I thought Rachel Weisz’s speech that night at the Oscars was the most touching of the bunch. There was nothing phony about it.

I agree, Rachel Weisz was just trying to compliment the aid workers in Africa - The Constant Gardener was a well done film with some pretty candid footage of how tough things are over there, and the dangers involved in trying to make a difference. I mean, sure she’s not quitting her big-paying actress job to go hand out meds in a village, but through her job, she got the message out there.

I have to say though, I fell asleep halfway through the Oscars.

Along with no mention of the war, there was a notable absence of the AIDS ribbon. I only saw one in contrast to the Tonys where they were highly visible.

Is Hollywood in denial of the AIDs pandemic again?  Perhaps that is why all the gay nominated films were set in the pre-AIDS Bareback era.

i did watch. was it any good?

Worst Song Ever

“It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” from Hustle & Flow, performed by Three 6 Mafia.

I tried, folks. I honestly tried to listen carefully and to find something that would qualify this “music” to join the ranks of past Oscar winners.

I found nothing. Not in the music (what music?). Not in the lyrics (didn’t understand a word except for the one line the woman repeated ad nauseum). Not in the performance (I could do as well and look better doing it in my greasy coveralls). NOTHING.

But then, I was brought up in an era whose singers (Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Vaughan, Damone, Lee… etc., etc.) could SING and who sang songs WORTH SINGING (by Gershwin, Rogers & Hammerstein, Mercer… hell, even Willie Nelson, etc., etc.).

I know each generation has it’s own “gap” but this one makes the Grand Canyon look like a hairline crack! I think it’s embarrassing… but then, what do I know?

did no one else hear Joan Rivers’ faux pas telling Don Knotts to eat his heart out that she was wearing granny panties?  A week after he passed away??

Control room tyranny reared its ugly head when Diana Ossana said “Annie Proulx is here tonight; she’s sitting right there.” and the camera never showed us Annie. Diana should have done what Gavin Hood did when he introduced the stars of Tsotsi and then ordered the cameras to turn to them. He was assertive but classy.

I didn’t watch it, was it any good?

Best montage:
The gay cowboy clips - hilarious! How much do we love John Stewart?

I’ve heard a zillion comments about the outfits the stars wore - boring, lackluster, 1950’s, not glamorous.  I thought, given the war and all the rest of the tragedies America is experiencing, the understated gowns were in excellent taste.  Stewart was great for many reasons, especially because he didn’t seem to need to upstage the stars. I interpreted the audience “sigh” at “Paradise Now” was because it didn’t get pulled from the list of nominees in reaction to 30,000 signatures asking that it be pulled.

You know, it is definitely true that Hollywood was pretty self-congratulatory, and you’re right, no one mentioned the soldiers in Iraq. Still, it’s about time that the Academy realized that Hollywood has always been a defacto reactive conscience for this country. Sure, they might have missed out on the soldier’s tip, but it was good to see Hollywood has finally come to terms with the fact that yup, it’s a liberal otwn and they have fianlly decided that’s something to be proud of….

Hey, don’t dis Rachael Weisz! I thought what she said wasn’t so phony. She was in a good movie with a socially conscious message.

I did enjoy Jon Stewart. I wouldn’t have watched otherwise.

Remember when Jon asked the audience if they believed that democracy would prevail in the Academy if the large (pointing) Oscar statue was pulled down?

- There you had your reference.