Earlier today we learned that director Kathryn Bigelow made Oscar history last night at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards where she took home the trophies for Best Director (the first woman to do so) and Best Picture (the biggest award of the awards). But, there were other folks at the Oscars last night … some of them won Oscars of the their own, many of them didn’t … but that’s the name of the game. Here are a few photos from the red carpet arrivals:
As you can see, Gabourey Sidibe wore a lovely blue dress … in fact, all of the women from Precious who appeared at the Academy Awards last night wore blue dresses because it was the color that actress Hattie McDaniel (the first African-American woman to win an Oscar) wore when she collected her Best Supporting Actress award for Gone with the Wind in 1939. Meryl Streep wore a lovely white dress … which was designed by Project Runway contestant Chris March (who is usually known for his outlandish costume designs — usually worn by drag queens — rather than his stylish fashion designs). The red carpet, as usual, had its hits and misses but the folks presented here looked mighty fine, I thought.
After the jump, check out a few photos of some of the happy Oscar winners in the Academy Awards press room last night (posing with their trophies), read a run-down of all the highlights from last night’s show and find out what I thought of the 82nd Academy Awards telecast …
It was a night of nice firsts at the 82nd annual Academy Awards, even though there weren’t that many surprises. “The Hurt Locker” was the big winner for best picture. The low-budget Iraq war drama defeated nine other nominees in the expanded category, including the box-office blockbuster “Avatar.” And there was a history-making victory when Kathryn Bigelow of “The Hurt Locker” became the first woman ever to win for best director. “The Hurt Locker” won six Oscars in total. Best actress winner Sandra Bullock, who starred in the football drama “The Blind Side,” nabbed her first Oscar for a film that gave the romantic-comedy star a chance to tackle a serious role. It also was her first nomination. Veteran actor Jeff Bridges, who’s been nominated five times, also won his first Oscar with his best actor prize for “Crazy Heart.” The Hollywood favorite gave a gracious acceptance speech that credited his parents with getting him into show business (his father was the late Lloyd Bridges). “This is honoring them as much as it is me,” Bridges said. Overall, the broadcast was practical, but not particularly inspired. Cohosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin did their best to keep things amusing, but the stretches between their appearances were sometimes tedious. As usual, the fun part was seeing the winners have their moment at the podium. In the supporting acting categories, the statuettes went to two actors who were considered the front-runners — Mo’Nique, who switched from comedy to wrenching drama to play an abusive mother in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” and Christoph Waltz, who gave a vivid performance as a Nazi officer in “Inglourious Basterds.” Like Bullock, Bridges and Bigelow, it was the first win for both Mo’Nique and Waltz. Mark Boal of “The Hurt Locker” took home a statuette for his original screenplay about the tense mission of a bomb-defusing squad … The soaring “Up,” which also was nominated for best picture, won for best animated feature and original score. A tribute to the late director John Hughes, whose 1980s teen movies remain cultural landmarks, provided one of the most moving moments. Many of his familiar stars (including Molly Ringwald, Matthew Broderick and Jon Cryer) assembled onstage, providing a touching blast from the past for those who grew up watching “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” In an opening monologue that resembled a celebrity roast, Martin and Baldwin lobbed a rapid-fire string of zingers aimed at the nominees and stars in the audience. Steering mostly clear of topical humor, the veteran funnymen poked fun at the stars in the audience and, with self-deprecating grace, themselves. The silver-haired Martin advised young heartthrobs Zac Efron and Taylor Lautner, “Take a good look at us, guys. This is you in five years.” Later, the camera cut to Martin and Baldwin sitting backstage on a couch wearing Snuggies. It was funny, but like much of the show, a little predictable. The most striking visual joke came when presenter Ben Stiller made an entrance as a blue Na’vi from “Avatar” and began speaking in the space alien language. “That means this seemed like a better idea in rehearsal,” he said. Stiller’s bit even earned a chuckle from “Avatar” director James Cameron, who’s not exactly known for his sense of humor. But the real surprise came before Martin and Baldwin took to the stage, when the new go-to guy for award show awesomeness, Neil Patrick Harris, opened the show with an elaborate musical number. Dressed in a sparkling tuxedo jacket and oozing dapper charm, Harris, a TV star who’s hosted the Emmys and Tonys, cracked, “I know, what am I doing here?” Just adding some zest, for a few minutes at least, to an evening that occasionally seemed short on energy.
