AND THE WINNER IS…

Fred Melamed gives Michael Stuhlbarg an unsolicited hug in “A Serious Man” (Focus Features)

On a rainy evening in early January 2010, in a corner of the bustling lobby of the Hyatt Hotel adjacent to Grand Central Station in Midtown Manhattan, I chatted for nearly two hours with the actor who created the most memorable character to grace the big screen in 2009. No, I wasn’t in the company of Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, Mo’Nique, or Christoph Waltz, but rather Fred Melamed, a 53-year-old who has worked for decades on radio (as a top voiceover artist), stage (including a stint on Broadway), and screen (appearing in no fewer than nine Woody Allen films, among others), and who most recently brought to life the unforgettably unctuous Sy Ableman in the Coen brothers’ best picture Oscar nominee “A Serious Man.”

Fred’s performance, which provides many of the film’s funniest moments, is beginning to develop a cult-like following. It earned a shoutout from Roger Ebert; a plea to Oscar voters from A.O. Scott; and a piece of both a best ensemble nomination from the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Robert Altman Award from the Indie Spirit Awards. I’ve watched it half a dozen times now — largely because I was so excited to see different relatives’ and friends’ reactions — and the content and delivery crack me up every time. (Indeed, I’m such a fan that I seriously considered dressing up as Sy Ableman for Halloween before remembering that I’m a grown man.)

I asked to speak with Fred for those reasons, and because I realized that his performance was unlikely to garner individual awards attention for a number of reasons—it’s but one part of an ensemble piece; it’s in a comedy; Fred’s not a household name; he made it look so easy; etc. As I wrote in January, I’ve decided to devote at least two posts each year to celebrating individuals—one from “behind-the-scenes” and one from “on-screen”—who I strongly feel deserved more attention than they received over the course of the awards season. For 2009, my behind-the-scenes choice was Eric Steelberg, the cinematographer of both “500 Days of Summer” and “Up in the Air”; as for on-screen talent, no one deserves to be highlighted more than Fred.

Below, you can read a the full transcript of our conversation, which covers everything from Fred’s early years, to his struggles with weight and substance abuse, to his collaborations with Woody Allen and the Coen brothers, to a theological discussion about the meaning of the opening and closing scenes of A Serious Man, to criticisms about the way that film portrays Jews and Judaism. I think you’ll find it—and Fred—to be fascinating. I know I did.

(more…)

On February 29, 1940, Hattie McDaniel was awarded the best supporting actress Oscar for her performance in “Gone with the Wind” (1939), becoming the first black actor or actress to ever win an Academy Award. On March 7, 2010 (70 years and one week later), Mo’Nique was awarded the very same honor for her performance in “Precious” (2009). During Mo’Nique’s acceptance speech she said, “I would like to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel for enduring what she had to so that I would not have to.”

In a recent article in Parade magazine, “Precious” director Lee Daniels said that Mo’Nique is “obsessed” with playing McDaniel in a film about her life. Then, this week, Mo’Nique announced that she has formally optioned McDaniel’s life story, paving the way for a project in the near future.

Last night, Mo’Nique paid special tribute to McDaniel at the Oscars: she wore a royal blue gown and a flower in her hair because, she later told members of the press, McDaniel had done the same on the night she collected her Oscar. (You can see side-by-side photos of the women accepting their Oscars at the top of this post, and watch video of McDaniels’ acceptance speech by clicking here.)

THE LATEST…

11:58pm/est: BEST PICTURE

• Nominees: “Avatar” (20th Century Fox, 12/18), “The Blind Side” (Lions Gate, 11/20), “District 9” (TriStar, 8/14), “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/9), “The Hurt Locker” (Summit, 6/26), “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company, 8/21), “Precious” (Lions Gate, 11/6), “A Serious Man” (Focus Features, 10/2), “Up” (Disney, 5/29), “Up in the Air” (Paramount, 12/4)
• Projection: “The Hurt Locker”
• Presenter(s): Tom Hanks
  

Winner: “THE HURT LOCKER”
Commentary: Make no mistake about it: David has slain Goliath! “The Hurt Locker,” which first premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival but only became a critical darling in mid-2009, establishes a new record for the lowest-grossing best picture winner ($14,700,000 domestically); over the past 31 years — the time period for which widespread data is available — no best picture winner earned less than $43,984,230 domestically, the box-office take of “The Last Emperor” (1987). For the 15th time in 20 years, a film with the lead or co-lead in total nominations has won best picture (both “The Hurt Locker” and “Avatar” had nine). And Bigelow, who had already become the first female to win the best director Oscar, also becomes the first female to have directed a best picture Oscar winner. (For much more information on “The Hurt Locker,” check out a primer on the film that I recently posted and the audio of a post-SAG screening Q&A that I conducted with its stars Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie back in November.) Meanwhile, “Avatar,” which has earned more money at the box-office than any other film in history ($720,180,000-and-counting domestically, $2,559,189,000-and-counting internationally), proved unable to overcome snubs in the acting and screenplay categories (only one film has ever managed to win under the same circumstances, and that was 77 years ago). And fellow best picture nominees “An Education” (3 total nods), “District 9” (4 total nods), “A Serious Man” (2 total nods), and “Up in the Air” (8 total nods) become only the 135th, 136th, 137th, and 138th best picture nominees in 82 years of Oscars to go home empty-handed.

11:53pm/est: BEST DIRECTOR

• Nominees: Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”), James Cameron (“Avatar”), Lee Daniels (“Precious”), Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air”), Quentin Tarantino (“Inglourious Basterds”)
• Projection: Bigelow
• Presenter(s): Barbra Streisand
  

Winner: KATHRYN BIGELOW (“THE HURT LOCKER”)
Commentary: Bigelow makes history by becoming the first female in the 82 years of the Academy Awards to win the best director Oscar — taking the prize over her ex-husband Cameron, to boot! Streisand can be overheard saying, “I am so honored to present you this” as she hands her the statuette. I encourage you to check out our recently-posted retrospective of Bigelow’s work and rundown of female directors who paved the way for her and for whom she has paved the way (several of whom cheered her nomination and potential win when I reached out to them for comment last month).

