POPBYTES LIVE BLOGGING OSCARS '08

hello hello hello! today i will be live blogging the 80th annual academy awards - this is my third year in a row of trying to keep up with all the oscar madness! please add your own comments or send me an email at mk@popbytes.com and i will include your thoughts! first up is two hours of star studded red carpet arrivals (i'll be watching E! with ryan seacrest & giuliana rancic) followed by the awards ceremony which is usually over three hours...i'll try to keep things coming fast & furious as best i can - wish me luck! (keep refreshing for updates - please forgive any spelling mistakes or grammar mishaps - i'll edit the post later tonight)

OSCAR RESOURCES
• printable ballot (.pdf)
• official oscar website
• academy of motion picture arts and sciences
• red carpet coverage on E!


» 3:00PM


i'm up and running! let's see who strolls down the red carpet first - the first people to arrive i always label as the 'desperate for attention' ones! first off i hate that brown thing that ryan seacrest has wrapped around the border of his jacket - he reminds me of a priest! i'm also not feeling giuliana rancic's tic-tac-toe board dress! at least it's not raining - yet! the sun was kind of breaking through the clouds but it's starting to look gray again - and it is chilly for sure! (seven minutes in and we already have a commercial break...ugh!)

» 3:11PM


thank goodness giuliana switched to a cute purple dress - much better (also check out her ring - it's huge!) here's kimora lee simmons who is on bling overload - with a million dollar hair piece - a first (oh she needs to calm down...ms. simmons is a totally annoying person) another commercial...


PHOTO CREDIT | JJB
» 3:19PM


i hope we have a celebrity soon - we're like 20 minutes in! (no angelina jolie today - she was showing off her new baby bump at the spirit awards yesterday!) first up is seal and heidi klum in red galliano dress - she's so damn pretty - she looks great - love the hair - and her hubby always looks dashing! people are screaming for george clooney - hollywood's classiest guy!

» 3:27PM


clooney is with his girlfriend sarah larson - one lucky lady! ryan is with amy ryan in calvin klein - she's up for best supporting actress in gone baby gone - one of the films i didn't get to see (to be honest i didn't see everything - i know shame on me) i am really pulling for marion cotillard to win best actress for la vie en rose which i loved - and i predicted that she'd be up for an oscar when i saw the film back in june - ms. cotillard was EXCELLENT - i do hope she wins!


PHOTO CREDIT | JJB
» 3:34PM


oh no scattered showers are moving in - just by looking outside i can see it's going rain soon (don't forget i live right around the corner from the festivities!) wind seems to also be a big factor - ugh - i hate the weather! ryan is with tom wilkinson - another best supporting nominee for michael clayton - oh my gosh he just mentioned lisa kudrow - long live my valerie cherish!

» 3:42PM


we've got george clooney looking handsome with his bow-tie - his girlfriend is like silent - she's not all that cute - her dress is nice though! here's cutie jason bateman who starred in juno - which i did really like - i don't see it winning best picture though - it sounds like no country for old men has it in the bag! oh my word - i hope there's a movie of arrested development - what a hilarious brilliant show!


PHOTO CREDIT | JJB
» 3:53PM


anne hathaway in red by marchesa - here's saoirse ronan who stars in atonement and is up for best supporting actress tonight - she's just 13 years old! giuliana is dishing with us weekly's ken baker over how serious mr. clooney is with ms. larson - i still don't see him walking down the aisle anytime soon! it looks like john travolta has packed on the pounds...like his scientology pal kirstie alley! ryan is back with funny man steve carrell - i need to watch the office - everyone at work loves it - he's cute in quirky way! oh dr. mcdreamy - patrick dempsey is so damn good looking - i still need to see enchanted - another film i missed! here's mr. travolta with wife kelly preston in 'stop light' yellow - it's all starting to move fast - next up is dwayne johnson aka 'the rock' - with no date...james mcavoy - cutie UK star of atonement - oh look there's jessica alba in a purple dress with feather trim showing off her baby bump - word is she might be having twins - moving on with amy adams - who was nominated last year for junebug - and this year she's starred in both enchanted & charlie wilson's war - phew - finally here's a commercial break - that was a long segment!