I personally didn’t love the show … I found it more boring than it usually is and not very entertaining at all. Some of the jokes were funny (props to Ben Stiller in full Avatar make-up for making me laugh the most) but, overall, I felt they fell really flat. The interpretive dance portion was the stupidest shizz I’ve ever seen on an awards show. Not only were the dances uninspired (I’ve seen better moves in movies like Step Up and Honey, to be honest) but they had NOTHING at all to do with the movies they represented. It was just dumb … Oscar telecast director Adam Shankman did a poor job, I’m sorry. The show was about an hour way too long … which wasn’t helped by the way too long nominee packages that kept slowing things down thruout the night. When Ryan Reynolds was over-dramatically and somberly introducing The Blind Side as a nominee for Best Picture, I actually started to fall out of lust with him … IT WAS THAT BAD! Ugh. The only reason I’m not all that peeved about the show is because many of my faves won their awards. I’m just thrilled that The Hurt Locker did so well … it was much deserved. I love Sandra Bullock, I really do … but Meryl Streep deserved the Best Actress Oscar … that’s my only complaint. Click HERE to see a full list of Oscar winners last night. Did YOUR fave picks win? What did YOU think of the show itself?
I just loved that NPH opened the show! I’m convinced that he should be the future host of everything.
@CB — I love NPH but nah, last night was not that great. Hugh Jackman as Oscar host last year was waaaaay better. They need to bring him back.
I agree Trent. Boring, not entertaining and waaayyy too long. What was with bringing out the best actor nominees and having them stand there at the beginning of the show? Yes, we are all well aware who they are. And the tribute to each actor before best actor and best actress. What was that???Way too much ass kissing….
The dance segment was just ridiculous. Why would they think this would work? Ugghh…upset with myself for staying up to watch it.
Sorry Trent but Sandy Bullock was the only option for Best Actress Oscar. She gave a real performance with depth and integrity which in the past she always lacked with duds like Speed 2: Cruise Control and Murder by Numbers. Meryl has 2 Oscars. Julie & Julia was a great film but it was more comedic and did not show as much growth for Streep as Blind Side did for Bullock.
@Mike – IMHO, ‘The Blind Side’ = Lifetime Made for TV movie
Meryl looked beautiful
Anything but the Hurt Locker, imho.
“UP” SHOULD HAVE WON THE FOR THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR XD
i have mad respect for sandra bullock. she won me over with her acceptance speech. and i love she even was there in person to accept her Razzie award. flove her.
oh! AND jake gyllenhaal and rachel mcadams are my new favorite non-couple. how cute did they look together?!
@ Anne: She accepted her Razzie in person? That IS pretty awesome. I didn’t realize people really even went to those lol. Sandra’s gown last night was gorgeous
@roxster — Yep, she accepted in person … blogged about it yesterday: http://www.pinkisthenewblog.com/2010/03/the-2010-golden-raspberry-awards-are-handed-out/
im pretty sure im the only person who doesnt watch the oscars. i find the whole thing boring…the only reason i give it any attention – is for the dresses.
i have to add – that as much as i hate kristen stewert and give her a hard time…the girl rocked a damn nice dress last night. so i’ll give her a little credit there – just a little.
I watched the Amazing Race during the first hour of the Oscars, tuning in during the comercials. At 7:45 (CST), I flipped to the Oscars to hear the announcement of the FIRST AWARD of the evening! Hello, 45 minutes into the show they hand out the first award!! Glad I decided not to skip the Amazing Race!
Hurt Locker was alright. Definitely didn’t deserve to win that many awards though. Hollywood is all politics though
@Kyleigh. The show started at 7:20 not 7:00
And by 7:20 I mean 7:30
This was a complete and total snoozefest. I was happy to see NPH there, but he didn’t fit in at all. Steve and Alec were awful, the red carpet dresses were awful, none of the speeches were clever OR inspiring and there were absolutely no surprises or upsets. Bring back Hugh Jackman!!
- “The Hurt Locker” winning was a fucking joke. I’m sorry, but that movie is stale, boring, and has no impact. It falls into any other war movie. Sure, it was SOMEWHAT different but there were so many directorial errors! In one scene you can even see the camera in the reflection. The movie was just a big joke and didn’t deserve to win. Sure, “Avatar” may not be original but so what? Nothing is original. “Inglorious Basterds” was a bigger risk than THL or Avatar. Such bullshit.
