what happened? I left the room and came back to see the woman who got cut off during (???) maybe it was Sound Direction, or was it Documentaries? back on stage giving her Thank You speech after they cut her off so rudely before the break.

I noticed a lot of ponytails this year. I loved Nicole Kidman's necklace; it seemed wonderfully opulent while everything else people were wearing was so simple (and yes, safe!)

May, I know exactly what you mean about Robert Boyle's lifetime achievement award. I thought he was quite articulate and well-spoken, especially for his age. He seemed to enjoy being accompanied by NK, which gave me a grin.

Most of the movies (with the exception of Juno) were so dark this year, it made it hard for me to want to see many of them.

It was mentioned that most of the big winners this year were not from the USA. That was an interesting observation!

Claire,
It was best song. There were two people who I guess wrote the song together, the man gave his acceptance speech and she went up to the microphone (it seemed to me she was just going to say Thank You and that would be it because she was sort of leaning into the mike, not standing as if she meant to give a long speech).

But before she could speak, they'd turned off the mike. After the break, Jon Stewart brought her back on to say thanks, at which point I think she felt obligated to go on for a couple of minutes. I mean it would have been weird if she'd just said "thank you" at that point!

The whole thing seemed kind of silly to me, but I guess they're trying to make up for past sins of cutting people off. If they really want to make up for it, then don't turn the mike off (or lower it) till the winners are all walking off stage.

Well, the rough ratings are in - looks like I'm not the only one who's been tuning out - dun-dun-DUN!

Well, we really liked all of the nominated films - yes dark stories except for Juno - but we did enjoy them although I could have skipped Atonement. I am in the 'bring back Billy Crystal' camp :)

I do think George Clooney is some sweet eye candy - but give me the Tony's any day - they know how to do a live award show and keep it on schedule - and oh yes, there's the Hugh Jackman factor :)

Oh...Thanks for the explanation! I guess I didn't miss much, although I did wonder what happened.

(Billy Crystal was my favorite host of all time.)

I like Jon Stewart (more than Billy Crystal), but I didn't get the Dennis Hopper (who lives in my neighborhood) thing either.

We had lasagne, and we didn't watch most of it, although we did start with the local pre-Oscars shows. I like the Golden Globes better - they have better categories. I thought it was stupid to have an Oscar for Best Sound and then another for Best Sound Editing. I also think it is stupid to have only dark movies (or basically dramas only) nominated. I prefer comedies, and comedies never win. They need a separate category for Comedies/Musicals like the Golden Globes has. Even the Greeks had two masks - one for comedy and one for tragedy. Hollywood should do the same.

We have the option of watching two shows at once on our TV, and so we took advantage of this during the Oscars and had the sound off on the Oscars most of the time. This also allowed us to eliminate all the musical previews (which DB and I both hate) as well as the commercials without missing parts that we really did want to see. DB had an interest in it because he had entered a contest at Sony (where he works) and stood the chance to win a prize. Fortunately, he did not have to pay to enter.

Lars

I think the Dennis Hopper comments were because Hopper seems to live in some kind of La La Land. Have you ever seen him in his own persona (not playing a character)? He's out of it. Probably due to an overabundance of drugs during his lifetime and maybe not being all that with it to begin with.

I think it would be great if they would split best picture category as well, but don't hold your breath. I think they think of their "Best Picture" Oscar as something sacred and I don't see them messing with that.

While I suspect Hopper has done many drugs in his past, his present is quite sober. I think Stewart's jibes were a bit late. Hopper is an introspective soul and a caring parent.

It was my impression that Dennis Hopper was an easy target to bring attention to, after the Jack Nicholson reference. Considering Jon Stewart's age, it was probably an Easy Rider free association comment/joke. Of course, sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't...

Oh, I didn't mean to say he's on drugs now or during the show. I did see him on a talk show several months ago and he was just sort of spaced out. I don't mean he was on drugs then (I don't know if he is or was or whatever), what I mean is he just didn't seem to have a handle on what to say or how to react to what was going on around him. I just sort of felt sorry for him, like he just looked like a fish out of water.

I understand given the ribbing that Nicholson was taking to include Hopper too. They've had some wild times together! I'm not even sure why Hopper was sitting so close to the stage that Stewart chose to pick on him. Then again, maybe that's why he was sitting so close! Was Hopper even in a nominated movie in 2007?

Good question, Ellen. According to IMDB, Hopper wasn't in any movie that was released in 2007. He's in several that have been or will be released in 2008.

I'm still wondering why they have to make jokes about Jack Nicholson every year. What, is it in his contract that he have a starring role in the Academy Awards while seated in the audience?

So what about Gary Busy being drunk and pawing at Jennifer Garner and Laura Linney while Ryan Seacrest was interviewing? They were all making fun of him.

Oh...I missed that completely! Do you think I could find it on U-TUBE? Or maybe it's better that it remains a mystery...