11:39pm/est: BEST ACTRESS

• Nominees: Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”), Helen Mirren (“The Last Station”), Carey Mulligan (“An Education”), Gabourey Sidibe (“Precious”), Meryl Streep (“Julie & Julia”)
• Projection: Bullock
• Presenter(s): Michael Sheen (Mirren), Forest Whitaker (Bullock), Oprah Winfrey (Sidibe), Stanley Tucci (Streep), Peter Sarsgaard (Mulligan), Sean Penn (the envelope)
  

Winner: SANDRA BULLOCK (“THE BLIND SIDE”)
Commentary: As I wrote last month, Bullock — who is greeted by a standing ovation — seemed to have an edge in this race because 51 of the previous 82 best actress winners won for a performance in a film that was nominated for best picture (which Bullock’s is); only 11 of the previous 82 best actress winners represented the sole nomination for their film (which Streep is); and since the first SAG Awards in 1994 only 4 women have won the Golden Globe for best actress (either drama or comedy/musical) but not the SAG Award for best actress and still gone on to win the best actress Oscar (which boded well for Bullock but not for Streep) and no woman has ever lost both the Golden Globe for best actress (either drama or comedy/musical) and the SAG Award for best actress and still gone on to win the best actress Oscar (which did not bode well for Mirren, Mulligan, or Sidibe) And that’s before you consider that Streep has already won two Oscars and garnered 16 Oscar nominations; Mirren won an Oscar only 3 years ago; and Mulligan and Sidibe are nominated for their first starring roles; whereas this is the first nomination of Bullock’s long career as a leading lady, and while most people don’t usually win on their first nomination exceptions are periodically made for “America’s Sweethearts”. Some fun facts: (1) only two other Oscar-winning performances have come in movies that grossed more money domestically than Bullock’s ($250,480,000 and counting): Heath Ledger (“The Dark Knight,” 2008) for best supporting actor and Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump,” 1994) for best actor; (2) Streep’s record number of acting losses grows from 13 to 14; her closest living competition is way behind her: Jack Nicholson (9), Peter O’Toole (8), and Al Pacino (7); and (3) Bullock becomes the first person to ever win a Razzie for worst performance and an Oscar for best performance in the same year.

11:24pm/est: BEST ACTOR

• Nominees: Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart”), George Clooney (“Up in the Air”), Colin Firth (“A Single Man”), Morgan Freeman (“Invictus”), Jeremy Renner (“The Hurt Locker”)
• Projection: Bridges
• Presenter(s): Tim Robbins (Freeman), Colin Farrell (Renner), Vera Farmiga (Clooney), Julianne Moore (Firth), Michelle Pfeiffer (Bridges), and Kate Winslet (the envelope)
  

Winner: JEFF BRIDGES (“CRAZY HEART”)
Commentary: Bridges, the beloved child of Hollywood and veteran actor, is greeted with a loud standing ovation and gives a lovely speech thanking his parents and the many others who have helped him over the course of his five-plus decades in the business. He became the clear favorite for this prize as soon as Fox Searchlight unveiled “Crazy Heart” in November — they hadn’t even planned to release it in 2009 but bumped it up when resources became available thanks to “Amelia” flopping. Now, on his fifth nomination, he finally takes home the prize, having waited longer between his first nod and first win than all but three others in Oscar history: Henry Fonda waited 41 years between his best actor nod for “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940) and best actor win for “On Golden Pond” (1981); Alan Arkin waited 40 years between his best actor nomination for “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!” (1966) and his best supporting actor win for “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006); and Jack Palance waited 39 years between his best supporting actor nod for “Sudden Death” (1952) and his best supporting actor win for “City Slickers” (1991).

• Kathy Bates introduces the best picture nominee “Avatar.” The camera then cuts away to a shot of the director and voiceover-stars of the film.

11:14pm/est: BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• Nominees: “Ajami” (Israel),“The Milk of Sorrow” (Peru), “A Prophet” (France), “The Secret in Their Eyes” (Argentina), “The White Ribbon” (Germany)
• Projection: “The Secret in Their Eyes”
  
• Presenter(s): Pedro Almodovar and Quentin Tarantino
  

Winner: “THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES” (ARGENTINA)
Commentary: A big thank you to my sources on the Academy’s foreign language committee, who told me that this moving film appeared to be much better received by Academy audiences than several of the more critically-embraced but stiffer alternatives. This becomes the second Argentinian film to take this prize, joining “The Official Story” (1985).

• Keanu Reeves introduces the best picture nominee “The Hurt Locker,” which was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who also directed him in “Point Break” (1991). The camera then cuts away to a shot of the director and voiceover-stars of the film.

11:06pm/est: BEST FILM EDITING

• Nominees: “Avatar” (Stephen Rivkin/John Refoua/James Cameron), “District 9” (Julian Clarke), “The Hurt Locker” (Bob Murawski/Chris Innis), “Inglourious Basterds” (Sally Menke), “Precious” (Joe Klotz)
• Projection: “The Hurt Locker”
  
• Presenter(s): Tyler Perry
  

Winner: “THE HURT LOCKER”
Commentary: The ACE Eddie winner has now corresponded with the best film editing Oscar for 10 consecutive years. This category is also a crucial stepping stone on the way to a best picture win, as the same film frequently — but not always — wins both.

11:01pm/est: BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM

• Nominees: “Burma VJ” (Oscilloscope), “The Cove” (Roadside Attractions), “Food Inc.” (Magnolia), “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” (Kovno), “Which Way Home” (HBO)
• Projection: “The Cove”
• Presenter(s): Matt Damon
  

Winner: “THE COVE”
Commentary: This social-activist doc about dolphin slaughter in Japan caught the attention of blogger Jeffrey Wells and then many high-profile celebrities (including Ben Stiller), who championed it all along the way.

• Jason Bateman introduces the best picture nominee “Up in the Air,” in which he played a key supporting part. The camera then cuts away to a shot of the director and voiceover-stars of the film.

