What will you do instead of watching Oscar? [and now Oscar discussion]

[mousepod]

The line was "suck that, Anthony Dod Mantle." Mantle is Slumdog Millionaire's cinematographer.

Personally, I really enjoyed the show. I admit that the company with whom I watched the show was stellar and that probably shaded my opinion, but the highs of the show sure outweighed the lows in a big way.

Notwithstanding my overall appreciation, my three quibbles:
- The memorial bit didn't work as well because it was the one piece that was designed primarily for the live audience. I don't think the song was the problem, it was the multiple screens. I'll bet that a broadcast-specific feed with the multiple pictures would have worked better, especially for the HD audience.
- The musical number in the middle was a little awkward (sorry, Baz) and the fact that it took up so much time versus the relatively short medley of the nominated songs.
- The surprising contrast between the touching introductions given by the presenters of the Actress awards and the mostly stiff and awkward ones given by/for the Actors. I got chills when Michael Douglas, standing on stage with Anthony Hopkins, said that Langella's portrayal of Nixon made you forget all the ones that came before. Ouch.

But in all, what a great show. Jackman's opening number, the Man on Wire Oscar balancing act, Penn's and Winslet's acceptance speeches... there were so many good things to say about the show.

One moment that should have been: when Jackman said that "musicals are back," Heather turned to me and said "A.R. Rahman should get up and say, 'We have a word for musicals in India - we call them movies.'"

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by mousepod

- The musical number in the middle was a little awkward (sorry, Baz) and the fact that it took up so much time versus the relatively short medley of the nominated songs.

Agreed. On the surface, I liked the nod to the classic Top Hat and Tails award show musical form, but they crammed way too much into that medley, left my head spinning a bit.

It was mentioned before, but I loved the Tina Fey, Steve Martin bit. My favorite moment was as Steve was about to deliver his oft-used joking spotlight stealing bit where he repeats the "And I'm Steve Martin". But he couldn't because people were too busy giving Fey a HUGE ovation. Heehee, the irony.