AND THE WINNER IS...
Celebrity Takes A Back Seat To Art At 81st Academy Awards
Slumdog Millionaire Sweeps With Eight Statues, but Sean Penn Steals The Show
XQUISITE STAGECRAFT, IMPECCABLE PACING, DISCIPLINED EDITING, EARNEST WRITING AND HUGH JACKMAN's charm all combined to make the Academy the biggest winner of the 81st Academy Awards Sunday night.
There were few if any surprises among the winners of Oscar's top prizes.
As expected, Kate Winslet won Best Actress for The Reader and the late Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor for Dark Knight. His parents and sister "proudly" accepted the award "on behalf of your beautiful [daughter] Matilda."
Slumdog Millionaire dominated the night, taking home eight awards including the year's Best Picture award.
Penelope Cruz won Best Support Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
The only suspense was who would take home the trophy for Best Actor, considered a toss-up between Mickey Rourke as a defeated boxer trying to resurrect his career, and Sean Penn starring as San Francisco AIDS activist who is slain.
Penn took the prize and gave the most passionate, entertaining and engaging acceptance speech of the night. He also generously singled out Rourke for special praise as a courageous artist who "despite a sensitivity [that]...has brought enormous challenge, Mickey Rourke rises again, and he is my brother."
Penn received a standing ovation from his peers inside the dazzling Kodak Theater, and opened his remarks with a flippant, "You Commie, homo-loving sons of guns. I did not expect this and I want it to be very clear that I do know how hard that I make it to appreciate me often." The knowing audience laughed.
Penn went on to rattle of the names of individuals he wanted to thank (which did not include his wife Robin Wright Penn) before commenting on the recent passage of Proposition 8 in California's November election, which banned gays and lesbians from legally marrying.
"For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove into tonight I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that support,'' Penn said. "We've got to have equal rights for everyone."
Slumdog Millionaire took home eight statues, including those for Best Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Best Directing and Best Picture. The award show ended with dozens of the cast and crew from the love story made in Mumbia ascending to the stage.
Hugh Jackman's Broadway style perfectly accessorized the decked-out theater, whose curtains were made with shimmering Swarovski crystals. He opened the show joking about how the depressed economy had forced the Academy to skip big productions, and then plunged into a song-and-dance number spoofing all the evening's best picture nominees.
The night's funniest moment came when Ben Stiller presented an award with Natalie Portman in a straggly beard and dark sunglasses reminiscent of the recent Joaquin Phoenix. "You're chewing gun at the Oscars!'' Portman told Stiller, who then removed it from his mouth and placed it on the podium.
Comics Tina Fey and Steve Martin joined forces to present awards for writing and in the process got a dig in about Scientology.
And while we can't say what happened after the awards, there was no on-air fist-fight between Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston, seen for the first time in the same room since Brad became the first syllable of Brangelina. As Aniston presented awards for animation with goof-off Jack Black, a quick shot from the director showed Ang laughing self-consciously.
Finally, in what was one of the most touching moments of the night, Eddie Murphy presented Jerry Lewis with a special tribute for his humanitarian work. Lewis, for once not cracking wise, said that "the humility I feel is staggering and I will feel it for the rest of my life.
Check out the full list of winners here.
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Posted February 23, 2009
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