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February 29, 2004

Oscars 2004 V

Very nice M&Ms commercial, with Judy Garland telling black and white M&Ms that there's no place in home, and that they were all much better in color. To which I must certainly agree.

Crystal may have fired a few shots at the political establishment, but he seems to be saving most of his ammunition for his fellow stars this evening. Some amusing quips regarding what people are thinking, led by Julie Andrews: "This starburst nipple ring is killing me."

Best visual effects goes to "Return of the King" at well, and a well-deserved award it is. Creating armies is difficult enough, but to create armies of creatures that never exist goes beyond the pale. Amazing accomplishments properly recognized, a rare thing. And the team manages to get four different sets of thank-yous out in the time it took the "Two Soldiers" guy to get his alone.

Now the Scientific & Technical Awards, held two weeks ago. It's nice they recognize these awards tonight, but realize that most of us aren't even all that familiar with the difference between art direction and cinematography, so the awards would be lost on us.

I can only assume that Jim Carrey is planning to star as a Holocaust victim based on his appearance. But his introduction of the Blake Edwards montage was well done, and the clips were a fine tribute to a marvelous career. Peter Sellers had to be smiling down from above to see Edwards careening across the stage on his wheelchair. And you've got to think Edwards 'don't touch my Oscar' line has to have been on the lips of quite a few recipients over the years.

"The Return of the King" takes home its fourth Oscar of the evening for Makeup, once again a well-deserved award. Although I think the actors who wore all those prosthetics deserve a share of it.

And number five for "Return of the King," for Sound Mixing. An impressive run already, although it will still be spun as a bad night if it doesn't take the big two. Five winners, if I count correctly, and they do a pretty good job of going though their thank-yous.

I tie Amanda with my prediction of "Master and Commander" for Sound Editing. As I noted a few days ago, loud wins Oscars.

Billy notes there's nobody else in New Zealand to thank tonight, so Amanda suggests they start working their way through the sheep.

A final farewell for Katherine Hepburn, another tremendous loss for the industry. They spend a bit of time on stills at the beginning, and there's no doubt she was a beautiful woman, but admiring Herburn for her beauty is like admiring the Concorde for its engineering. Katherine was probably the greatest actor in history, and she will be greatly missed.