Surprisingly, I found myself sticking around well into the 40 minute mark, before starting to switch to the other channels. I wasn't paying much attention to the people nominated, the presenters or anything that was being said. I was looking for hidden signals in the programming. I would find myself rewinding, over-and-over, looking at the reaction shots of all the nominees as the winner would be announced. I would instinctively add thought bubbles to the actor/actress body language. Was that Angelina thinking "I knew they wouldn't give it to me, oh well" ? Is Mickey tearing up under those sunglasses? And why is Anne Hathaway so excited about some else's victory? She's not trying to secretly be everyone's "sister," is she ?
Most surprising of all was the contrast between the sexes, especially in the main categories : Leading & Supporting roles. I am not building up into a sexist rant or some sort of male counter-attack. I am simply referring to the fashion and the total look. All 10 male presenters (supporting & lead roles) looked good. They were dressed in tuxedoes & generally looked like movie stars (althouth Christopher Walken's side burns seem to be attacking his head). The 10 female presenters were another story completely. It all started with the "Best Actress in a Supporting Role" :
Since they were the first major category to be announced, they were the first to perform the new format for the 81st Oscar presentation. This involved 5 past winners of that award, announcing one of the nominees and then delivering a scripted (yet personal) description of that nominee. This group was just the beginning. Who would have thought Goldie Hawn's wax face & chest, Tilda Swinton's modeling of the Statue of Liberty dress and Whoopie Goldberg's leopard print mumu would not be the peak of gaudiness for the ladies. Thankfully this group had Anjelica Huston & Eva Marie Saint to balance out this group a bit (as they kept is modest & conservative).
Kate Winslet won the Best Actress in a Lead Role this night. The future of leading ladies is not bright. First you start out being young and attractive, like last year's winner; Marion Cotillard:
After a couple of post-Oscar roles, meant to reap the new found accolades you end up in Halle Berry territory. Sadly, I was unable to find any photos of her. She still looked good and was in a decent outfit. Her "star" has definetly lost some mystique. A few more years and several overeager plastic surgeries later and you end up with Nicole Kidman.
Several more years later, and several dozen bourbon bottles later (as well as finding your past lives through heavy doses of LSD and oxycontin), you end up looking like Shirley MacLaine. Again, I had a problem find a picture.Even more plastic surgery later you look like Anjelica Huston's character from the Witches or maybe that was Sophia Loren. Is winning Best Actress in a Lead worth it? You decide which witch is which :
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