82nd Academy Awards- Finally!!!!!

Well, this wasn’t my best showing at picking the winners but I didn’t do too badly either- 16 out of 24! I have to say, I think this was one of the best years show wise we’ve seen in a while. So many highlights! So much genuine laughter! Great speeches! I took note of it all and texted back and forth with several friend’s the whole time. I’m including the best messages I received where applicable below. Enjoy!

The whole thing starts on the red carpet and wardrobe watching. This year’s carpet was a cluster fuck (pardon the language) with people coming and going in all directions. No one seemed to know where they were going or who they were supposed to talk to. I will say Ryan Seacrest did a good job on E! but what the heck was happening on ABC? Why were Sherri Shepherd and Kathy Ireland there? {text: “Listening to her is painful. She needs to go work on her Kmart designs”} Why was Ireland standing like a cracked out Barbie doll? Shepherd did have the best line from the red carpet. While interviewing George Clooney she said, “Get the ones that don’t understand English!” in response to his girlfriend not understanding a question. Burn! It was so awkward! Now for what’s really important- Fashion!
[side note: Ladies, please stand up straight. I’m looking at you Miley Cyrus and Zoe Saldana! Come on, if Maggie Gyllenhall can learn to do you so can you.]

Best Dressed (Wow! Kristen Stewart actually bathed!) {text: “SJP looks like she has a hot cross bun on her head”}

Worst Dressed {text: “It’s canoe with his face mold!” That’s Keanu for the uninitiated}

On the Fence {text: “That dress bored me to tears” on Kate Winslet}

• What an opening! Neil Patrick Harris. Dancers. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin descending from Glenda the Good Witch’s bubble. Jokes that were actually funny. Thank god! Can we hire Adam Shankman for next year’s show now? Best line: Martin: “Oh look! Damn Helen Mirren” Baldwin: “That’s DAME Helen Mirren”. Runner up: “…plays a Nazi obsessed with finding Jews. Well Christophe!”

• When the nominations for supporting actor began I loved how this year they showed a montage of clips from the film and not just one small bit. I thought it really helped showcase the nominee’s talent and give more depth to why they were nominated.

• John Hughe’s special memoriam. I’d heard about this a few days ago and thought it was lovely, especially the shots of all the actor’s who had been in his films. Very classy and sweet.

• On a negative note, I’m tired of the way the “In Memoriam” segment is directed. I don’t give a frak about James Taylor. All I want to see is who died. Instead, we miss a few names staring at Taylor’s bald head and in wide shot of the stage. Every year! This is the one area I don’t want you to be artistic. Just show up the pictures. And, where was Farrah Fawcett? Was she one of the ones we missed while in close up of Taylor or was she simply forgotten? {text: “He is so cheesy. Wait, that’s insulting to cheese”- in reference to James Taylor}

• Maybe not a negative but certainly a “what the hell” moment: Acceptance speech for Documentary Short. Who was that wack-a-doo and why did she feel the need to shove her co-producer? {text: “She will never work in this town again! What is that guy wearing?”}

• I loved the banter between Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. while introducing the screenwriting award. I think that got a laugh from everyone in the audience (mostly for his real truth than it simply being funny).

• Another good quote, this one from Robin Williams: “The Governor’s Ball. Just one of the many balls being held all over Hollywood tonight”.

• I loved Sandy Powell’s dress! It’s so refreshing to see a Best Costume winner who looks like she has an idea what fashion is. They are usually such a disaster!

• TRIBUTE TO HORROR!!! I am officially submitting my petition for a Best Horror Movie category. They never get any love (not since “The Exorcist”!) However, couldn’t they have included a clip from one of Eli Roth’s movies? I mean, he was in the audience for pete’s sake and had a lot to do with revitalizing the genre.

• Another great speech: Michael Giacchino for Best Score. You are “not a waste of time”! Here here! PS- what am amazing dance performance! I heart you League of Extraordinary Dancers!

• I also loved that the Best Actor categories where presented like last year with past co-stars sharing thoughts and anecdotes about the nominees. Michele Pfeiffer’s was one of the highlights as was Peter Sarsgaard.