10:54pm/est: BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Nominees: “Avatar” (Joe Letteri/Stephen Rosenbaum/Richard Baneham/Andrew R. Jones), “District 9” (Dan Kaufman/Peter Muyzers/Robert Habros/Matt Aitken), “Star Trek” (Robert Guyett/Russell Earl/Paul Kavanagh/Burt Dalton)
• Projection: “Avatar”
  
• Presenter(s): Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper
  

Winner: “AVATAR”
Commentary: The Camerons and the “Avatar” cast stand up and cheer the winners. Only a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of chatting with Letteri about the pioneering technological work that he and his team did on this film over the course of several years — all that I can say is it’s probably the most deserved honor of the night.

10:46pm/est: BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Nominees: “Avatar” (James Horner), “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (Alexandre Desplat), “The Hurt Locker” (Marco Beltrami/Buck Sanders), “Sherlock Holmes” (Hans Zimmer), “Up” (Michael Giacchino)
• Projection: “Up”
  
• Presenter(s): Jennifer Lopez and Sam Worthington
  

Winner: “UP”
Commentary: Lopez and Worthington introduce well-choreographed dancers — the choreographer/”Dancing with the Stars” judge/Oscar show co-producer Adam Shankman‘s touch — performing to snippets of each of the nominated scores. (Very well done, but not necessarily related to film in any way, is it?) Giacchino wins — a really nice guy who, in addition to “Up,” has worked on many other Pixar films (most recently “Ratatouille”) and also works with J.J. Abrams (this year on both “Star Trek” and television’s “Lost”).

• Demi Moore introduces James Taylor, who plays guitar over a montage of select Hollywood figures who passed away over the past year. These include Patrick Swayze, Jean Simmons, Tullio Pionelli, Eric Rohmer, David Carradine, Dom DeLuise, Army Archerd, Ron Silver, Brittany Murphy, Lou Jacobi, Betsy Blair, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Cardiff, Kathryn Grayson, Roy E. Disney, Larry Gelbart, Horton Foote, Budd Schulberg (audible applause for this controversial figure), Michael Jackson, Natasha Richardson, Jennifer Jones, David Brown, and last but certainly not least Karl Malden (loud applause).
  

10:34pm/est: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Nominees: “Avatar” (Mauro Fiore), “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Bruno Delbonnel), “The Hurt Locker” (Barry Ackroyd), “Inglourious Basterds” (Robert Richardson), “The White Ribbon” (Christian Berger)
• Projection: “The Hurt Locker”
  
• Presenter(s): Sandra Bullock
  

Winner: “AVATAR”
Commentary: An obviously clenched and nervous Bullock introduces the nominees and announces the winner. “Avatar” was not a clear favorite in this category if only because many people don’t know whether to credit the film’s look to its cinematographer or visual effects artists or someone else. (The cinematography of “The White Ribbon” had been named the best of the year by the cinematographers’ guild, but the foreign-language film was not seen by nearly as many members of the full Academy, which votes to determine the winner of this award.)

• John Travolta introduces the best picture nominee “Inglourious Basterds,” which was written and directed by his “Pulp Fiction” director Quentin Tarantino. The camera then cuts away to a shot of the director and voiceover-stars of the film.

• Elizabeth Banks calls attention to the Sci-Tech Academy Awards that she helped to present several days ago.

10:26pm/est: BEST SOUND MIXING

• Nominees: “Avatar” (Christopher Boyes/Gary Summers/Andy Nelson/Tony Johnson), “The Hurt Locker” (Paul N.J. Ottosson/Ray Beckett), “Inglourious Basterds” (Michael Minkler/Tony Lamberti/Mark Ulano), “Star Trek” (Anna Behlmer/Andy Nelson/Peter J. Devlin), “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (Greg P. Russell/Gary Summers/Geoffrey Patterson)
• Projection: “Avatar”
  
• Presenter(s): Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick
  

Winner: “THE HURT LOCKER”
Commentary: “The Hurt Locker” becomes only the third film in the past decade to sweep both sound categories, joining “King Kong” (2005) and “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2008). It now seems very, very likely that “The Hurt Locker” will defeat “Avatar” for the best picture Oscar.

10:24pm/est: BEST SOUND EDITING

• Nominees: “Avatar” (Christopher Boyes/Gwendolyn Yates Whittle), “The Hurt Locker” (Paul N.J. Ottosson), “Inglourious Basterds” (Wylie Stateman), “Star Trek” (Mark Stoeckinger/Alan Rankin), “Up” (Michael Silvers, Tom Myers)
• Projection: “Avatar”
  
• Presenter(s): Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick
  

Winner: “THE HURT LOCKER”
Commentary: The two presenters present a montage about sound editing/mixing narrated by — who else? — Morgan Freeman. Then “The Hurt Locker,” which won the CAS and BAFTA awards for best sound, beats the epic “Avatar.”

• Martin and Baldwin preview a clip about horror movies with their own spoof of this year’s breakout genre-hit “Paranormal Activity.” Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart, two of the three hot young stars of the “Twilight” franchise (which I wouldn’t really categorize as horror) take the stage and introduce the actual montage. (I noticed Stewart’s hands were tightly clasped behind her back, probably to curb her usual tick of playing with her hair while speaking, no.)

• Charlize Theron introduces the best picture nominee “Precious.” The camera then cuts away to a shot of the director and voiceover-stars of the film.

10:09pm/est: BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Nominees: “Bright Star” (Janet Patterson), “Coco Before Chanel” (Catherine Leterrier), “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” (Monique Prudhomme), “Nine” (Colleen Atwood), “The Young Victoria” (Sandy Powell)
• Projection: “The Young Victoria”
  
• Presenter(s): Tom Ford and Sarah Jessica Parker
  

Winner: “THE YOUNG VICTORIA”
Commentary: Ford and Parker are paired together as presented, presumably because he makes nice clothes and she wears them? Anyway, the great Powell takes the prize. Kudos to her publicists, who ran an aggressive but tasteful campaign. Upon accepting her prize she remarks, “Well, I already have two of these, so I’m feeling greedy.” I’m sure that is of great consolation to her fellow nominees.

