Liveblogging the Oscars

10:35 pm: Oh, God, Barbra Streisand...yuuucckkkk!....and the Best Picture is: Million Dollar Baby!!! At least I got the big one right....well, overall, it was...okay, not great, but okay...had a great time! Drive home safe, folks, and there's souvenirs and soda in the lobby!....Thanks again, I've had a ball...and I wish you all, sincerely, a good week ahead...now I'm gonna go have that dinner I skipped! Come back again soon...

10:33 pm: Clint Eastwood, best director: not a bad pick, I liked him or Scorsese...Clint's getting on up there, isn't he? He's a good one, though...

10:30 pm: Well, we're winding down, so while I have a chance, here's my version of an Oscar speech...thanks to all you guys for coming, and I hope you'll look around a bit while you're here, leave some comments, and come back again...I picked Million Dollar Baby earlier, and despite the Aviator's surprising showing so far, I'm sticking with it...let's see...

10:27 pm: I see Mike Lotterhos of the Red Republic is here...check out his blog after the show...nice to see Jamie give it up for his grandma...

10:25 pm: Well, blow me down, who'd have thunk it? A lock if there ever was one...

10:24 pm: Appropriate clip there from the Aviator, eh?...well it be Jamie Foxx? Bet on it....

10:23 pm: Best Actor presented by the lovely South African...as I mentioned earlier, I really like Don Cheadle...

10:21 pm: Hey, I'm getting some good traffic here - come back tomorrow, and I'll liveblog C-Span - no? Well, I tried...

10:19 pm: Okay, for those keeping score, the Spanish film was the Sea Inside...

10:17 pm: Original Screenplay - no surprise here, Charlie Kaufman finally gets his statue - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...

10:13 pm: Foreign Language Film (my favorite Foreign Language Film - Aus Revoir Les Enfants) - the winner: Spain's entry, but I didn't catch the name...

10:11 pm: Alright, time filler here: my all-time favorite movies made before 1950: The Philadelphia Story, Citizen Kane, and His Girl Friday...

10:09 pm: So let's look back again on our magical mystery tour - no surprises, a couple of decent acceptance speeches, some typically gorgeous women, and a self-important Sean Penn...

10:06 pm: I said it before, but it's worth repeating: Hillary Swank is looking like a million dollars, baby!...

10:02 pm: Best Actress: Hillary Swank (at least I got one of the big awards right!) - of course, it was the easiest one to pick...

10:01 pm: Loved the singing acceptance speech - Sean Penn, please! - Chris Rock knows damn well who Jude Law is...it's comedy!....

9:58 pm: His Purpleness announces the song winner - too bad he didn't perform; I saw Prince on the lovesexy tour at Reunion Arena years ago - GREAT show....and the winner for Best Song: something or other from the Motorcycle Diaries...

9:56 pm: I don't know about you guys, but I'm not knocked out by the song nominees this year...typical sappy movie stuff, no standouts...

9:53 pm: Alright, should be getting close to the big dogs now...here's P Diddy/Puff Daddy/Sean Combs/whatever he is, today...

9:50 pm: ...it always amazes me when I see these tributes to the deaths that there's always some fairly famous people that I didn't realize had died...

9:47 pm: The great Yo-Yo Ma with the requiem...the Gipper, gone bot not forgotten...Ustinov...Russ Meyer (he's obsessed with breasts!)...didn't know he died...of course, Chris Reeve, Ossie Davis, and Jerry Orbach...didn't realize Paul Winfield had died, either...hopefully Rodney's getting some respect now...the great Brando...

9:45 pm: Nice speech...this has been a rather tame affair, but not lacking in class...

9:42 pm: Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Roger Mayer...

9:41 pm: My man, Marty, seriously one of the greats...

9:39 pm: Finding Neverland, Original Score - so it avoids the shutout, too...

9:37 pm: Ooops, spoke too soon, kind of rushed that guy off..."Oprah's so rich, I just saw John Kerry propose to her..."

9:34 pm: Best Documentary, Short Subject: Mighty Times, the Children's March...I like this thing of having the nominees on stage...kudos to the producers, too, who have kept the show moving along...

9:32 pm: Thanks to everybody who's here, btw; I thought no one would show up, but the counters say there's hundreds of you...this is kind of fun, and it's already 9:30!...

