5:28:29 PM: And the show begins here…
5:29:49 PM: I see we have folks from Ireland, Florida and more from India logging on. Glad to have you all!
5:30:42 PM: Away we go and the sparkly stage is lit up as Hugh Jackman arrives…
5:32:07 PM: Jackman has charisma, hope he does well.
5:33:06 PM: Jackman is singing a Best Picture montage with a set made of pizza boxes… Interesting and told Kate Winslet he would swim a sea of human excrement.
5:34:48 PM: Okay, this isn’t doing much for me. Hope others are having fun.
5:36:06 PM: I believe the first “surprise” of the night was Jackman pulling Hathaway out of the crowd. I can’t figure out if I think she is sexy or not… help me out.
5:37:18 PM: Lyrics now go… “The Reader – I haven’t seen The Reader.” Jackman’s getting a laugh out of that one.
5:38:38 PM: Jackman definitely went all out for that opening. Not exactly up my alley, but it had its moments.
5:40:47 PM: Hugh’s throwing out the kudos to the crowd right now. Just accused Meryl Streep of steroids for all her nominations.
5:42:55 PM: Eva Marie Saint, Goldie Hawn, Anjelica Huston, Tilda Swinton and Whoopi Goldberg are now on stage… not sure why just yet.
5:43:29 PM: They are announcing Best Supporting Actress… will we be surprised right away or will Cruz win?
5:44:12 PM: Wow, if they draw all the winners out like this it is going to be a long night.
5:46:23 PM: Okay, I think we are getting close to a winner being announced…
5:47:29 PM: And the winner is…
5:48:29 PM: I am now 1-1 on predictions. Let’s see how good I end up doing, I worry my technical predictions won’t work out too well.
5:52:21 PM: Duke is still up on Wake Forest, 51-30…. and the Oscars resume.
5:53:09 PM: We are getting a screenplay award with Tina Fey and Steve Martin out to present with some quality jokes.
5:54:53 PM: It’s original screenplay… I have Milk but would love to see WALL-E
5:55:54 PM: Oh hell, even In Bruges winning would make me happy.
5:56:37 PM: And the winner is…
5:56:53 PM: That’s 2-2 for me… how are your predictions going?
5:57:14 PM: I give them credit for a great nominee announcement on that one, love the screenplay reading over the images.
5:58:59 PM: I think Fey and Martin are sticking around to announce Adapted too… Yup.
5:59:31 PM: I have Slumdog on this one.
5:59:52 PM: And the winner is…
6:01:28 PM: That’s 3-3 for me and streaks are meant to end so I feel I will be missing one very soon.
6:02:50 PM: Simon Beaufoy gave a shout out to Latika instead of Freida Pinto… Oh well.
6:03:17 PM: Man, here comes the Animated award with Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black presenting… They are trucking through a few big nominees this year.
6:04:10 PM: Oh wait… this is now being called a “Movie Yearbook”… maybe it won’t be an award. WALL-E is now finding an Oscar in a refrigerator. Foreshadowing perhaps?
6:06:33 PM: Nevermind, they are now doing the noms for animated…
6:06:54 PM: And the winner is…
6:07:15 PM: I am now 4-4 but we haven’t gotten to the hard ones yet.
6:07:47 PM: Meryl Streep’s daughter is getting some real front row recognition.
6:08:12 PM: Aniston and Black are sticking around to present Animated Short Film… I didn’t predict this one, but I will go with Presto just because it’s the only title I know.
6:09:40 PM: And the winner here is
6:10:36 PM: Duke vs. Wake Forest check at commercial and Duke is still up, but only 70-65 with 11 mins to go.
6:15:50 PM: Sarah Jessica Parker and Daniel Craig are out to announce Art Direction… I have Button.
6:17:36 PM: And the winner is…
6:17:47 PM: And that is 5-5. Nope, I am not counting shorts… sue me. 🙂
6:19:32 PM: Craig and Parker are sticking around for Costume Design… this one has to be The Duchess.
6:20:54 PM: And the winner is…
6:21:01 PM: And that would be 6-6 folks, this train has to get derailed very, very soon.
6:22:59 PM: They are really trucking along as Craig and Parker stick around for Makeup.
6:23:15 PM: Now this is probably going to be my first miss, because I thought logically and went with Hellboy 2 since Button‘s makeup is primarily CG, but it is probably going to be a Button win…
6:23:52 PM: And the winner is…
6:24:22 PM: I knew it… Just go look at the featurettes, the great work in that film was all CG. Give it the Effects award not Makeup… I am now 6-7.
6:25:15 PM: Here you go little girls, Robert Pattinson is out with Amanda Seyfried.
6:25:35 PM: They are doing a romance movie montage. Neato!
6:27:30 PM: I see we have commenters from France and Manchester joining the crowd! Nice to have you all, the Internet and the Oscars bring us all together once again.
6:29:05 PM: Cinematography and a short film from Judd Apatow are on the way… Quick Duke/Wake check…
6:29:34 PM: Keeping it close, Duke is up 86-80 on Wake Forest with 5:30 to go.
6:31:32 PM: Jackman’s back to introduce Natalie Portman (looking gorgeous) and Ben Stiller (dressed as Joaquin Phoenix)… Very nice.
6:32:05 PM: Stiller is nailing this and not even paying attention… It’s the Letterman appearance all over again. He just put his gum on the podium.
6:32:50 PM: Oh, by the way, I have Slumdog for a win here. Let’s get that streak started again.
6:34:01 PM: Stiller is just strolling around the stage now while Portman does all the work. This is good stuff.
6:34:44 PM: And the winner is…
6:35:04 PM: The ship is righted, I am now 7-8 with that lowsy makeup loss messing up the works. Congrats to Anthony Dod Mantle.
6:35:45 PM: Let’s do a page break and start anew… follow me by hitting “next page”.