10:06pm/est: BEST ART DIRECTION

• Nominees: “Avatar” (Rick Carter/Robert Stromberg/Kim Sinclair), “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” (Dave Warren/Anastasia Masaro/Caroline Smith), “Nine” (John Myhre/Gordon Sim), “Sherlock Holmes” (Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer), “The Young Victoria” (Patrice Vermette/Maggie Gray)
• Projection: “Avatar”
  
• Presenter(s): Sigourney Weaver
  

Winner: “AVATAR”
Commentary: Weaver, the star of “Avatar,” presents the award to her film’s art directors. Goliath finally picks up its first win of the night; in all likelihood, not its last. Acceptance speech, part 1: “Jim Cameron, this Oscar sees you!” Acceptance speech, part 2: “13 years ago, my doctors told me I wasn’t gonna survive.” Quite the juxtaposition!

• Colin Firth introduces the best picture nominee “An Education.” The camera then cuts away to a shot of the director and voiceover-stars of the film.

9:55pm/est: BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Nominees: Mo’Nique (“Precious”), Penelope Cruz (“Nine”), Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air”), Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Crazy Heart”), Anna Kendrick (“Up in the Air”)
• Projection: Mo’Nique
• Presenter(s): Robin Williams
  

Winner: MO’NIQUE (“PRECIOUS”)
Commentary: Despite playing a horrifying character, refusing to campaign for the Oscar, and making some questionable comments/decisions over the past few months, Mo’Nique snags the top prize and receives a hearty and largely standing ovation from the audience. She becomes only the fourth African-American actress (out of 16 nominated) to ever win an Oscar in this category, following in the footsteps of Hattie McDaniel (“Gone with the Wind,” 1939), Whhoopi Goldberg (“Ghost,” 1990), and Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls,” 2006). She thanks the Academy “for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics.” A win for Mo’Nique’s co-star Gabby Sidibe — and perhaps even for best picture — somehow feels a lot more plausible right now.

• Queen Latifah introduces a montage of highlights from this year’s honorary Oscars ceremony, where John Calley, Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman, and Gordon Willis. Corman and Bacall are in attendance, stand up, and get a well-deserved standing ovation from the audience. Bacall: talk about a living legend!
  

9:47pm/est: BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Nominees: “District 9” (Neill Blomkamp/Terri Tatchell), “An Education” (Nick Hornby), “In the Loop” (Jesse Armstrong/Simon Blackwell/Armando Iannucci/Tony Roche), “Precious” (Geoffrey Fletcher), “Up in the Air” (Jason Reitman/Sheldon Turner)
• Projection: “Precious”
  
• Presenter(s): Rachel McAdams and Jake Gyllenhaal
  

Winner: “PRECIOUS”
Commentary: This is a stunning upset over “Up in the Air” and makes me believe that “Precious” may be a lot stronger in other categories. Fletcher, a soft-spoken, lovely guy, takes the stage to cheers from Sapphire and everyone else associated with the film, among many others. Fletcher becomes the first African-American to ever win an Oscar for a screenplay, either adapted or original.

• Jeff Bridges introduces the best picture nominee “A Serious Man,” which was directed by the Coen brothers, who also directed him in “The Big Lebowski” (1998). The camera then cuts away to a shot of the directors and voiceover-stars of the film.

9:38pm/est: BEST MAKEUP

• Nominees: “Il Divo” (Aldo Signoretti/Vittorio Sodano), “Star Trek” (Barney Burman/Mindy Hall/Joel Harlow), “The Young Victoria” (Jon Henry Gordon/Jenny Shircore)
• Projection: “Star Trek”
  
• Presenter(s): Ben Stiller
  

Winner: “STAR TREK”
Commentary: Stiller takes the stage in full Na’vi makeup, speaking the Na’vi language, and informing James Cameron that he’d like to plug his tail into his tail. Then he announces the winner of the category, in which “Avatar” is not even a nominee. There’s a quick cutaway to “Star Trek” star Pine clapping. (Not sure anyone else from the film is even there.)

9:34pm/est: BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

• Nominees: “The Door” (Juanita Wilson/James Flynn), “Instead of Abracadabra” (Patrik Eklund/Mathias Fjellström), “Kavi” (Gregg Helvey), “Miracle Fish” (Luke Doolan/Drew Bailey), “The New Tenants” (Joachim Back/Tivi Magnusson)
• Projection: “Miracle Fish”
  
• Presenter(s): Carey Mulligan and Zoe Saldana
  

Winner: “THE NEW TENANTS”
Commentary: This category is brutally unpredictable — last year they gave it to a Holocaust short, this year to a comedy about a gay couple who move into a troubled apartment building takes the category. Go figure!

9:33pm/est: BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

• Nominees: “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” (Jon Alpert/Matthew O’Neill), “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” (Daniel Junge/Henry Ansbacher), “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” (Steven Bognar/Julia Reichert), “Music by Prudence” (Roger Ross Williams/Elinor Burkett), “Rabbit à la Berlin” (Bartek Konopka/Anna Wydra)
• Projection: “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
  
• Presenter(s): Carey Mulligan and Zoe Saldana
  

Winner: “MUSIC BY PRUDENCE”
Commentary: This was an incredibly competitive category. Timeliness and sentiment was on the side of “The Last Truck,” but alas. Burkett rudely interrupts Williams’ acceptance speech. Williams becomes the first African-American to win an Oscar in this category.

9:30pm/est: BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

• Nominees: “French Roast” (Fabrice O. Joubert), “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” (Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell), “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” (Javier Recio Gracia), “Logorama” (Nicolas Schmerkin), “A Matter of Loaf and Death” (Nick Park)
• Projection: “A Matter of Loaf and Death”
  
• Presenter(s): Carey Mulligan and Zoe Saldana
  

Winner: “LOGORAMA”
Commentary: The win streak of Nick Park’s “Wallace and Gromit” films in this category finally comes to an end. I’m shocked that this film hasn’t been sued yet — it’s basically “Pulp Fiction” starring corporate logos, complete with gunfire and cursing.

• Samuel L. Jackson introduces the best picture nominee “Up.” The camera then cuts away to a shot of the director and voiceover-stars of the film.

• Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick, who are decidedly not in high school anymore, come out to introduce a special tribute to the late director John Hughes, who specialized in flicks about kids/teens and their troubles throughout the late ’80s and ’90s, and who passed away suddenly last August at the age of 59. Following a video montage of clips from Hughes’ films, a huge group of the stars whose careers owe a great debt to Hughes (including the largely reclusive Macaulay Culkin) take the stage, deliver a few funny and touching remarks about the man, and call the audience’s attention to his family in the audience.
  

9:11pm/est: BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Nominees: “The Hurt Locker” (Mark Boal),“Inglourious Basterds” (Quentin Tarantino), “The Messenger” (Alessandro Camon/Oren Moverman), “A Serious Man” (Ethan Coen/Joel Coen), “Up” (Bob Peterson/Pete Docter/Thomas McCarthy)
• Projection: “The Hurt Locker”
  
• Presenter(s): Robert Downey, Jr. and Tina Fey

Winner: “THE HURT LOCKER” (MARK BOAL)
Commentary: Following a back-and-forth about the desires of writers (represented by Fey) and actors (Downey), the nominees are introduced with dialogue read and displayed over footage of the scene to which an original screenplay gave birth. Boal, a reporter who returned from covering EOD units in Iraq and wrote a script based on what he saw, is then honored (over chief rival Tarantino). He especially thanks Bigelow and dedicates the win to the troops who are still in Iraq and to his father, who passed away only a month ago and “would have liked this a lot.”

• Chris Pine, whose sci-fi film “Star Trek” was denied a best picture nomination by the Academy, graciously introduces the best picture nominee “District 9,” another sci-fi flick with which he has no personal affiliation. The camera then cuts away to a shot of the director and stars of the film.
  

9:00pm/est: BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• Nominees: “Almost There” (“The Princess and the Frog”), “Down in New Orleans” (“The Princess and the Frog”), “Loin de Paname” (“Paris 36”), “Take It All” (“Nine”), “The Weary Kind” (“Crazy Heart”)
• Projection: “The Weary Kind”
  
• Presenter(s): Amanda Seyfried and Miley Cyrus
  

Winner: “THE WEARY KIND” (“CRAZY HEART”)
Commentary: Cyrus stumbles a bit with her reading of the teleprompter but makes it look cute by noting, “We’re both kind of nervous — this is our first time doing this!” Following clips of each song being composed and also the scene in which each is featured in its respective film, the announcement is made. This was Bingham’s first nomination; Burnett was previously nominated for the song “Scarlet Tide” in “Cold Mountain” (2003) and also contributed to the films “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” (1998) and “Walk the Line” (2005). He also worked on another Jeff Bridges film, “The Big Lebowski” (1998). Bridges and Gyllenhaal, the stars of this film, and Robert Duvall, one of its producers, are visibly delighted.

8:56pm/est: BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

• Nominees: “Coraline” (Focus Features), “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (Fox Searchlight), “The Princess and the Frog” (Disney), “The Secret of Kells” (GKIDS), “Up” (Disney)
• Projection: “Up”
  
• Presenter(s): Cameron Diaz and Steve Carell

Winner: “UP”
Commentary: Following a teleprompter blunder (Diaz referred to Carell as “Jude” since Jude Law was originally scheduled to be her co-presenter) and clips featuring the “stars” of the nominees talking to outgoing Oscar Special host Barbara Walters about the honor of being nominated, they cut to the announcement. Pete Docter, who has been at Pixar since “Toy Story” (1995), accepts the award on behalf of all of the people at the studio. “Up” joins “Finding Nemo” (2003), “The Incredibles” (2004), “Ratatouille” (2007), and “WALL-E” (2008) on the list of Pixar productions that have won this category since its establishment in 2001.

• Ryan Reynolds introduces the best picture nominee “The Blind Side,” which stars his co-star from “The Proposal” Sandra Bullock. The camera then cuts away to a shot of the director and stars of the film.
  

8:48pm/est: BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Nominees: Matt Damon (“Invictus”), Woody Harrelson (“The Messenger”), Christopher Plummer (“The Last Station”), Stanley Tucci (“The Lovely Bones”), Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds”)
• Projection: Waltz
• Presenter(s): Penelope Cruz
  

Winner: CHRISTOPH WALTZ (“INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS”)
Commentary: Waltz’s portrayal of the tri-lingual Nazi Col. Hans Landa becomes only the eighth performance delivered largely or entirely in a foreign language to win an acting Oscar; the other seven were Sophia Loren (“Two Women,” 1961) for best actress; Robert De Niro (“The Godfather, Part II,” 1974) for best supporting actor; Meryl Streep (“Sophie’s Choice,” 1982) for best actress; Marlee Matlin (“Children of a Lesser God,” 1986) for best actress; Roberto Benigni (“Life Is Beautiful,” 1998) for best actor; Benicio Del Toro (“Traffic,” 2000) for best supporting actor; Marion Cotillard (“La Vie En Rose,” 2007) for best actress; and Penelope Cruz (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” 2008) for best supporting actress. He also becomes the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance in a Quentin Tarantino-directed film; the four others who have been nominated but lost for their work with the celebrated “actors’ director” are John Travolta (“Pulp Fiction,” 1994) for best actor; Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction,” 1994) for best supporting actor; Uma Thurman (“Pulp Fiction,” 1994) for best supporting actress; and Robert Forster (“Jackie Brown,” 1997) for best supporting actor. Harrelson, Tucci, and 80-year-old Plummer, meanwhile, remain Oscar-less. Upon accepting his statuette from Cruz, Waltz riffs on his iconic line as Landa, “Oscar and Penelope? That’s an uber-bingo!” He also effusively thanks Tarantino, who has called the part of Landa the best he’s ever written, and which Waltz himself has called Shakespearean.