• Can anyone explain to me what Sean Penn was talking about? Politics in nominees? Or politics in how to introduce nominees? Huh? Please, if you know please comment below. Now I didn’t pick Sandra Bullock, mostly because I haven’t seen that movie and it looked like one step from the Lifetime Movie Network. I guess now I’ll have to see it. However, she gave a great speech. Could this be the first time someone has made so many homosexual references in their speech for a movie not about homosexuality? “My lover Meryl Streep”- Loved it! I also loved her message about and to her mother. Schön!

• Finally, it’s happened. The barrier has been broken. A woman won best director. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. I always hoped this would happen in my lifetime and am so pleased it happened to Kathryn Bigelow, a director I’ve admired for years. If I’m being nitpicky, her speech could have been better. It was just so generic. You would never know how revolutionary her win was. Take a note from Halle Berry (hell, even Mo’nique) and make a statement, give a couple shout outs! Oh well, I really don’t care. Her startled expression when she also won Best Picture was priceless!

• I win the side pool on end time of the show with an 11:05 guess. Everyone owes me a dollar!

In a Week of Nothingness, Random is King

* Just thinking about work gets my eye a-twitching. I think I may even be making myself more sick. I've been having panic attacks more frequently too. I need to just sit at home and sleep/relax/eat something good for me for a couple of days until I can right myself. I believe that will be my plan for the evening- bottle of wine, Sam Rockwell in "Moon", and half a hydro-codeine. Maybe I'll just cry... Unless you want to watch "Moon" and have a TV bigger than a bread box and will let me come over and watch it (you can watch it too) and drink myself into oblivion.

* I spent yesterday hanging out w/my friend Lauren and celebrating her getting a new job (Yea- finally!!). The weather has been acting particularly odd all week- cold, warm, cloudy, sunny. Each day is the opposite of the day before. We had a lovely brunch at Capitol Pub- I had the Drunken Steak Sandwich which is fast becoming my favorite thing on the menu. Then we got our nails did (this is only the 2nd time I've had a manicure. The 1st time I was 13), and hit up happy hour. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have to work the next day, so my eye kept randomly twitching as the night progressed. Lauren also broke her tattoo cherry and I am totally jealous. I want a new tattoo so badly!!!!

* I had a napkin with lots of hilarity written on it from last night and of course left it in my other purse. Now, all I can remember is "foot pillows". Apparently there is a restaurant in Cancun where you can take your shoes off and rest your feet on a pillow instead. This sounded ridiculous and crazy to me, until we got to happy hour. With the sun beating down on me it got real hot real quick. If only I could take my sneakers off but not have to touch the hazardous wooden patio bar floor. Foot pillows! Of course! Somebody needs to get on this stat.

* I don't get to see "Alice in Wonderland" until next weekend, so I am looking for one line reviews. Please post below!

* "He opened his mouth and it smelled like toilet"- I found that gem in the drafts section of my phone. I have no idea what it is referencing, but I assume it has to do with something funny either I or someone else said. Man, I wish I knew who smelled like a toilet... Also found on my phone: "You can't water, you're hot"

* Did you watch Bill Murray on David Letterman? It was hilarious. Randomly popping up on screen was a shout out for his orthopedic surgeon Dr. Powell. I wrote it down, certain it was a hoax, but no! It's real. So funny! Thanks Bill Murray! PS- when you going to make another movie? How about right now?


* I will now become the most amazing trivia player in the history of Wednesday trivia!

* Jennie's word of the day: *pfft* (she blew a raspberry at me! Deciding that was not a word, our new word is Guggenheim)

* I was rummaging around on You Tube today looking for something funny involving Chinese throwing stars (it's a long story) when I discovered this. Sorry, Blogger won't let me cut and paste for some weird reason so you just have to click the link. The joke is pretty standard and not funny, but this guys haircut makes up for it in spades!

* Tomorrow is the Oscar's!!! Did you watch the Independent Spirit Awards last night? I did. What the heck was up with Eddie Izzard? He seemed a bit off and I can only assume it was the free flowing Jameson on every table. The speech's were nice and everything wrapped up in a neat 2.5 hour package. The big winner: Precious (of course). I'm okay with that as I don't expect them to walk off with much tomorrow. The big surprise: Best Screenplay winner "(500) Days of Summer" beating out "The Messenger" and "The Vicious Kind" and "Adventureland". Awesome. Documentary winner Anvil. Awesome squared.