- Kathryn Bigelow did not deserve to win Best Director. What a joke. Sure, it’s about time a woman won and all that other bologna sauce but what a joke! The only reason why she won is because the voters hate James Cameron and they find Quentin to be greatly exaggerated. Both cancel each other out which leads to “The Hurt Locker” and its win.
- Meryl Streep did deserve to win. However, she always puts amazing performances and she would most likely win every year. Sandra Bullock will most likely NEVER get another Oscar nomination in her life…thus the reason why she won. Meryl will be in the nominees next year, that’s for sure.
- Sandra Bullock is amazing. I love her. Her acceptance speech made me bawl me eyes out, mainly because of my mom. I thought she looked the epitome of amazing.
- I’m so glad Christoph Waltz won! He much deserved it. He honestly did the best performance I’ve seen by any actor or actress in a long, long time. Amazing. Truly amazing.
@Chase — LOL :)
thats awesome, dunno how I missed seeing that……why isn’t she smiling fully in any of these pics? She has a great smile, show some teeth girl you just won an Oscar!!
Trent, I respect your opinion, but it is clear that you are not well-versed in the art form of dance if you truly think last night’s dance presentation was equal in quality to Honey (horrors!) or Step Up. I personally love that the Oscars incorporated some artistic elements besides musical performances. I thought it was fresh and different, but I understand how some others might not be a fan. As a dancer, I think that showcasing movement set to the Best Original Score nominees was a great way for the audience to hear the music on its own, and not immediately associate it with any images they may remember from the films.
@Jenna — LOL, I was making a joke about the dance. It was weirdly shoved in to a totally horrible show and only made it seem worse.
I agree. So many weird moments. I liked Steve & Alec, but they should have cut the NPH number, all the nominated actors having to stand on stage at the top of the show like idiots, the tribute to Horror movies (wtf!?), the awkward John Hughes actor-fest, and simply re-done the dance thing that was so very weird. Also, back to 5 best picture nominations. Although this year I liked the actors giving tribute to the nominated leading actors. A little weird, but I liked getting to see some deserved love for the wonderful performances that weren’t going to win, like Gaborey Sidibe or Jeremy Renner for example. I also think it’s weird that the lifetime achievement awards are no longer part of the ceremony. I mean, Lauren Bacall is a legend! She deserves her moment more than a montage of “horror” movies (which now include Edward Scissorhands and Twilight, apparently).
@Trent – OK, maybe I overreacted a bit but still! I know you probably think my opinions are ridiculous BUT…that’s just how I feel. I know where you fall with your opinions on the show and I respect them, BB.
@Chase — On the contrary, I do not find your comments ridiculous … I love your exuberance. Your comments are always among my faves, even if we disagree ;D
jenna i dearly love that you said ‘it is clear that you are not well-versed in the art form of dance’. thats rad. id like to see that on some resumes in the skills section ‘well versed in the art form of dance’. love. that.
i thought that dance looked like a big gap ad. but then, im not well versed in the art form of dance either.
chase-didnt you love with kathryn bigelow thanked the hazmat team and the firemen and said they are here for us and we are here for them? lol was she is shock from winning the second oscar??
Billy Crystal-best Oscar host IMO. His openings were hysterical and very entertaining
I love the Oscars every year. I love watching pretty people in beautiful clothes. I never think it’s long enough! There are always so many complaints each year about length. Pssh. :op
I actually really loved The Hurt Locker and was very glad it won. It stayed with me for a few days… Maybe because I’ve had family/friends serve in Iraq. I loved Avatar but thought it was a good “movie” not “film”.
I think that it was just Sandra Bullock’s year. Yes Meryl was good – but…it really wasn’t her best ever performance and Blind Side was def Sandra’s best ever.
@SuziLee — Nah, Sandra Bullock’s best performance EVER was in ‘The Net’. Where was Oscar then, huh? HUH?
ya.. the dance thing was strange to say the least. By the way, who invited Kristen Stewart to present? She is so weird… and putting a clip of Twilight in the “Horror” montage….. really? REALLY????
OMG I totally forgot about The Net… LOVED that movie! She did rock in it…. I am going to have to disagree. Her best performance was definitely in Speed 2: Cruise Control…. oh wait….
