You Stand To Win Everything

The Oscars have come and gone, and it was a memorable evening indeed. No majour upsets in my opinion, with the exception of the unfortunate mess worn by Tilda Swinton (pictured). She's a stunning beauty, but why she chose to wear that dress (and I use that term very loosely) is beyond me. It's almost as if someone tried creating a graduation gown out of a Hefty garbage bag and just didn't get to left sleeve in time.

That fashion disaster aside, tonight was the first time I have ever attended an Oscar party. It was a small gathering at a friend's flat, but it proved to be very enjoyable. It was nice to catch up with the hosts, as I don't really get to see either of them too often. Of course, everyone had their prediction ballot and the person with the most correct guesses would take home the coveted Blue Ball award (it's really just a blue sphere paperweight that the flat owner wanted to pawn off on someone). Naturally, being the only single person there, I won. I correctly guessed 17 out of the 24 awards handed out. There was a change to my choice for Best Actress. I believe I said here that Cate Blancett would win, but I changed my mind and went with Swinton. Due to that change, I correctly guess the eight majour awards (Picture, Director, all Acting, both Screenplays).

This year the awards were pretty much well spread-out, as no Best Film nominee walked away empty handed. Not surprisingly, No Country For Old Men walked away with the most, including the top prize. There Will Be Blood earned wins in two categories it was expected to win, but the owner of the mind that dreamed up this film (Paul Thomas Anderson) walked away empty handed. Original Screenplay went to the deserving Betty Rubble, errr, Diablo Cody (check out her dress and you'll understand the reference) for Juno. And the only film with multiple acting nods, Michael Clayton, walked home with just one statuette in the acting field(Best Supporting Actress for the aforementioned Swinton). The most pleasing part of the show is when Marketa Irglova hit the stage twice for her win for Best Song for the film Once. They brought her back out after a commercial break since she got cut off before she could give her acceptance speech. Hers was a sweet, tender one, so I'm glad that they brought her back out. (see video below)



Here's a rundown of the winners:

No Country For Old Men, 4 (Best Picture, Directors, Supporting Actor and Adapted Screenplay)

The Bourne Ultimatum, 3 (Best Editing, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing)

There Will Be Blood, 2 (Best Actor and Cinematography)

La Vie En Rose, 2 (Best Actress, Make-Up)

Juno, 1 (Best Original Screenplay)

Michael Clayton, 1 (Best Supporting Actress)

Atonement, 1 (Best Score)

Ratatouille, 1 (Best Animated Feature)

Sweeney Todd, 2 (Best Art Direction)

The Golden Compass, 1 (Best Visual Effects)

Elizabeth: The Golden Age, 1 (Best Costume Design)

Once, 1 (Best Original Song)

The Counterfeiters, 1 (Best Foreign Film)

Taxi To The Dark Side, 1 (Best Documentary Feature)

Freeheld, 1 (Best Documentary Short)

Peter & The Wolf, 1 (Best Animated Short)

Le Mozart Des Pickpockets, 1 (Best Live Action Short Film)