» 4:17PM


laura linney (dress in michael kors) nominated for best actress in 'the savages' - she's with jennifer garner (in oscar de la renta) both look fabulous (oh my gosh gary busey is out of control - he crazily accosted both ryan and ms. garner who looked terrified - no sight of ben affleck yet...) seth rogen is with jonah hill - they look like twins! oh lordy - we've got miley cyrus who i found out sings this song see you again that i have been obsessed with - i almost passed out when i realized with was a tune by miley! now she's talking about starring in films - ugh - we don't need to see that! ryan is back with keri russell who is introducing a song tonight! check out marion cotillard looking like a fish - she's gorgeous but i'm not feeling her 'scaled' dress at all!

» 4:32PM


last year's best actress helen mirren looking classy - not crazy about the dress - it's a little overdone - next up is boring jessica alba (in marchesa) the best thing about her is her sexy fiancee cash warren - although they're due to get married - i can't see it lasting very long...sean combs is plugging his movie...and cameron diaz is wearing dior and needed to consult her handler rick yorn (brother of pete) about her jewelry - here's ms. cotillard - the fish dress is by jean paul gaultier - oh my gosh - tilda swinton looks like she just rolled out of bed...wtf?


PHOTO CREDIT | JJB
» 4:46PM


only a few more minutes left of red carpet arrivals - i need a snack break soon! colin farrell is with his mum - his eyebrows could use a little grooming but he's still really sexy - he'll be helping out to finish heath ledger's final film - next up is casey affleck - i think he's cuter than brother ben affleck - oh look calista flockheart is with her grandfather - oh i mean her boyfriend harrison ford - he's really gray right now! two time oscar winner hilary swank is dressed in a black versace dress - for sure the two main colors of the evening are black & red! i think viggo mortensen needs to shave - he looks really unkempt and old - he's up for best actor in eastern promises - normally i find him to be quite sexy but not tonight!


PHOTO CREDIT | JJB
» 4:56PM


it looks like the last person with ryan will be katherine heigl - also in red! oh my gosh that all went so fast - we're already two hours in! right now i'm switching over to ABC's red carpet coverage hosted by regis philbin and i'll be taking a quick 30 minute break - the awards ceremony kicks off at 5:30 PST / 8:30 EST! (what's up with daniel day-lewis' wife - i hate her two red bows on her shoulder - along with that very large pendant type thing...yikes!)


PHOTO CREDIT | JJB
» 5:00PM - 5:30PM


BREAK TIME - GO GET YOUR SNACK ON!


PHOTO CREDIT | JJB
» 5:30PM


it's time for the 80th annual academy awards - hosted by jon stewart - supposedly the opening bit of film is supposed to be incredible - let's see what goes down...that opening with a bunch of movie characters all around hollywood - was pretty cool - did you notice brad pitt and angelina jolie - people cheered! i knew that mr. stewart's opening monologue would start off with the three month long writers' strike - thank heavens that's all cleared up! (he did a decent job at opening the show) the first award of the evening is up with jennifer garner presenting best costume design which goes to...


» 5:47PM


woo hoo - george clooney! he's doing a little bit about eighty years of oscars - and introduced a montage of awards from the past - oh no - they're going all sappy with celine dion's 'my heart will go on' next up (after jon is done plugging the iphone) is anne hathaway & steve carrell presenting the award for best animated feature - i hope the rat wins - and he did!


here's a very nervous katherine heigl (in escada) one of the many ladies wearing red tonight who is presenting best makeup to...la vie en rose - they really did a terrific job of making up marion cotillard to look like a dead ringer for legendary messy french singer edith piaf - even the aged version was amazingly realistic (as compared to bette midler & james caan in 'for the boys' - for those of you who've seen that will totally get what i'm talking about - bad old people makeup is the pits!)


the first performance of the night is amy adams singing 'happy working song' from enchanted - i assume she's really singing? she's cute as button but they could have tossed up a few dancers on the stage - it seemed very bare!

