Oscar Fashions: Couples

Yeah, I'm posting about the Oscars again. Why? Because I can. :-)

Even those years when I'd stopped watching the Oscars, I'd flip through magazines or surf the 'net checking out what people wore to the show. I love the whole red carpet fashion show thing, and not just the Oscar version. All the awards shows are fair game when it comes to rating the fashions. And it still amazes me how horribly wrong some choices are. Many of these celebrities use stylists to get them all glammed up for those special occasions, and many of those stylists should be drawn and quartered. (And the celebrities who went along with their choices should be banned from red carpet events until they take some sort of style class or something.)


So, for today, here are some 2009 Oscar fashion winners in the couples category (Beware, some of these will appear on both the winners and losers lists):

I love this picture of Brad and Angelina. In most photos, they are posing and seem so serious. This one is such a spontaneous image full of humor. It's a great shot of one of the most beautiful couples at the awards. And Angelina's jewelry is beautiful. Great shade of green.

Another beautiful couple, Diane Lane and Josh Brolin. I have to admit, as wonderful as she looks, Diane will be on both my good and bad lists. I'm not the biggest fan of the regular neck tie style tux, but sometimes it works. Josh certainly carries it off well.

Another great couple; Robert Downey, Jr. and his wife Susan. Again, the neck tie style tux, and again, it works. Susan is a producer on Robert's upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie. I am so looking forward to that one. And don't they make a beautiful couple. I love her hair. The only thing that could have made them better was if Robert was sporting the little goatee-moustache he had in the movie Iron Man. That is such a sexy look on him.

Not a real-life couple, but a couple in the movie Slumdog Millionaire and on the red carpet, Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto make an attractive pair at the awards. I'm not usually a fan of single-sleeve dresses (kind of like the neck tie tux thing) but I love this dress. It was gorgeous. I can't believe all the people I've heard on E! and the TV Guide Network who talk about it being a poor choice. I really thought she was beautiful in this dress.

And I think this is my favorite couple. Why? Well, not just because I'm a Star Trek fan (which I am) or because they both look pretty dapper (which they do - even with the regular neck tie) but because of what they represent. George Takei and his partner of over 21 years Brad Altman were married in September of 2008.

What About Eartha?

I have to say, I am disappointed. I watched the Oscars on Sunday, as you know if you've read my last two posts, and as usual they had the little montage paying tribute to those in the movie industry who passed during the year since the last Academy Awards show. I thought someone was missing, but wondered if maybe I had just missed a face or two on the screen. So, I hit play on the DVD (yes, I recorded it) and it appears I was right. No Eartha Kitt.

I wonder how they could have missed someone of Eartha Kitt's caliber. Yes, I know she was known more for her sultry singing voice, but she had parts in over 60 different television shows, movies and cartoons. She is known to generations of viewers...even to children today as Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove, its sequel and the television spin-off.

Now, I know timing is often a factor. Roy Scheider died on February 10, 2008, but did not make last years tribute montage for the 80th Academy Awards broadcast on February 24. He did make it to this year's video. Ms. Kitt however passed on December 25th, plenty of time to have her among the others lost to Hollywood in the memorial montage. So, what's the deal?

And I have to wonder if certain people are left out on purpose. Actor Brad Renfro died on January 15, 2008 and was left out of the memorial last year. He wasn't a legend by any means, but that doesn't mean the potential wasn't there, and that the movies and television shows he worked on weren't worth seeing. (His first role was in The Client with Susan Sarandon.) I think the story of his death was "lost" when Heath Ledger died exactly one week later. A sad, obscure ending to a tragic life.

But, I digress. I wonder who else may have been missed this year. Eartha was a legend, and her fans will always remember her, even if the Academy does not.

Oscar Backlash?

It seems everything turns into a controversy of some sort, and why should the Oscars be any different. It's true you can't please all the people all the time. There will always be people who think this movie was no where near as good as they're saying, this actor deserved the award more than the other one, etc. This year's issue seems to be with the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

This "little" movie from India picked up 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture...and therein lies the problem it seems. Many are not happy with this one winning top honors. (Well, some posting on the internet anyway.) They are saying it just shows how out of touch the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences really is that a movie given only limited release in the US, a movie that didn't make much money and wasn't seen by much of anybody here, won big.

Me? I say more power to it. The Oscars have never really been about what was popular in the past year or what made the most money. If those were deciding factors, movies like The Dark Knight, Iron Man or Transformers would all be vying for the top honor. Small movies often garner high praise on Oscar night since the voting is done by industry "insiders" such as actors, producers, directors, etc. They look at more than just box office receipts when casting their votes. And what better way to discover new movies you wouldn't normally have seen than by looking at who won big and using that as a guide. (Although, some movies I've seen for that reason have been a disappointment, and I'm especially thinking of Crash here.)

If the gold statues were given out by us regular people, Heath Ledger would have won for Brokeback Mountain, Paul Newman would not have had to wait until a dismal movie like The Color of Money before getting one and Woody Allen wouldn't have 3 to his name. (Can you tell I'm not a fan?)

But, that's why we have The People's Choice Awards.

The Oscars

OK, it's that time of year again. Yesterday they announced the nominees for this year's Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars. Not too many surprises actually, although many are disappointed that The Dark Knight wasn't nominated in more categories. Heath Ledger got a nod for Best Supporting Actor, no surprise there, and he was already awarded the Golden Globe in that category. (Incidentally, yesterday was the one year anniversary of Ledger's death. What a huge loss that is still felt in Hollywood.)

The entire list of nominees can be found at http://www.oscar.com/. I will print a few of the major categories here:

BEST PICTURE

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Frost/Nixon

Milk

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon

Stephen Daldry, The Reader

Gus Van Sant, Milk

BEST ACTOR

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor

Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon

Sean Penn, Milk

Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Angelina Jolie, Changeling

Melissa Leo, Frozen River

Meryl Streep, Doubt

Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin, Milk

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt

Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, Doubt

Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Viola Davis, Doubt

Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Bolt

Kung Fu Panda

WALL-E

I love both Josh Brolin and Robert Downey, Jr., but I have to admit that I would really like to see Heath Ledger win, and not just because it would be a sentimental thing. His performance in The Dark Knight was absolutely amazing. He deserved the Oscar for Brokeback Mountain (still can't believe he didn't get it) and he deserves it for this as well.

I haven't seen the movie Bolt yet, but out of the three animated nominees, I'd like to see WALL-E win. That was a great movie.

And the host for this year's awards is Hugh Jackman. YUMMY!!