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February 24, 2008
Posted: 07:26 PM ET
11:13 p.m. PT: The pressroom has been shut down, the winners are off to their afterparties, and I’m finishing the evening from my hotel room. A few odds and ends … - Daniel Day-Lewis in the pressroom on milkshakes, given that his line “I drink your milkshake!” in “There Will Be Blood” has spawned Internet videos and a “Saturday Night Live” joke: “I’m very much looking forward to all [the] milkshakes I can drink for the next 25 years or so, yeah. … I think it’s fantastic, yeah. I mean, if people absorb something that you’ve done, or whatever your reasons are, it’s not relevant, but that gets absorbed into the culture in such a way that … somebody can make something else out of it, that’s delightful to me.” - Javier Bardem on his mother, a veteran actress: ”I said, ‘Mom, I’m nervous.’ And she said, ‘Why? They are not going to give it to you.’ ” He added, “My mother’s been working for almost 50 years, and she knows everything about all this; the ups, the downs, the dark, the light. … [She's] a great companion, to have her on my side, and she always calms me down. She knows the real success is to get a job , trying to fight for that job and try to do it as good as you can every time.” - Finally, a comment from “There Will Be Blood” cinematographer Robert Elswit that should give us all pause. Asked what the film used to create its “oil,” Elswit said it’s something most of us have imbibed at one time or another: “It was industrial material used by McDonald’s to thicken their milkshakes, and I’m not kidding. That’s actually true.” “I drink your milkshake,” indeed. 9:12 p.m. PT: Here are the Coens backstage. Roderick Jaynes, their “editor” (actually a pseudonym for the brothers), is “probably not happy” at losing the Oscar to “The Bourne Ultimatum’s” Christopher Rouse, says Ethan Coen. And Scott Rudin, who’s known for producing movies based on renowned books, has now won his first Oscar. “It’s a tribute to Joel and Ethan. … So it’s thrilling,” he says. 9:03 p.m. PT: Diablo Cody says that she has a fondness for naming things in her life, but out of respect for the Academy, she’ll stick with “Oscar” for her trophy. And, contrary to reports, she’s not wearing million-dollar shoes — in fact, she was never asked about wearing the Stuart Weitzman jewel-encrusted brogans by anybody before she saw her name associated with them. It was a publicity stunt, she says. As for her current footwear, “They’re just regular shoes,” she says. 8:50 p.m. PT: Winners usually come back to the pressroom about 10-15 minutes after their win, but several winners have yet to appear (no doubt because they’re still being congratulated up front). I’m looking forward to the Coen brothers’ comedy routine. Perhaps they’ll announce that it’s time they make “Henry Kissinger: Man on the Go” for real. 8:47 p.m. PT: Biggest shocker of the night: The Oscars clocked in at 3 hours, 17 minutes. I’ve watched longer Super Bowls. 8:45 p.m. PT: Best picture: “No Country for Old Men.” The Coen brothers didn’t set a record for filmmakers — they could have won four Oscars this evening — but three is an incredible achievement. 8:42 p.m. PT: The Coen brothers win best director. They’re the first pair to pull off the feat since Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise won for “West Side Story” (1961). 8:34 p.m. PT: Best actor goes to Daniel Day-Lewis. This was a great category, incidentally. Clooney, Jones, Depp, Mortensen and Day-Lewis? Tremendous stuff. 8:06 p.m. PT: A question for you movie buffs out there: There’s been a lot of criticism of both “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood” for their endings. Personally, I liked both: I thought “No Country’s” end summarized the film’s themes of chance and fate, and the very end was a beautiful grace note on a brutal movie. And the end of “Blood” put me in mind of “A Clockwork Orange” as the most exuberant sick joke finish in years. But I believe I’m in the minority on both. Without giving things away, what did you think? 8:00 p.m. PT: Robert Elswit gives credit to designer Jack Fisk — along with director Paul Thomas Anderson and actor Daniel Day-Lewis — for his cinematography Oscar. Hard to argue with Elswit’s expansive work, though Roger Deakins surely deserves something for his excellent work on “No Country” and “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” 7:52 p.m. PT: Leading winner so far? “The Bourne Ultimatum,” with three Oscars. “No Country for Old Men” has two. 7:50 p.m. PT: “Once” had one nomination for best song, against three for “Enchanted.” And it’s just won. 7:45 p.m. PT: Cotillard gets a rousing round of applause for singing a snippet of the Piaf song “Padam … Padam.” Beautifully done. 7:37 p.m. PT: Cotillard on her best actress win: “There’s nothing hard about this. There’s just joy … and so unexpected. And I love it.” On playing the tragic Edith Piaf: “I dedicated my life to the movie and to Edith Piaf for a few months, so … when the movie was finished I realized … I didn’t exactly know how to go back. But I love my life so, so it was not hard to go back.” She also says she wanted to marry Peter Sellers when she was growing up. Cotillard seems so excited she appears she’s about to pass out from joy: “I’m so totally overwhelmed with sparkles and fireworks and everything that goes boom, boom, boom.” 7:24 p.m. PT: Cotillard is the third actor to give her performance in a foreign language to be honored with an Oscar. The two others: Roberto Benigni (”Life Is Beautiful”) and Sophia Loren (”Two Women”). 