» 6:06PM


(the post's time stamps are going by the commercial breaks) here's 'the rock' presenting best visual effects to...


pregnant double nominee cate blanchett - who is glowing - is presenting best art direction - the winners totally deserved the award - the whole look and feel of sweeney todd was amazing - i can't wait until that film comes out on blu-ray DVD - a total must-have!


we've got mr. stewart gushing over ms. blanchett - who i agree is one of the best actresses today - i really want to see i'm not there in which she plays a young bob dylan but i actually have no interest in seeing that second 'elizabeth' movie - it's just not my thing! here's the first acting award of the night - best supporting actor - being presented by last year's best supporting actress winner jennifer hudson - looking like a diva in white! as most people predicted javier bardem nabbed the award - whose speech was super fast - half of it in spanish for his mom in the audience - how sweet! (did anyone else notice earlier in the evening when regis philbin called him xavier bardem?!?)


» 6:22PM


without the writers - we would have endured more montages - like the one about binoculars/periscopes and waking from a nightmare...ha! moving on - there's keri russell introducing the second nominated song from august rush - which she also starred in along with hottie jonathan rhys-meyers - with the song 'raise it up' - they did a nice job with the song but i'm not crazy about it - oh look it's owen wilson looking cute - he had a lot of drama over the past few months - i'm glad he seems to be doing well! he's presenting the best short live film to...


jerry seinfeld as 'the bee' is introducing another clip montage all about bees...along with handing out the reward for best short animated film (8 awards have been given out leaving only 16 more to go...)


here's the best supporting actress being presented by last year's supporting winner alan arkin (right now i'm betting ms. blanchett will walk off with the statue - although it would be really nice to see ruby dee win!) so tilda swinton won - i've always been a huge fan of hers (since orlando) she's an incredible actress - good for her - but big boo on ms. swinton's frumpy dress - it looks like shiny drapes stapled together!


» 6:44PM


oh the always 'fantastic' jessica alba - who is such a bore to me - and look what they stuck her with - the boring technical awards - ha! not to belittle anybody who won but those awards are not as exciting as some of the others...sexy guys josh brolin & james mcavoy are up presenting best adapted screenplay - which i hope paul thomas anderson will win for 'there will be blood' - it's such a tough film to watch but it was very well done! oh well - the award went to the coen brothers - no surprise there - i think that film will also be winning best picture - we'll know in a little while!


here's yet another video clip of how the awards go down from start to finish - there have been plenty of prepared clips - producers were obviously ready to do the show with or without the writers! next is miley cyrus who exploded onto the pop scene this year - last year at this time i would have said 'miley who?' she's introducing the third nominated song with one of my personal favorite ladies - kristen chenoweth - singing 'that's how you know' - another song from enchanted (the 2nd of three nominated tracks from the film!)

» 7:00PM


we're back with dame judi dench & halle berry - oh wait - it's jonah hill and seth rogen who will be taking over for the gals (jon stewart forgot to include ms. berry in his pregnancy run down!) best sound editing & design are the awards at hand...a sound sweep for the bourne ultimatum




oh here's the award for best actress - presented by best actor winner from last year forest whitaker - all of my fingers are crossed for marion cotillard to win for la vie en rose - she was SO freakin' amazing! i really hope she gets it - this was the one category i was super excited about! woo hoo - she won - and was adorably nervous and excited up on stage - if you haven't seen the film - you must - ms. cotillard was simply brilliant as edith piaf - she totally deserves the award! i've also had a change of heart about her dress - she looks stunning - it totally grew on me! i do love laura linney as well but she'll have her chance again - she's superb as well!


» 7:18PM


after another electronic product plug for wii - here's sexy scruffy colin farrell introducing the fourth nominated song 'falling slowly' from an incredible film once - i hope this song (written and performed by the film's stars glen hansard and marketa irglova) wins the award tonight - it's really sweet and bare - in a good way! it looks like jack nicholson managed to take his sunglasses off for a few minutes - although his glasses do have a tint to them - he's introducing a tribute to all the best picture winners through the years...more clip filler!

renee zellweger is still rocking her short haircut - with a sparkling strapless silver dress - presenting the award for best film editing - another technical score for the bourne ultimatum


oh my gosh...i thought nicole kidman wasn't at the awards tonight? they showed a still picture of her earlier in the evening (when jon stewart did his pregnancy run down) which confused me plus i didn't notice her earlier on the red carpet (maybe i spaced out) anyways the 4-month pregnant ms. kidman is dressed in basic black - draped with a large crooked diamond necklace that looks a little out of control to me! she's handing out an honorary oscar for 98-yr old robert boyle who is a famed hollywood art director & production designer - he doesn't look all that bad for being close to 100 - go him!

» 7:42PM


penelope cruz looks cute - but what exactly is that trim on her dress made of? it looks like a mix of feathers and fur! she has the award for best foreign picture...going to austria for 'the counterfeiters' (her dress also seems semi-similar to jennifer garner's)


the final nominated song 'so close' also from enchanted is being introduced by mcdreamy patrick dempsey...i haven't seen the film but i wasn't crazy about any of the songs performed tonight - i really hope the tune from once wins! john travolta is about to announce the best song winner which goes to...yup my favorite pick 'falling slowly' from once - woo hoo! (there's eight more awards left...)


» 7:57PM


i'm so glad they brought back best song winner marketa irglova - she totally deserved to toss out her two cents tonight - i've never seen that happen before! but we have seen cameron diaz flub before - plus i feel like i've seen her in similar dresses? she's doing best cinematography...which goes to there will be blood - a stunningly stark and beautiful looking film!


good evening to you too hilary swank - who has on a hot set of diamond earrings - she's doing the obligatory 'rest in peace' montage - this part is always sad :( i know they'll be showing heath ledger's picture last...it's still shocking he's really gone - so sad - i still have mixed feelings over seeing batman: the dark knight when it comes out this summer - but i know i'll probably end up seeing it even though it's going to be a little on the eerie side of things!

» 8:08PM


amy adams is back in her not so cute boxy green dress - one of my least favorites of the evening...anyone else agree? she is presenting best original score...


tom hanks introduces soldiers in iraq announcing the nominees for best short documentary (the girl had the same last name as me!) this was the first mention of the war the entire evening - and there has been very little mention of the presidential election as well...


back to mr. hanks handing out the best documentary feature award...the night is really moving along - maybe this year the ceremony won't go over too much! i'm starting to fade...i've been sitting in the same spot since like 3pm - which is five hours ago! i'm glad it's almost all over - i swear every year i get excited to live blog but by the end i'm like why did i do this to myself?!? yet i did manage to have a little fun this year - the creepy moment on the red carpet w/ gary busey was the best! maybe i will do it again next year...


» 8:23PM


will harrison ford ever take out his earring? i hate it on him! (thankfully he won't be wearing it in the upcoming indiana jones flick!) he's up presenting best original screenplay which i'm assuming will go to juno...i assumed right! (three more awards to go...)


» 8:29PM


the last acting award of the night - best actor presented by last year's winner helen mirren - i'm oh so sure that daniel day-lewis will win - although i didn't particularly like there will be blood (i had more respect for the film than say warm fuzzy feelings - totally not a movie to cozy up with) mr. day-lewis was EXCELLENT - he completely terrified me - a total transformation on his part - it would be an upset if he didn't win...i must say though that i really enjoyed tommy lee jones in the valley of elah - along with johnny depp in sweeney todd plus viggo mortensen in eastern promises - i still need to see michael clayton - i bet george clooney is very decent as well! of course mr. day-lewis won and gave a shout out to his wife rebecca miller - who had the worst dress of the evening - hands down!


» 8:40PM


we're officially into overtime (after the show barbara walters is up with her annual oscar interview special) the second to last evening of the award - best director - is being given by martin scorsese (last year's winner) joel & ethan coen took the top directing honor for no country with old men - no surprise there - i'm sure the film will take the top picture honor!


denzel washington is handing out the last award of the night (finally!) the 80th best picture winner goes to...


» 8:48PM


oh it's over - thank heavens - i feel slightly faint & oddly anxious - i need to go lay down on the couch for a little while - i hope everyone enjoyed my attempt at live blogging this year! i only do it for the oscars - so until next year - popbytes' live blogging is over & out...xxoo! (i really need to see no country for old men - it's the one movie i kept meaning to see but sadly never did - as soon it's released on DVD - i'll check it out!)

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