The 83rd Annual Academy Awards came and went, and overall it was business as usual. No real huge upsets, no real huge shockers. The main topic of conversation however was the actual program, and their hosts. Hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway, the Oscars certainly were going after a wider demographic. I’d say they would have had better luck with a pair that had better chemistry. James Franco is great, but I just kept getting the vibe that he had no desire to be there. His chill relaxed demeanor was not a compliment to Hathaway’s peppy excited cheerleader.I think my favorite moment was Kirk Douglas presenting, he may have been difficult at times to understand, but charming none the less. Another thing being buzzed about was leaving out Corey Haim in the Memoriam section, not sure if it was intentional or not, but clearly folks are upset about it. My favorite part of the Oscars were also absent this year, I look forward to the great montages of film history they tend to have. Perhaps cutting this was also part of the effort to reach a wider demographic. For shame.
Here’s looking forward to next year!
83rd Academy Award Winners
- Best Picture: “The King’s Speech”
- Best Actor: Colin Firth – “The King’s Speech”
- Best Actress: Natalie Portman – “Black Swan”
- Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale – “The Fighter”
- Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo – “The Fighter”
- Best Director: Tom Hooper, “The King’s Speech”
- Best Foreign Language Film: “In a Better World” (Denmark)
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin – “The Social Network”
- Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler – “The King’s Speech”
- Best Animated Feature Film: “Toy Story 3”
- Best Art Direction: “Alice in Wonderland”
- Best Cinematography: “Inception”
- Best Sound Mixing: “Inception”
- Best Sound Editing: “Inception”
- Best Original Score: “The Social Network” (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
- Best Original Song: “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3” (Randy Newman)
- Best Costume Design: “Alice in Wonderland”
- Best Documentary Feature: “Inside Job”
- Best Documentary (short subject): “Strangers No More”
- Best Film Editing: “The Social Network”
- Best Makeup: “The Wolfman”
- Best Animated Short Film: “The Lost Thing”
- Best Live Action Short Film: “God of Love”
- Best Visual Effects: “Inception”
The show is boring. The results are predictable. And they need to hire better hosts next time. Far better hosts, since this year’s rating already dropped 9% from 2010.