Oscars Night 2009

Hello guys!

Welcome to a new section of our blog, which is devoted to the biggest film event of the year, The Oscars. You know, it makes me mad to think that I forgot to organize the traditional "porra" in class on Thursday. I've been just too busy these last couple of weeks and I had completely lost track of time, so to speak, and I realised only yesterday that this Sunday is Oscars night in L.A. If you have a satellite dish you can watch the ceremony live - in English - on the German channel ProSieben (mind you, you'll have to rise early, at 2:00 a.m. Monday). Ladies, Hugh Jackman is hosting the show, and rumour has it that he'll be dancing and singing now and then ...

It would have been fun, wouldn't it, to set up a class competition so that you could make your predictions. Will Slumdog sweep the board as in the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs? Will Penelope bring the famous statuette home?

Anyway, to compensate for my forgetfulness, I'm going to embed the trailer of the five movies nominated for Best Picture, beginning with, that's right, my sentimental favourite, the moving Indian urban tale, Slumdog Millionaire:

However, I have a hunch that the all-American Milk, Gus van Sant's portrait of California's first openly gay official, is going to sneak ahead. A masterly performance, as usual, by the great Sean Penn, in my view one of the finest actors of his generation:

Next we find The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the fantasy drama inspired by Scott-Fitzgerald's short story, starring two big Hollywood names, Cate Blanchet and Brad Pitt. The film leads the pack with 13 award nominations, but I've got the gut feeling that it's going to be the upset of the night. Personally I feel it's the most overrated movie of the five, but still a good flick:

Everyone says Kate Winslet is a sure bet on the Best Actress category, and who can deny this is being her year, winning accolade after accolade while delivering tearful, somewhat silly acceptance speeches. Whatever, The Reader, the drama telling the story of a love affair set in a Nazi concentration camp, could be the dark horse:

Last but not least comes another historical drama, Frost / Nixon, directed by the always effective Ron Howard, which dramatises the legendary 1977 televised interview between the former US President and British journalist pioneer Sir David Frost. The film is a fantastic face-to-face showdown between two brilliant actors, Frank Langella (nominated for best actor) and Michael Sheen (remember his role as Tony Blair in The Queen?), but I don't think (at least that's what film buffs predict) it stands many chances:

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's all for this special edition of the Oscars blog. I'm really sorry we couldn't organise the game, but I guess it's too late now to do it by mail.

If you want more stuff on the Awards, you can visit the academy's official web, featuring lots of trailers, videos, photos, reviews, you name it. As an example I insert down below a video called "Road to the Oscars" with some interesting behind-the-scenes interviews.

Even if you disregard the glitz and glamour of Hollywood (so do I in a way) it's all for the sake of English.

By the way, I will be recording the whole ceremony on my home DVD in case some of you want to watch it later on ... Cheerio and happy Carnival!

February 23rd

Morning everyone! Here I am, at nearly 3 o'clock in the morning, watching (and recording for posterity and potential watchers among you guys) the Oscars ceremony live on ProSieben. Well, may I say I'm starting to doubt my judgement on film excellence, because only a few minutes ago Pe did it again: Yes, she's won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and I must admit she delivered her acceptance speech brilliantly, a mix of emotion and thankfulness. I've always questioned her acting talent, so perhaps it's true after all, as the saying goes, that no man (woman in this case) is a prophet in his / her own land ... Anyway, hats off to Penelope, however little I liked her performance in VCBarcelona.

Now, Slumdog has collected its first award of the night, Best Adapted Screenplay, which says a lot about the quality of the story, written by Simon Beaufoy (remember The Full Monty?) Surely it won't be the last ...

Will I be able to overcome sleep throughout the ceremony? You know, it had a promising start featuring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway on a musical sketch, and hopefully the speeches won't be too boring or tear-jerking, so fingers crossed! But if eventually I fall asleep, it's no big deal, I can watch and edit the show first thing in the morning. And anyway I'm not supposed to bore you all with endless comments on every single award presented, so I'd better quit now and resume the blog within a few hours when the whole thing is over and the full list of winners is known to the world. GOOD LUCK SLUMDOG!

5 hours later ...

Hi again! This is your sleepy, weary-eyed teacher reporting from L.A. Ha ha, only joking! Now seriously, what an extraordinary night for Slumdog, which did sweep the board scooping all the major awards, Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Cinematography and Best Editing among others. A total eight accolades out of ten nominations, the best success for a British film since The English Patient, can you believe it! It was great to see all the cast and crew on stage at the end of the show, like a big family coming all the way from England and Mumbay to taste Hollywood glory, and earlier good Danny Boyle jumping up and down "in the spirit of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh".

You know guys, I know I've been a little too emotional about this flick, but I'm overjoyed that a small-budget movie, nearly an independent one, has gained massive recognition after a very modest beginning, when it was on the point of not being released theatrically. It was Danny Boyle's determination that pushed the film to international fame, so I'm delighted for the guy.

The other highlights of the ceremony were, of course, Kate Winslet and Sean Penn (probably the biggest upset was Micky Rourke not winning the Oscar for Best Actor that many had predicted) and Heath Ledger's family picking the posthumous award. There was also the glitz and glamour of the red carpet, which I detest, but anyway it's part of the show, isn't it?

As for the host, well, Hugh Jackman did a good job, with his singing and dancing and the odd joke in his thick Aussie accent, but I specially liked the way the awards were presented, with former winners on the stage praising the nominees before duly announcing the lucky one.

Needless to say I've recorded the whole event, conveniently edited, for you to see if you wish. Some of the speeches and presentations are worth watching for its wittiness and good humour.

Well, I will close now, but if you want to write in your reaction, your feelings about the film if you've watched it, either in English or dubbed into Spanish, that'll be great, won't it?

Hooray for Slumdog Millionaire!

Hi again! Well, it's been a great "hangover day" for Slumdog and the international media can only praise the film and tell all the details surrounding its humble beginnings and its final glory. For me, regardless of the overwhelming success at the Oscars, which I couldn't predict only a couple of months ago, it's simply one of the finest films I've ever seen in recent years.
Anyway, I want to close this " Oscars Special" by inserting a recap from last night of the best moments throughout the ceremony. Remember you can watch the full event in English if you ask me to bring the DVDs I will edit and record in due course tomorrow.
Sweet dreams!