I’m so glad that Meryl Streep didn’t win!!! I actually like her but that movie was painful!!! She was a caricature a of Julia Child. The whole moving was grating. The show was long but I actually enjoyed most of it. Loved spotting all those SYTYCD dancers!!! Kayla was amazing as usual. So happy for ‘The Hurt Locker’.
I agree Trent, maybe because i’m not well versed in professional dance… but i had a blank stare on my face during the entire performance…
The oscars need to bring back the shadow people that made the movie posters… that was cool!
WOW WOW WOW Meryl Streep? You kidding right? hahahahahahha
She deserved it more for Devil Wears Prada than the Julie one. After hearing Oprah’s speech about Gabby, my feelings for Gabby to win shot up to first place. I’m happy Sandra won but it was equal for both. It would have been a fairytale for Gabby and she truly did play one of the most emotional and touching performances i’ve seen in a longgggg time.
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I was semi-rooting for George but the whole night it kept decreasing. He seemed so angry the whole night. I believe the intro of Steve and Alec, he was playing along. But he seemed to stubborn and not clapping for winners very often or even smiling. I mean Steve & Alec were the best hosts in YEARS. Hugh was entertaining, but Oscars for me is still a comedian. I mean Ellen was crap and I didn’t like Jon – but Steve and Alex had me nearly falling off my seat in laughter. Steve was better but together they’re hilarious. They kept the show alive for me.
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But i’m glad to see Jeff win finally. I really liked Mo’Niques performance but probably liked Anna kendrick’s performance in Up in the Air WAYYYY better. I think Mo’Nique just put the black performance on. Nothing that hard to do, even though it was terrifying.
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Can i ask – what is up with everyone and Mo’Nique. They act like she is the freaking Queen of England. Everyone stood up instantly as if they were scared she was secretly Hitler under those hairy legs. Okay, clap and stand – but they’ve done it at every ceremony. She isnt some Veteran in this industry like Meryl. I don’t understand it – it seems so racist in the most non-racial way. I mean she is a Black actress that won an award, cool, wow, so was Halle Berry, get over it. Are people still all sketchy over Blacks and Whites that they stand instantly and applaud for minutes for a black actress winning an award? i’m no racist – but it seems so wrong and weird. Not only that, but Mo’Nique almost looks as if she demands it all too.
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Heck Steve & Alec cracked a funny about Blacks and Whites. Can’t exactly choose the best joke – but loved the Jew reference and DAMM HELEN MIRREN lol.
Trent – Everyone knows she was robbed for the Oscar when Speed 2 came out. ;)
I was really thrilled to see Sandra Bullock win the Best Actress Oscar last night! She was incredible in that film and her speech last night was great! Meryl is very talented, but I didn’t think “Julia” was her best performance. The movie isn’t that good and IMHO she wasn’t in it long enough to be considered for the Best Actress category. She should have won for the Devil Wears Prada back in the day.
Trent Blind Side was the best film of Bullock’s career.
@Mike — I still think ‘The Net’ is the best film of her career.
I have a theory that actors receive recognition years after their “winning” performance, in many cases. I think Sandra was overlooked for Hope Floats. She deserved recognition from the academy for that performance.
Also, I completely disagree with the notion that Sandra will never receive this kind of recognition again. Anyone who has done any kind of acting knows that comedy is often much more difficult to pull off than drama. Sandra is a great actress with a broad range.
The Hurt Locker was a good film and I am glad Avatar did not win best picture. Nice film, but the subject matter of THL was intense and, I thought, well presented–despite the message trash publicists and political manuever-ers put out there. And Jeremy Renner was AMAZING.
In fact, I am livid that Avatar won for best cinematography. What a freaking joke.
@Jen I’m glad I could make you laugh! I was trying to sound a little more respectful than “you don’t know shit about dance.” I will update my resume with that skill, for sure. Thanks for the suggestion, ha! I can see the Gap ad connection, but I still lurved it!
completely disagree with EVERYTHING. Hugh Jackman and the entire show last year was a GIANT BORE!!!!!!!! This year’s was great and Ben Stiller was dumb as always. Julie and Julia was OK, but Sandra Bullock deserved her Oscar, no doubt about it.
Actually, not all the ladies from Precious wore blue dresses. Paula Patton (much as I love her) wore a hideous shade of orange. Just had to put that out there. ;)