My complete reaction to the Academy Awards will be posted Monday. Good luck to everyone participating in a pool or going to the Red Carpet Crash event in Dallas!

The Countdown Begins!!

As you know, I am a huge fan of awards season. It officially ends this month with two of my favorite shows: The Independent Spirit Awards and The Academy Awards. I've made my predictions and am now ready to share them with you all as promised. Feel free to use them (though a little "finder's fee" would be much appreciated if you win anything).

Speaking of free stuff, if you are in the DFW area Red Carpet Crash is hosting an Oscar watching party at the Lakewood Theatre complete with prizes. Check it out here for more details.

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker (I'm sticking with my pic, though after hearing that one of the Producer's (the one that sent the "email") was now barred from the event, I'm getting nervous.)

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges (Hope he finally gets his due, though wouldn't it be a coup if Colin Firth won? Considering he won the BAFTA ...)

Best Actress: Meryl Streep (I don't care! I'm taking Meryl. Sandra Bullock should just be glad she's nominated and while Carey Mulligan won the BAFTA, I think that has more to do w/being British and don't think the Americans will reward her with more than the nomination itself)

Best Supporting Actor: Christophe Waltz hands down

Best Supporting Actress: ditto for Mo'nique

Animated Feature: Up

Art Direction: Avatar (while I disagree with this, they've won all the major awards. I would be happy to be proven wrong in my pick if "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus" wins)

Cinematography: Avatar (again I personally disagree- it's all on computers!- but they've won this before. 2nd runner up: "The Hurt Locker")

Costume: The Young Victoria (period usually wins)

Directing: Kathryn Bigelow (James Cameron will probably get it to be honest, but it's about time a woman won and Bigelow's our best bet. However, if the Academy wants to pretend it's my birthday, they can award Quentin Tarrantino the prize)

Documentary Feature: The Cove

Documentary Short: Rabbit a la Berlin (come on! How do you not vote for bunnies!?)

Film Editing: Inglourious Basterds (Sally Menke, QT's longtime editor, recently won a lifetime achievement prize from the Editor's Guild. Hopefully they remember it's nice to get your 1st Oscar too and vote for her again)

Foreign Language: The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)- Germany (2nd runner up: A Prophet (Un Prophete)- France)

Makeup: Star Trek

Original Score: Up

Original Song: The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)

Animated Short: Logorama (I just gotta love a movie that's being sued for illegal use of copy write material!)

Live Action Short: The Door

Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker

Sound Mixing: Avatar

Visual Effects: Avatar (do you even have to ask?)

Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air

Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds (2nd place: The Hurt Locker. Information recently released that the producer's are being sued by an ex-Marine who says they stole his story from a Playboy article will hurt this film. That makes it an adapted screenplay)

For a complete list of nominees, visit the Oscar's homepage linked above.

Can It Still Be A Guilty Pleasure If I Share It With All Of You??

This post was supposed to be another depressive ramble about regret and decisions and the like, but while writing it I just couldn't take it anymore so I'm bumping up Sundays list because this is my blog and I can break the "rules" if I want to. Not to worry, sad musings on the state of my life will certainly rear their ugly heads in future.

While I understand "guilty pleasures" are by definition secret, who would I be if I didn't put your mind at ease that there is someone equally disturbed, if not more so, than yourself? As #6 will attest, I love lists. This being the end of the year, we are inundated with them and for that I am thankful.