• Yep, now Martin and Baldwin tap-dance onto the stage together and introduce one another. (It’s been years since we had more than one host of the show — but that’s how it used to be every year during Hollywood’s Golden Age.) The duo riff on each other; their “It’s Complicated” co-star Meryl Streep’s annaul nominations (and losses); “The Last Station”; Vera Farmiga and the pronunciation of “Up in the Air”; Dam vs. Dame Helen Mirren; and Streep again; “Precious” (nice to see Gabby’s mom in the audience, by the way) and its stars; the tendency to deny stand-up comedians Oscars; Woody Harrelson’s proclivity for pot; and James Cameron (slapping on 3-D glasses) and “Avatar”; Cameron’s marriage marriage to Bigelow (she’s clearly uncomfortable); George Clooney (now they’re just ticking off stars to try to keep the TV audience tuned in for as long as possible); Christoph Waltz playing a Nazi obsessed with Jews (and motioning all around the room); Sandra Bullock (“Who doesn’t love Sandra Bullock?” “Well, tonight we might find out!”); the young’ns (Zac Efron and Taylor Lautner, who seem nervous but chuckle at “Take a look at us guys; this is you in five years!”)
• Harris breaks into a narrative musical number surrounded by dozens of dancers, often shot from above like a Busby Berkeley sequence in a 1930′s musical. So-so lyrics. Gets a sitting-ovation. Now, on with the show?
  
• Neil Patrick Harris takes the stage. As he says, “What am I doing here?” Well, I guess because he’s been such a hit hosting every other awards show this year. I expect that this will lead into an introduction of the actual co-hosts, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.
• Lead actor and lead actress nominees collectively introduced as if they’re on a reality show, provoking a big ovation. (Not sure why the supporting actor and supporting actress nominees aren’t up there with them.) Sidibe and Renner seem happiest to be there. Lots of cut-away shots to famous faces in the crowd.

PRE-SHOW COMMENTARY…

• A few posts from the past few months that are worth revisiting today: my annual narratives/precedents post; my top 10 snapshots of 2009; my top 10 films of 2009; my 2009 all-snubbed team; my top 10 films of the 2000s; my own Oscar ballot; my analysis of the nominees; my projection of least-likely winners; and my final forecast of winners.

• For additional commentary on the Oscars, be sure to follow @ScottFeinberg — and dozens of other film analysts and industry figures — on Twitter.

• One of the neat things about the extended awards season is that it has afforded me more time to meet/pose questions to awards hopefuls. (Here’s a complete list of/links to all of the interviews that I’ve conducted during this award season.) Since voting is over, I feel that I can now say that the coolest of the bunch were — in no particular order — Quentin Tarantino, Anna Kendrick, Woody Harrelson, Viggo Mortensen, George Clooney, Gabby Sidibe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Carey Mulligan, Jeremy Renner, Michelle Monaghan, and Ben Foster.

• I suspect that the best clue for the best picture race is the Producers Guild of America Award — that was the only other precursor that followed in the Academy’s footsteps by expanding its best picture field to 10 nominees and switching over to a preferential ballot; they anticipated 8 of the Academy’s 10 nominees (they nominated “Invictus” and “Star Trek” over “The Blind Side” and “A Serious Man”); and they wound up picking… “The Hurt Locker.”

• Some of the challenges of blogging about this year’s Oscar race? Having to…
  • Distinguish between “A Serious Man” and “A Single Man”; “Julia” and “Julie & Julia”; “Up” and “Up in the Air”; and “9,” ”Nine” and “District 9” – before I’d even seen any of them
  • Remember that it’s not “Anvil,” “Bad Lieutenant,” “Capitalism,” “Valentino,” and “Precious,” but rather “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call — New Orleans,” “Capitalism: A Love Story,” “Valentino: The Last Emperor,” and “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
  • Correctly spell and/or pronounce Louie Psihoyos, Lone Scherfig, Gabourey Sidibe, Saoirse Ronan, Neill Blomkamp, Mira Nair, Ben Whishaw, Zooey Deschanel, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Michael Stuhlbarg

• One of the cooler pieces of news I’ve heard today: the Academy’s producers have instructed presenters to drop the politically-correct line “And the Oscar goes to…” and go back to the original line “And the winner is…” when they open an envelope to announce a winner. See, everything old is new again — and the title of this blog suddenly seems a lot more relevant, don’t you think?!

Tonight, the 82nd Academy Awards will bring an end to the 2009 awards season, providing final answers to questions that we’ve been tackling on this blog every day since the last Oscar show came to an end 378 days ago. If you can’t watch the show or want to better understand what you’re watching, stay right here for complete and up-to-the-minute coverage throughout the evening — we’ll keep you informed about all of the presenters, nominees, winners, and speeches, while providing you with statistical analysis that you won’t find anywhere else. New updates will push down older updates so that you won’t have to scroll down much; you will, however, have to periodically refresh your browser for all the latest. Thanks for choosing to spend the most exciting evening of the year with us!

I’m not much of a photographer. In fact, I only stopped using disposable cameras and started using a digital camera last year. But, over the course of the past year, I’ve snapped a few photos at each of the stops that I’ve made along the awards trail — the Tribeca, Toronto, and Santa Barbara Film Festivals, the Gotham and Golden Globe awards ceremonies, and various premieres, dinners, and parties — and I figured that there’s no more appropriate a time to share some of them than on the eve of the Academy Awards ceremony that will bring the year to a close. So, without further ado, here are my 10 favorites, in chronological order, each accompanied by a little commentary…

“Racing Dreams” Zooms to Front of Pack
School of Visual Arts Theatre, New York City
Saturday, April 25, 2009

The Tribeca Film Festival happens so early in the year (mid to late April) and showcases such small films (which usually don’t yet have distributors) that there’s usually little if any advance buzz about the films, making it terribly hard to decide which are worth your time. Many are not, but this year I got lucky. A publicist-friend told me about the films on which he was working, strongly recommended several, and then mentioned “Racing Dreams” almost as an after-thought. I don’t think a doc about kids trying to become NASCAR drivers sounded that appealing to either of us, but I decided to take a chance on it because it was directed by Marshall Curry (whose previous doc “Street Fight” garnered an Oscar nod) and produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (who I figured I’d like to see in the flesh). Little did I expect that it would be the best doc that I’d see all year; garner a standing ovation throughout its credits; and win Tribeca’s Audience Award. Based on the look on Curry’s face in this photo (seated at about 4 o’clock) as he watched the audience begin to rise to its feet (including Johnson two rows in front of him), I don’t think he expected it either.

The Man of the Hour
Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto
Friday, September 11, 2009

Few people have ever generated more excitement at the Toronto Film Festival than George Clooney, who was in town for the premiere of “Michael Clayton” in 2007 and returned to premiere two films in 2009: “The Men Who Stare at Goats” and “Up in the Air.” While the latter was widely celebrated and went on to earn him a best actor Oscar nod, the former was widely derided and quickly forgotten. In this photo though — taken right after the credits began to roll and the talent took a bow following the “Goats” premiere — Clooney seems perfectly happy, displaying his famous million-dollar smile as he ducks out of the audience.

Curious George
Private Residence, Toronto
Friday, September 11, 2009

Following the premiere of “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” several members of the press were invited to hop aboard a bus to an undisclosed location in order to celebrate the film along with Clooney and Bridges. After a 20-minute ride, we were dropped off in front of one of the most expensive mansions in Toronto — and greeted by a pen filled with real goats. While Bridges chilled out in a corner with a couple of friends, Clooney was surprisingly gregarious, standing in the center of the room and cordially greeting all comers. Not surprisingly, there were many. At one point, a fellow actor asked him what had happened to his hand, which was heavily bandaged. Clooney’s reps had informed the media that the actor had closed a car door on his own hand, but he could be overheard telling this acquaintance that his new girlfriend was actually the one who’d accidentally shut the door too quickly and he was trying to spare her the media attention. Moments later, he excused himself again to take a phone call, and I quickly snapped this candid shot. Yes, even George Clooney gets hurt; owns a cell phone (a Motorola, if you can believe it!); and makes and takes his own calls.

The Last Emperor
The Standard Hotel’s Boom Boom Room, New York City
Tuesday, November 3, 2009

On a blisteringly cold night, the fashion and film worlds came together for a party at one of New York’s trendiest new penthouse bars to celebrate the iconic fashion designer Valentino and “Valentino: The Last Emperor,” a doc about his life and work. It was organized by director Matt Tyrnauer and New York-based publicists, who were trying to stir up fresh enthusiasm for the film as Oscar voting neared. (It wound up making the best doc shortlist of 15 films but not the final five.) Among those in attendance were producer/beer heiress Daphne Guinness, talk show host Charlie Rose, actress/socialite Mischa Barton, actor Adrien Brody, producer Brian Grazer, actor Hugh Jackman (who is pictured in this photo listening to Valentino), and Jesus Luz, the 22-year-old disk-jockey who got the gig through a mutual friend of his and Valentino’s: Madonna, who showed up at the end of the party and danced with a few of the buzzed guests (myself included, if you can believe it — I still can’t).

A Face in the Crowd
Abe & Arthur’s, New York City
Sunday, November 22, 2009

Following the New York premiere of “Brothers,” director Jim Sheridan and stars Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman (whose blue dress became one of the most talked-about fashion items of the year) headed over to Abe & Arthur’s in the Meatpacking District, a magnificent space that packed in a lot of folks. In this photo, Portman — easily the most beautiful woman in this or virtually any room — seems to be moving amongst the crowd as if she was just another anonymous person, as opposed to one of the most famous movie stars in the world, something that one wouldn’t expect to see at this sort of an event. (Sheridan is the white-haired man she is walking past in the photo.) When I spoke with her the following week backstage at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, where she was presented with a career tribute at the ripe old age of 28, she explained that she’s as happy as she’s ever been because she’s finally getting to play confident, intelligent, mature adults on the big screen.

The First Lady
Cipriani Wall Street, New York City
Monday, November 30, 2009

I arrived at historic Cipriani long before any of the nominees for the Gotham Indepedent Film Awards that would be held there later in the evening. While strolling around the magnificent space, I ran into a publicist for “The Hurt Locker” and asked how confident she felt about the film winning best ensemble and best picture over “A Serious Man” in a few hours, not to mention throughout the rest of the awards season. The answer? Not very. Throughout the show, my videographer and I hung out in a corridor just off of the main press room where I was conducting 1-on-1 video interviews with several winners and presenters. When we heard that the best picture award was about to be bestowed, I ran into the main press room to watch the announcement on a closed-circuit monitor along with my fellow journalists and the publicist who had expressed her doubts about the film earlier in the evening. Upon hearing that “The Hurt Locker” won, she broke into a little dance before regaining her composure. Moments later, the film’s stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty, writer Mark Boal, and director Kathryn Bigelow all made their way into the room to take questions from the small group of journalists gathered there. At one point, I caught the eye of Bigelow, with whom I’d had the privilege of chatting quite extensively earlier in the awards season, and she flashed me a beautiful smile that I captured in the photo you see above. Little did I — or she — know that she would go on to become only the fourth female to ever earn a best director Oscar nod and possibly the first to ever win.

The (Re-)Coronation
The Beverly Hilton, Los Angeles
Sunday, January 17, 2010

I arrived early to this year’s Golden Globe Awards and snagged a front-row-center seat in the press room, where all of the winners swing by to take questions moments after they leave the stage. We were visited by the likes of Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, and the entire casts of “Mad Men” and “Glee,” but the biggest winners of the night were clearly the folks behind “Avatar,” especially its writer-director-producer James Cameron. Cameron, who won best director and best picture (drama) at the show (and then lost all subsequent awards in both categories to his ex-wife and her film “The Hurt Locker”), was clearly thrilled to be back on top, which prompted me to ask him the rather cheeky question: “Is it fair to say you’re still the king of the world?” Most journalists’ questions were directed at Cameron, rather than his collaborators who accompanied him to the podium (actors Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, as well as producer Jon Landau), and Cameron seemed more than happy to lecture at-length from the podium about the technology advances of “Avatar,” the underappreciation of acting in CGI films, and many other subjects. I think this photo captures, as well as any, Cameron’s return to the winner’s circle — even if it only lasted for a night.

