If you are not watching the ceremony on TV then you are probably either there, asleep or following it online.
If you are not watching the ceremony on TV then you are probably either there, asleep or following it online. So just to keep you informed here is a live rundown of whats going on.
02.01 GMT
Pan’s Labyrinth has won the first two awards for Best Art Direction and Best Makeup.
02.04 GMT
The Danish Poet has just won Best Animated Short and West Bank Story has scooped Best Live Action Short
02.20 GMT
Two sound awards. Letters from Iwo Jima wins Best Sound Editing and Dreamgirls gets Best Achievement in Sound.
02.24 GMT
Alan Arkin wins for Little Miss Sunshine! As I predicted. So far I’m 100% on my predictions. But I’m sure that won’t last…
02.40 GMT
Leonardo DiCaprio is onstage with Al Gore. It was rumoured that Gore might announce a run for President in 2008 but he denied it. They both make a gag of it but maybe he’ll announce it when he wins for Best Documentary?
02.46 GMT
Happy Feet wins for Best Animated Film. I figured the Pixar factor would get a win for Cars but the dancing penguins were very popular at the box office and the eco-friendly message won voters over.
02.48 GMT
William Monahan wins Best Adapted Screenplay for The Departed.
03.01 GMT
Marie Antoinette wins Best Costume and another of one of my predictions goes down in flames. Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt do a Devil Wears Prada routine with Meryl Streep in the audience.
03.07 GMT
Sherry Lansing wins an honorary Humanitarian Award
03.15 GMT
Pan’s Labyrinth wins Best Cinematography – a big shock for me. Although it looks marvellous I do think Emmanuel Lubezki’s work in Children of Men was truly groundbreaking. A shame but it is good to see Pan’s Labyrinth doing so well.
3.16 GMT
Best Visual Effects goes to Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the film the visual effects – especially for the squid-like face of Davy Jones – were pretty stunning. A deserved win.
3.32 GMT
Best Foreign Language Film goes to The Lives of Others. I felt Pan’s Labyrinth would win (especially given all the technical awards it racked up) but The Lives of Others is an extraordinary film. It comes out in the UK in April and is one to watch out for.
3.36 GMT
George Clooney gives out the award for Best Supporting Actress to Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls. One of the dead certs of the night. Plus, tears and thanks to God.
03.42 GMT
Best Documentary Short goes to The Blood Of Yingzhou District
03.47 GMT
An Inconvenient Truth wins Best Documentary. But Al Gore doesn’t announce his run for Presidency in 2008. Which is a shame.
03.50 GMT
Clint Eastwood comes out to present Ennio Morricone with a special Honorary Award and then screws his lines up! But in a funny way. Clint can get away with stuff like that somehow.
I cannot even begin to describe how much I love Morricone’s music. He is one of the greatest composers ever to write for film. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in America and The Mission are just three scores that come to mind.
His acceptance speech begins in Italian – which seems to be spooking everyone out. But Clint handily translates! He wants to thank the Academy, has deep gratitude for all the directors he has worked with, his thoughts go out to those artists have never won an Oscar, this award will be a starting point for more scores and finally he dedicates it to his beloved wife Maria.
4.07 GMT
Best Original Score goes to Gustavo Santaolalla for Babel – he joins a select crowd who have won back-to-back Oscars.
04.13 GMT
Best Original Screenplay goes to Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine.
04.29 GMT
Best Original Song is “I Need to Wake Up” by Melissa Etheridge for An Inconvenient Truth. I guess the three Dreamgirls tunes cancelled each other out.
04.38 GMT
A Michael Mann clip reel on America. Interesting choice of clips ranging from Magnolia to 1941 (!). I like the idea, but can anybody tell me what the hell it was all about?
04.42 GMT
Best Editing is won by Thelma Schoonmaker for The Departed. Marty is crying in the audience. This is her third Oscar for a Scorcese film. He has to be gearing up for his big speech…
04.48 GMT
Jodie Foster introduces the In Memoriam segment. Allida Valli, Bruno Kirby, Gordon Parks, Carlo Ponti, Peter Boyle, Jack Palance, Jack Warden and Robert Altman are just some of the actors and film makers who have passed away in the last year.
04.55 GMT
The Oscar for Best Actress goes to Helen Mirren for The Queen. But you knew that already didn’t you? Now watch out for all the “Dame Helen reigns over Hollywood” headlines. Helen gives a polished speech but what was all that about “I give you the Queen” whilst holding up the Oscar? I guess she is just thankful that she got the opportunity to play Her Majesty. But good on her – she does deserve it in a year with a very strong field.
05.02 GMT
Forest Whitaker wins Best Actor for The Last King of Scotland. Expected but richly deserved. It looked like he almost forgot his speech but he eventually whipped it out of his tuxedo.
05.08 GMT
The long wait is finally over! Martin Scorcese wins Best Director for The Departed. It was exceptionally strong field this year but he had to win didn’t he? But even he still can’t believe it as he (half) jokingly says: “Thank you, please! Could you double-check the envelope?”.
05.13 GMT
Jack Nicholson comes out with Diane Keaton to present Best Picture. Well that surely means …The Departed. Producer Graham King is loving it. Not only has he got an Oscar but he’s helped Marty finally break his curse. (He’s a Chelsea fan – so a good day for him all round after the Carling Cup final yesterday afternoon). I thought Little Miss Sunshine would sneak it but I’m glad The Departed has won. It’s the kind of contemporary film that doesn’t usually win awards but its bucked the trend. The last films set in the present to win were American Beauty (1999) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991), so it doesn’t happen.
5.24 GMT
Well, in the end there weren’t that many surprises in the main categories, although there were a few in the technical ones. The big stories of the evening? Well, Martin Scorcese winning at last, Helen Mirren winning for The Queen, Forest Whitaker winning for The Last King of Scotland, Pan’s Labyrinth scooping technical awards (even if it didn’t get Best Foreign Picture) and The Departed winning Best Picture.
My favourite moment of the evening? Well apart from Martin Scorcese winning at last, Ennio Morrricone accepting his honorary Oscar in Italian with Clint Eastwood translating into English was something I won’t forget. Two legends, two languages, one richly deserved Oscar.
5.32 GMT
Well, that’s it for this year. I’m off to bed but if you have any thoughts about the winners and losers then do post them below.