9:30 pm: Santana was great, but Antonio Banderas - let's just say, as a singer, he makes a great actor; I'm sure the ladies didn't mind looking at him, though...

9:28 pm: Thanks to Robin Goodfellow for the IMDB tip on flop lookups; and Lee, I'm in complete agreement...

9:26 pm: Okay, Ray was Sound Mixing...Antonio Banderas and Carlos Santana - now there's an interesting pair...

9:23 pm: ...wait, this is sound editing...I missed one...well, Sound Editing: the Incredibles...I'll get the other one right in a minute...

9:21 pm: Sound Editing: Ray, so it won't go o-fer...

9:17 pm: I saw some were predicting a sweep for Million Dollar Baby, but it's not working out that way, is it?...The Passion was up for Cinematography, too (and I think, should have won it), so 0 for 2 there...ahh, the Latin ladies, they make mi corazon ache...

9:15 pm: ...zoned out there, what was that? Cinematography? In any event, another win for the Aviator (is that five?)...another liveblog here, if I'm boring you or you want to check out two websites and a TV at once, you multi-tasker, you...

9:11 pm: ...without a doubt, the first uttering of 'dog's bollocks' on the Oscars..Best Short, Animated - Ryan...

9:08 pm: I wish I had one of those great Brit accents...Best Short, Live Action: Wasp...didn't see it coming, did you?...

9:06 pm: Phanton of the Opera was a huge flop - I'd like to see a list of the biggest flops of all time; it would include, for sure, the Adventures of Pluto Nash, and Heaven's Gate, Ishtar, probably, and Gigli...

9:01 pm: How great is Robert De Niro? His American Express commercial should get a nomination...

8:57 pm: I liked the Sidney Lumet speech very much...ahem, did you see that set of...oh, never mind!...

8:54 pm: I had just about forgotten about Network being a Sidney Lumet film; another great flick...

8:50 pm: Sidney Lumet honorary Oscar - has anyone else seen the Martin Short parody of Al Pacino doing a lozenge commercial? Priceless...Twelve Angry Men is a great flick; check it out if you haven't already...

8:48 pm: Classy touch on the dedication to the armed services; would have got a standing 'O' anywhere else, though...

8:46 pm: Visual Effects - you know, these technical guys amaze me, but I'm the type of person that congratulates myself on changing a flat tire successfully...
Winner: John Dykstra, Spiderman 2 (personally, I'm glad to see this one win)...good line about Lord of the Rings...

8:41 pm: Best Screenplay Adapted From Another Source: btw, Richard Linklater is a fellow Austinite; the Winner: Sideways, so it doesn't come up empty...

8:37 pm: Let's review - the Aviator is running much stronger than I predicted; perhaps the voters are feeling guilty for overlooking so many of Marty's other fine films...so I say the odds at the moment are shifting dramatically away from Million Dollar Baby...is it the rumored backlash over the controversial ending - do you know? Do you care? But really, doesn't this make it go faster...it sure does on my end...

8:35 pm: So is it just me, or have the Counting Crows turned into complete cheeseballs?...I saw on another blog earlier that Hootie of the Blowfish fame is doing Burger King commercials now...I see a similar move in the future of these guys...

8:32 pm: For those of you who got here late, I repeat that I don't post my picture on my blog because I look just like Orlando Bloom, and I don't want to show up the other bloggers. Best Editing: The Aviator, which makes me think Scorsese will win Best Director after all...

8:30 pm: Once again, we can thank our lucky stars that Michael Moore is such a pompous jackass that he didn't enter Best Documentary:
Winner: Born Into Brothels...

8:28 pm: Well, what can you say about Carson - as Whoopi said, one of a kind...

8:24 pm: So, no controversy so far, really, except Chris Rock saying 'ass' twice; if you've only seen the regular edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, you've missed a wonderful scene in the extended edition where Gimli says of Blanchett's beautiful elf queen: "I asked her for a single hair...she gave me three"...

8:19 pm: ...loved the dig at the pompous Tim Robbins; Best Supporting Actress:
Winner: Cate Blanchett, so I've blown every major category so far; good thing I only wagered five grand; Natalie Portman's loss is a real blow, of course, to those of us who admire her reasoned political stands...

8:16 pm: Costume Design: I've never been a fan of mixing the animation with the live actors; and the winner is: The Aviator (so that's my two - if it wins anymore, I've missed another prediction)...