2009's Guiltiest Pleasures (as told by me to you)

1. Young Adult Literature: This year I found myself reading more and more books designed with the "tween" population in mind. Part of the reason was I was sick of some of my favorite adult books becoming too "adult" and losing track of the story that was supposed to accompany the romance (I'm looking at you Laurell K Hamilton). Also, these books are a quick and easy read and sometimes that's exactly what you're looking for. I've always been a quick reader- I was always proud to display the results of my reading levels to my folks as they were well above my educational level- and as such, I missed out on a lot of the books young people are supposed to read. Sure, I had my fair share of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike books, but no where near the volume of more mature fare I was consuming. This year, I seemed to be destined to correct this error. My favorite new series are "The House of Night" book's written by mother/daughter team P.C. and Kristen Cast. It takes place in a world where vampirism is a genetic curse that raises it's ugly head around puberty (symbolism anyone?). The main character, Zoey, is "marked" one day at school with the half-moon tattoo that denotes fledgling vampires and carted off to a boarding school to learn the ways of her new life. Chaos ensues and fun is to be had by all. There are about 6 or 7 books so far, and I'm really enjoying the afternoon of easy fun they afford me.

2. Bravo TV- Damn you Bravo for your marathon's of crap television that I am compelled to watch when I'm home from work. Sure, you give us gems like "Top Chef" (which is not embarrassing at all), but what about "Million Dollar Listing", "The Millionaire Matchmaker", and "Tabitha's Salon Takeover"? This is not to mention "My Life on the D-List" (which shouldn't count because I actually record these and heart Kathy Griffin), "Flippin' Out", "The Rachel Zoe Project", and "NYC Prep". I hate you and I hate that I MUST watch these marathon's when they come on. I can't help myself. I feel dirty afterward, and I lie about what I'm watching when friend's call. You are the black hole of TV and I love/hate you for it. If I can just keep myself from being sucked into your numerous "Real Housewives" marathon's I may just keep my sanity and a bit of my dignity.

3. Lady Gaga- I don't care, I'm a bit obsessed right now. I think she is so fascinating. What helped was reading an article with her in Interview that helped shed some light on what's going on in her bizarrely coiffed head. She is in on the joke people- though I think the Kermit outfit was still a bit weird. She has a great voice, it translates well to live tv, and great stage show. I can't help bopping along to her songs when they come on the radio and now, through my sister, I have "The Fame Monster Deluxe" and can coo anytime all day long. Is it only me who tears up a bit to "Paparazzi"?
"I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me...Promise I'll be kind, But I won't stop until that boy is mine...Chase you down until you love me, Papa-Paparazzi"

4. Lovelylistings.com- Okay, so maybe this isn't so guilty as I've told anyone with a love for crazy photo blogs, but it is certainly my internet find of the year. Disastrous realtor listings featuring everything from porcelain dolls galore, gross bathrooms, and the funniest thing I've seen all year: Modesty Chair . It will eat up an afternoon and you won't even notice. Enjoy!

5. Farkle- I don't know where you came from Farkle for Facebook! You used to be an innocent dice game I played with my friend Head Mess Mistress at Spider House in Austin; now you've taken over my Facebook time as well. Damn you for being so addictive and so much more difficult to cheat at!

6. Best of Lists- Surprising, I'm sure, but I can't turn away a good list. /Flim seems to post all of them, from John Waters to Tarrantino to AFI, and I eat them up. I'm sure this has something to do with how much I like to create lists.... Which segue perfectly into...

7. Award Season- I haven't missed an Academy Awards telecast since I was born, and I'm not going to start now! All year the anticipation builds- Who will be nominated? Who will be drunk at the Golden Globes? What stupid and only slightly hilarious premise will they unveil at the Spirit Awards? One of the best presents I got was a coffee table book featuring all the nominees and winners of the Oscar since it's inception in 1929 through 2002. Since then, I have carefully torn the ballot in Entertainment Weekly, marked the winners, and stowed it away for safe keeping inside the book jacket. I should really take bets... I'm usually about 85-95% accurate with the winners. Oscar night is always spent with the folks, but recently I've started a tradition of a Golden Globes party. Nibbley-bits, champagne, hilarity, is always a great recipe for a good time with friends.
[side note: Dallasites- if you too love watching the drunken antics of the Globes while getting a bit drunken yourself, let me know. I've gotta lock down a location for this years fete as people have moved-boo!]

8. Daydreaming- Specifically, intricate daydreams involving attractive famous men and the relationship we have in my head. It's kinda sad. We go to dinner, visit each others family, hang out with friends. Pathetic. This years recipients of the "It's-Only-Creepy-If-We-Ever-Meet-Or-You-Somehow-See-This" award go to:

and my current favorite: