Ah, the weekend of the Oscars, always a not-to-be-missed event. Oh the suspense, the celebrities, the FASHION!
I’ll leave the fashion to our Risky fashionista, Amanda.
Young Victoria’s costume designer won, speaking of fashion.
Much as I like Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, I yearned for Hugh Jackman…but then, don’t I always? At least I got a brief Gerard Butler fix. He was subdued and very handsome.
Cute moment when Gerard meets Gabourey Sidibe on the Red Carpet.
I could have done without the dance performance, not Gerard, the one during the Oscars….
I haven’t seen hardly any of the movies nominated, but that never prevents me from having my opinions and my favorites.
For example, I was disappointed Christopher Plummer did not win, and very happy Mo’Nique won. Her performance reminded me of people I once knew in my social worker days. And I suppose I’ve loved Christopher Plummer every since The Sound of Music, not to mention his performance as Wellington in Waterloo.
And, of course, I would have liked Colin Firth to win. I mean, he was DARCY…but the Best Actor category was filled with great actors. They all should have won.
Carey Mulligan! Kitty Bennett in the “other” Pride & Prejudice. I knew she wouldn’t win, but how great to see her there. It was nice for Sandra Bullock to win. She gave such a good speech.
Kathryn Bigelow! First time for a woman to win Best Director. What a remarkable film for a woman to direct. Nice to see Barbara Striesand, too. She looks good!
And BEST PICTURE!! The Hurt Locker. To win over Avatar was remarkable.
I think the distribution of wins over so many wonderful films was pretty well balanced. It really was a great year for movies, I think. I’m inspired to go to the cinema postehaste and to hone my Netflix membership.
I just finished judging my RITA books (The Romance Writers of America’s “Oscars”). Like the Oscars, I suspect there will be many wonderful finalists, all deserving to win. I also think there will be several books that don’t make the finals that are also wonderful, but not to everyone’s taste. (Friends of mine HATED Avatar, for example). You just can’t avoid subjective scoring. That is why I always say that not reaching the finals doesn’t mean you haven’t written a great book.
Now that I’ve finished my RITA books, I get to start on Venetia! Don’t forget. This Wednesday Carolyn kicks off our very first Risky Regency Read Along. We’re supposed to read Chapters 1 to 7 of Venetia by Wednesday, March 17 so we can DISCUSS. I am so very sure this will be lots of fun. Who doesn’t love talking about a book with other friends who’ve read the same book?
We’re even going to guest visit at Sue Grimshaw’s Borders True Romance Blog Saturday March 13 to talk about the Read Along. Sue Grimshaw, Borders Books Romance buyer, is such a constant and enthusiastic supporter of Romance. Visit her blog and see what she’s offering this week.
Sue has a day Janet will enjoy. Thurday is Male Romance Cover Review day!
This month my Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady is available on MillsandBoon.co.uk or you can pre-order at a discount at Bookdepository.com. And A Reputable Rake is released in the UK in an anthology, Regency High Society Affairs, v 13, also at Book Depository. A Reputable Rake is my RITA winner!
What did you think of the Academy Awards? Were there any disappointments for you? Didn’t you think Gerard Butler looked handsome?
Hmmm…didn’t watch the Oscars but for a few minutes. I was watching PBS, Daniel Amen’s Healthy Brain, Healthy Life. Yes, it will be repeated. I’m hoping if I watch it often enough I’ll be able to fully process what I want to keep from it.
Does Gerard ever not look good?
Instead of dissing Oscar, I’ll suffice it to say that I’m not at all surprised that Avatar didn’t win. Think Star Wars and Annie Hall. I’m not a Woody Allen fan, and Star Wars was ground breaking in the movie industry. Annie Hall didn’t offer anything new. It was a relationship movie. Better stop now. 🙂
I have until Friday to read Sense and Sensibility for my niece’s book club. Better get busy.
Hi Diane! I only watched a couple of minutes, and what lucky minutes they were, because it was when Gerard Butler came out to present. Here’s one thing that frustrates me about Hollywood – making English and Scottish actors speak with American accents in their movies! I’d so rather hear their natural voices.
Judy, I don’t go to the movies enough to really have a stake in the winners and losers, except by personality, which is a silly way to admit it.
I sure hope after Sense and Sensibility that you are going to join our Venetia Read Along. What a cool aunt you are for going to a book discussion group with your niece
Allison,
I agree about Gerry’s accent. I wound up watching a bunch of YouTube videos of interviews with him last night, just so I could hear the accent!
My niece is quite a lady. She talked me into blogging and FaceBook. I really admire her. And you talked me into it. I just ordered Venetia. 😀
Yay!!!! I’m so glad you will “join” us, Judy. And I worried that I put too much pressure on you. I have a feeling you will love Venetia.
I’m a big movie fan, so the Oscars is always fun for me.
I was rooting for Meryl Streep — what a great performance! But Sandra Bullock does give great speeches.
I was delighted that Bigelow won — she’s such a good director, and so classy.
I was hoping that A Serious Man would get best screenplay, but I suspect not enough folks saw it. And I was kind of hoping that Coraline or Mr. Fox would win best animated film, as my favorite (Ponyo) wasn’t even nominated! But Up was really good, too… 🙂
Okay, that was my take on everything!
Cara
Cara, at least you speak knowledgeably. I’m just going on film clips and the stars I like! Or hoping the underdog wins.
I was most disappointed that Jeff Bridges won. I just wanted one of the other guys to get it.
Diane, I believe all the nominees are winners, especially the competition in each category. I agree that it would have been fun for Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth) to win, but I hadn’t even heard of the film. Like you, I hadn’t seen many.
I tuned in late during the Hawaii rebroadcast. Sandra was inspiring. I appreciate that Kathryn saluted the military when she won Best Director, then all uniformed services when she won Best Picture. It was a fun night to watch the Hollywood glamour!
Yes, Kim! It was so moving to have Kathryn and the Best Original Screenplay winner to honor the military in their speeches. I loved that!
LOL! Gerard did look yummy. Next time you talk to him, Diane, could you ask him to please make a GOOD movie again??? One not with Jennifer Aniston or Katherine Heigel, maybe? :))
I put together a post for tomorrow on my own blog about the fashions (there were a lot of BIG skirts last night!). The ceremony itself was awfully dull, even by Oscar standards, but somehow I still watched to the end. I had to see who Best Director would be! Of the 10 best pictures noms, I’d only seen 3 (Avatar, Hurt Locker, An Education), and An Education was my favorite of them. I was a bit surprised “The White Ribbon” didn’t win Best Foreign Language film–it was the only one of the 5 I’d seen, and it was very hard to watch, but so well-done.
And yay “Young Victoria” for Best Costumes! What was up with the winning designer, though? If I had 3 Oscars I wouldn’t be whining about it, LOL. I would be running around all the time clutching all 3…
I didn’t watch the Oscars last night but was glad to hear Sandra Bullack won. I think she’s marvelous.
I don’t really watch the Oscars because I never see half of the films and actors under consideration. I go to the movies once a year – if that – unless something catches my eye at the $2 theartre. Sad but true.
Didn’t watch the Oscars this year. I usually tun in for the very end if nothing else, but missed doing it this year. Don’t know why.