8:14 pm: Technical awards - good chance to blog about something else; I mentioned I love Unforgiven; other favorites include Godfather I and II, the Usual Suspects, Memento, and the Deer Hunter...

8:12 pm: Chris Rock is a fine comedian, as is Albert Brooks: I enjoyed that bit...

8:10 pm: This should be pretty good...

8:06 pm: Blondie's music has aged well, don't you think?...btw, welcome to any and all newcomers, take a look around while you're here...you know, this liveblogging is a good way to get your pageview count up!...So far, just okay, but not awful...that's my early verdict...

8:03 pm: Beyonce in French...I took four semesters of French in college, and I can't understand a word; thank God for that investment of time and money....for a blogger with a much better command of the French tongue, see the wonderful bebere...

7:59 pm: Culture War watch, part one: The Passion of the Christ: 0 for 1 so far...
Best Makeup: Lemony Spicket...

7:58 pm: Earlier, I typed Robbie Williams is undeniably funny, which is, of course, quite open to debate, though he's a great musician (fixed now)...

7:56 pm: Best Animated Flick:
Winner: The Incredibles (I typed that before they announced it; that's how big a slamdunk that was)...

7:53 pm: Robin Williams is undeniably funny...wow, was he ever manic in the cocaine days..."What about Donald Duck? Little sailor suit - no pants - hello..."

7:50 pm: Now that's an acceptance speech...pretty good Pepsi commercial...so I mentioned Morgan Freeman in Unforgiven - what a great movie that was...probably one of my top five all-time. Morgan Freeman is the kind of actor that you could put in any movie, about anything, and make it better...

7:47 pm: Best Supporter Actor:
Winner: Morgan Freeman - ouch - I've already ruined my perfect streak. Love Morgan Freeman, though, especially in Unforgiven...

7:42 pm: Achievement in Art Direction:
Winner: The Aviator (which I earlier predicted would win two Oscars)...

7:41 pm: "They made six Police Academies, but they didn't want to make Passion of the Christ..."

7:39 pm: The Fahrenheit bit is okay; give points to Rock for not shying away from it...

7:37 pm: He's hitting his groove now; the Russell Crowe bit was great..."After I made Pootie Tang, Cuba Gooding sent me a check for 80 dollars"...

7:35 pm: "I saw the movie Boat Trip the other day; I immediately sent Cuba Gooding, Jr. 80 dollars"...I like that one...

7:33 pm: A very lukewarm reaction to Chris Rock, who's off to a shaky start...

7:31 pm: Oh, boy, did you see him? There was Michael Moore...good to see the South Park boys...

7:28 pm: So thanks for coming, btw; hope you're well. I'm Mark, and this is my beagle, and we'll be your hosts for the evening...so let's begin...

7:26 pm: Thank God that's over; so I guess the question of the moment is will Chris Rock flop? The suspense is unbearable...

7:24 pm: Penelope Cruz - whooaaa, Nellie! What is about Latin women that makes me wanna samba? Love that accent...

7:19 pm: Spike Lee...well, God knows, I hate his politics, but a sometimes quite great filmmaker; Do The Right Thing was brilliant, and of course, Ossie Davis, who played Da Mayor, recently passed away...

7:17 pm: Don Cheadle, though I haven't seen Hotel Rwanda, was really great in Boogie Nights and Traffic...

7:13 pm: Longtime Decision '08 fans may wonder why I don't ever post a picture of myself; well, if you want to know, I look just like Orlando Bloom (and, curiously, though I'm a lifelong Texan, I talk just like him, too)...

7:08 pm: So, what kind of geek gets in that grandstand and screams like a maniac at all the stars? The same kind that screeches with glee at the sight of Michael Jackson, I bet...

7:04 pm: Halle Berry is definitely beautiful - I had an ex-girlfriend who insisted, though, that she was the most beautiful woman in the world - come on, now. First of all, how stupid is that, when beauty is in the eye of the beholder...but personally, I think Halle was one of the worst Best Actress picks...

7:00 pm: Hillary Swank is lookin' like a million dollars, baby...

6:57 pm: thank God I didn't commit to liveblogging Barbara Walters - yeesh; five minutes was all I saw, and I'm physically ill...

6:51 pm: testing, testing; one-two, one-two; can you hear me in the back?...9 minutes, 9 minutes to the pre-show, so take your places, please...