If you love tearing apart the Oscar red carpet as much as The Get writers do, you’re still talking about the dresses on display last night. Let us help you get the ball rolling…
Brilliant! Marisa Tomei, wearing Versace
“In an oddly debutante-y night of women in white dresses, Marisa’s sculptural version knocked it out of the park.”—Liz
“My favorite by far. Of all the women wearing the one-shoulder look this year, Marisa Tomei wore it best. All those cascading folds…she reminded me of Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase.”—Jessica
“I agree. I don’t know how easy it was for Marisa to get around with that train, but she looked great. A definite improvement from what she wore when she won for My Cousin Vinny.”—Kevin
Natalie Portman, wearing Rodarte
“The pink hue was cheerful without a hint of saccharine. She is an effortlessly lovely combo of glam and cute.”—Liz
“Move over Molly Ringwald. Natalie Portman redefines pretty in pink with this Grecian-goddess-like dress.”—Jessica
“With her flawless skin, Natalie is always so beautiful, and it’s easy for her to stand out. This bright dress takes her to the next level. By the way, did she look really short to anyone else?”—Kevin
The party where I watched the Oscars telecast last night was pretty heavy on theater people, and for the most part we thought it was an entertaining show. But we were decidedly split on what broadcast producers Bill Condon and Larry Marks probably thought was a favor to us (or as a text message coming in from another party put it, “You’re welcome, gays”): The Baz Luhrmann musical number.
The wafer-thin excuse for the medley, that Mamma Mia surpassed Titanic at the U.K. box office and that means movie musicals are back all of a sudden, is patently ridiculous. Moulin Rouge, Chicago and the Condon-directed Dreamgirls have all been huge presences at the show earlier this decade, and also? This is the Oscars, not the BAFTAs, and nobody here cares about the Brits’ bad taste in musicals. Still, Bill and Baz apparently saw their opportunity and seized it. In my mind, there are two ways to look at it:
History repeats itself: Ten years ago, the Best Picture statuette went to Shakespeare in Love. This year, another amiable if over-hyped “small film” wrested the big prize away from a lineup of more self-consciously Important movies. I can see liking Slumdog Millionaire, but could anyone look you in the eye and tell you that it deserved eight Oscars? Pool-wise, there were too many frontrunners to make it a competitive night; the upset in foreign film notwithstanding, it all came down to whether you picked Rourke or Penn. (By the end of the show, the standings—in my friend’s pool at least—resembled the scoreboard after round one of the Masters.)
The award for best performance in the Oscarcast goes to Ben Stiller, for bringing some welcome irreverence the evening with his insane and dead-on Joaquin Phoenix impersonation. “You look like you work at a Hasidic meth lab,” Natalie Portman quipped. The blah vibe was one reason Sean Penn’s speech—slamming voters who supported Prop 8 by asking them to ponder what their grandchildren will think—was the most memorable of the night. The Academy got a chance to redeem itself for snubbing Brokeback Mountain. Still, you can’t help but wonder what Mickey Rourke would’ve said. The Academy could nominate Penn every year or two if it wanted to. Where will Mickey go from here?
With only two days left, and with all the votes in, suddenly the Internet is all a-twitter (and Twitter is all a-Internet, I suppose) with rumors that maybe, just maybe, not all those virtual certainties in the top six categories are certain. It may all be bullshit, and just writers looking to spice up the remaining days with a new story angle, but who knows. Read more »
Well, you won’t see all five projected simultaneously (that would be visually confusing, though it might make a cool art installation), but if you still haven’t caught up with the Oscar’s Best Picture nominees, you can see all five one-after-another on Saturday at the AMC River East 21. You get five films for $30, a high probability of a numb butt, and bragging rights.
The schedule goes like this:
Milk 10:30AM-12:50PM (15 minute break) The Reader 1:05PM-3:19PM (25 minute break) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 3:45PM-6:43PM (30 minute break) Slumdog Millionaire 7:15PM-9:27PM (15 minute break) Frost/Nixon 9:45PM-11:59PM
The glitz. The glamour. The incredibly boring, but somehow still culturally relevant, ritual that is the Academy Awards. Hit these restaurants, bars and theaters around town for Oscar parties that are sure to liven up the broadcast.
SAT 21 Vermilion
For the handful of folks out there not yet sick of hearing about Slumdog Millionaire, this Indian-Latin fusion restaurant is bringing in Bollywood dancers and offering Bombay street food for its “Slumdog Pre-Oscar Party.” $15 cover after 9:30pm.
Pop quiz: Name any of the announced presenters at the Oscars, which is this Sunday night.
You got nothin’, right? That’s because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed over the show to musical-theater pros Bill Condon and Laurence Mark this year, and Condon and Mark decided that secrecy and surprise was part of what makes Oscar night fun. Their theory is that all the announcements of who is appearing and who is presenting Oscars is not just unnecessary, but a buzzkill.
I sat down with Sid Ganis, the president of AMPAS, last Friday for some straight talk about the Oscars, secrecy and so forth. He wasn’t spilling secrets, but we’ll give you a few bits of online gossip. Read more »
In case you still harbor fantasies of delivering your Oscar acceptance speech, you’ve got a chance to at least hold one of those puppies for the next two weeks. Actual Academy Award statuettes will be on display at the Shops at North Bridge at 520 N Michigan Avenue. It’s part of Meet the Oscars, a whole exhibit dedicated to the making of the statuettes, which (in case you somehow hadn’t heard) are made here in Illinois by R.S. Owens & Company.
Two weeks ago we presented a brief history of consolation Oscars. Now it’s time for the corollary category—the Comeback Oscar, which goes to an artist who emerges triumphant after a long period of obscurity (or shame). If he wins, The Wrestler’s Mickey Rourke will be this year’s unofficial honoree. Below are some past recipients.
How exactly did Slumdog Millionaire become, as most Oscar-following pundits are saying, the front-runner for Best Picture? Well, start with the critics’ organizations. No, film critics are not necessarily good predictors of Oscar winners (we tend to go maverick over “difficult” films that don’t get Oscar love, and remember: no film critics are Oscar voters), but when the critics line up strongly behind one film, it might suggest something about the mood of filmgoers in general. Read more »
For just $19.99 a year, you'll get hundreds of listings and free events each week, plus our special issues and guides, including Cheap Eats, Great Spas, Fall Preview, Holiday Gift Guide and more!
Time Out Chicago respects your privacy. We will only use your e-mail address in order to contact
you regarding to your subscription and to send you our weekly e-newsletter. We will not share this information with anyone.
Marisa Tomei, wearing Versace