7:17 p.m. PT: CNN Entertainment producer JD Cargill points out that, so far, the three main acting prizes have been won by a Frenchwoman, a Spaniard and an Englishwoman — and if Daniel Day-Lewis wins, that means Europeans will have won all four awards. It’s a sign of the international diversity of Hollywood, he observes. (Check out J.D.’s video on that subject.) Swinton agreed, noting that ”Hollywood is built on Europeans!” during her backstage talk. 7:14 p.m. PT: Swinton is still speaking backstage. She’s entertaining and open and absolutely charming. Oh, the Academy rep just said that was it. 7:12 p.m. PT: Best actress: And the Oscar goes to … Marion Cotillard. 7:04 p.m. PT: Swinton: Tilda Swinton described her stunned look upon hearing her name announced as best supporting actress winner as a “reverse ‘Zoolander’ moment.” And she asserted that her agent really does look like Oscar, and she’s going to threaten to do “another art film in Europe.” 6:54 p.m. PT: Variety: Watching Kristin Chenoweth sing the musical numbers reminds me of the death of the variety show on TV. Once upon a time, the kind of thing she’s doing was the norm. Now you only see it on awards shows, and it’s usually dismissed. And yet, “High School Musical” and musical numbers in shows such as “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “The Drew Carey Show” are hailed. Go figure. 6:48 p.m. PT: Adapted screenplay: Could this be the first of several for the Coen brothers? Their competition in this category includes a number of best picture nominees. ”We’ve only adapted Homer and Cormac McCarthy,” noted Joel Coen. 6:38 p.m. PT: Supporting actress: Perhaps the most competitive category of the night. And the Oscar goes to … Tilda Swinton. So much for my “Lifetime Achievement Award” theory — at least for this year. But a well-deserved award for Swinton, who did so much with a practically silent scene of laying clothes out on her bed in “Michael Clayton,” among other indelible scenes. 6:18 p.m. PT: Bardem: And Javier Bardem wins best supporting actor. 6:14 p.m. PT: Bird on the line: Brad Bird is in the pressroom to talk about his Oscar. His advice on dealing with people like his discouraging guidance counselor: “[The criticism] did help me. … Life has a way of smacking you down, and if you get up enough times things happen.” And on the lack of animated films being nominated for best picture: Sure, he’d like to see another, “but it’s all good. It’s the Oscars.” 5:54 p.m. PT: Brad Bird does it again: The onetime “Simpsons” contributor and “Incredibles” writer-director wins for “Ratatouille.” Nothing against the current best picture nominees, but it’s too bad there wasn’t room for “Ratatouille” in the big overall category, instead of just animated film. 5:41 p.m. PT: “Does this town need a hug?” : Jon Stewart sums up the bleakness of many of the nominated films — and, later, gets in a knock at “Norbit.” (I would say, though, that any film as terrific as “No Country for Old Men” or “There Will Be Blood” isn’t bleak at all, but thrilling.) 5:15 p.m. PT: “Sort of the Barrymores of Spain”: In the United States, Javier Bardem is recognized for his performances in “The Sea Inside,” “Jamon, Jamon” and — now — “No Country for Old Men.” But in his native Spain, Bardem is simply the latest in a line of acting and directing Bardems, including two siblings, his uncle, his mother and his grandfather. His mother, in particular, has quite a story. 5:00 p.m. PT: REEGE! : Regis Philbin is co-hosting the red carpet arrivals. The man is irrepressible. (Of course, I’ve got a soft spot for the guy.) 4:48 p.m. PT: (Very) short take: Tom O’Neil, who writes for the L.A. Times’ awards section TheEnvelope.com, reports that if Ruby Dee wins best supporting actress, she’ll have done it for the shortest supporting performance in Oscar history: 4 minutes, 36 seconds. That’s almost 90 seconds shorter than the current record holder, Beatrice Straight’s “I’m your wife, dammit” turn in 1976’s “Network.” (Judi Dench’s “Shakespeare in Love” performance was just over 7 minutes.) 4:38 p.m. PT: Keeping the press well-nourished: There’s an old line about journalists and free food — if you want to keep reporters happy, feed them (and you get between a journalist and his free plate at your own risk) — and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences knows this very well. So, once again, there’s a bounty of provisions just outside the pressroom, a ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel. Among the goodies: pasta, satay, salad, cake, cookies and all the sodas and water you can drink. No wonder many reporters leave the Oscars a few pounds heavier than when they arrived. 4:20 p.m. PT: Red is the color …:Many of the stars, men and women, are wearing black or muted colors. But none of that for Heidi Klum — the host of “Project Runway” knows how to stand out in a crowd. Her dress will be auctioned off after the show to benefit the Red Dress Campaign for Heart Truth. Anne Hathaway is also wearing bright red. – From Todd Leopold, CNN.com Entertainment Producer Filed under: Oscars
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