He’ll Be Back!
Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara
Saturday, February 6, 2010

Part-time Santa Barbara resident James Cameron was invited to receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Modern Master Award this year. The evening-long tribute got off to a rocky start, though, when Cameron began delivering his acceptance speech prior to participating in a Q&A with moderator Leonard Maltin. Maltin, who might have allowed Cameron to proceed, seemed anxious to get the Q&A started, and eventually interrupted Cameron to bring him up to speed. Then, once their discussion got underway, Maltin inexplicably seemed to rush past large portions of Cameron’s life and career. After Maltin introduced clips of Cameron’s work on “The Terminator” films, it finally became clear why things had been so out-of-whack: Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California and the star of the aforementioned films, had flown in to present Cameron with his award himself, and was introduced to do so right in the middle of the Q&A because he had to leave immediately afterward in order to catch a flight back to Sacramento. Though the press had been notified about the special appearance prior to the ceremony, Cameron seemed genuinely surprised. This photo shows Cameron after he walked over to greet Schwarzenegger and accept his award. As Schwarzenegger began to leave, he stopped himself, turned around to the microphone, and winkingly remarked, “I’ll be back!”

The Odd Couple
Lobero Theatre’s Green Room, Santa Barbara
Sunday, February 7, 2010

The most memorable event at this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival was viewed by only a handful of folks who were willing to miss the Super Bowl in order to witness a unique moment in film history: Quentin Tarantino, the 46-year-old writer-director, interviewed Kirk Douglas, the 93-year-old legendary actor-director, following a screening of Douglas’ 1975 directorial effort “Posse,” which the film history buff Tarantino had specifically suggested be shown instead of more famous Douglas films like “Lust for Life” or “Spartacus.” The event — which Tarantino labeled “not a Q&A but a Q&K” — was a gesture of thanks from Tarantino, to whom Douglas and the festival had presented the fourth annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film back in October 2009. I happened to be hanging out in the green room when Douglas arrived, and the photo above captures the lovely moment when Tarantino, a man known for violent movies, gently greeted one of his heroes — who emphasized during the Q&A that the admiration was mutual.

The Dude Comes Home
Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara
Sunday, February 14, 2010

On the last day of this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival, local hero Jeff Bridges stopped by for a Q&A with my fellow Oscar blogger Kris Tapley following a screening of “Crazy Heart,” the film for which he was/is widely expected to win the best actor Oscar. As the Q&A came to an end, the mayor of Santa Barbara surprised Bridges with a formal proclamation declaring it Jeff Bridges Day in the city. Bridges seemed very touched, hugged the mayor, and then graciously stuck around for several minutes to sign autographs for many of the people who had packed the Lobero Theatre for his event. I snagged this photo from the corner of the stage, and particularly like it because it captures Bridges in profile, with his shadow clearly visible behind him, as well as the genuine adoration and excitement of the folks who were clammoring for his attention.

All photos featured in this post were taken by/are the property of Scott Feinberg.

The good folks at KNBC, the NBC affiliate in Los Angeles, asked me to discuss the Oscar party scene on their “News Raw” program yesterday, which I did via telephone, as you can see/hear starting at 2:18 into the video above. Though my primary focus is on the Academy Awards show itself, I have had the privilege/thrill of attending the Academy’s post-show Governors Ball — which I wrote about in-depth last year for the Los Angeles Times — so I was able to offer some commentary about what that’s all about, as well as what several of this year’s other events will entail (including the house party that is being thrown for “The Hurt Locker” producer Nicolas Chartier because he has been banned from attending the show itself).

When I first traveled out west to Hollywood, I was tremendously disappointed by the lack of, well, anything to do with the making and/or history of movies. Sure, there’s only one major movie studio that’s still located within Hollywood proper, Paramount Pictures, but most people can do little more than drive by the studio gates. Sure, there’s the Kodak Theatre, but that’s only used for the Oscars once a year, and the rest of the time looks like virtually any other busy mall. Sure, there’s the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but the only real reason to go there is if you’re a film scholar who wants to study in its library. And, sure, there’s the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the handprints, footprints, and autographs engraved in the cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, but — like Times Square on New Year’s Eve or Stonehenge on any day of the year — it gets old pretty quickly.

These days, though, there’s one reservoir in the desert: the Hollywood History Museum, which is located in the Max Factor Building at 1660 North Highland Avenue, just off of Hollywood Boulevard and mere steps from the Kodak. Whenever I’m in town, I stop by to check out both the great permanent exhibits (including Oscars, photos, posters, costumes, and props from movies old and new, such as dresses worn by the stars of “Gone with the Wind” and Hannibal Lecter’s entire jail cell from “The Silence of the Lambs”) and the latest temporary exhibits.

This week may be the best of all to pay a visit to the museum because, in honor of the awards season, it is featuring a special exhibit called — get this — “And The Winner Is…” that is being guest curated by my former Los Angeles Times colleague Tom O’Neil. Tom and the museum — with the cooperation of most of the major studios — have hosted incarnations of this event during each of the past several awards seasons, but it seems to me that they have never have as many neat items on display as they do this year, including costumes and props from this year’s nominees “The Blind Side,” “Bright Star,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Julie & Julia,” “Star Trek,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” and “The Young Victoria,” as well as unnominated popular favorites like “(500) Days of Summer” and “Twilight: New Moon.”

The Hollywood History Museum is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 10am to 5pm. The cost of admission is $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, and $5 for kids age 5 and younger. The museum accepts Citipass and Go L.A. cards.

Here is a video clip of my appearance today on WTNH-8, the ABC News affiliate serving the State of Connecticut, for whom I have shared my Oscar picks for nine consecutive years and now serve as a regular entertainment contributor. (Please excuse the tux — the producer asked me to wear it to help add to the mood of a segment about the Oscars!)

I just had more fun than I should have filling out my picks in AwardsDaily’s first annual “Predict the Oscars WRONG Contest,” which challenges you to not pick the correct winner in every category. That sounds easier than it is, especially when it comes to categories like best live action short in which there is no clear favorite and all of the nominees have a legitimate chance to win. Anyway, here are the nominees that I identified as the least likely to win their respective categories:

BEST PICTURE

“District 9” (TriStar)

BEST DIRECTOR

Lee Daniels (“Precious”)

BEST ACTOR

Morgan Freeman (“Invictus”)

BEST ACTRESS

Helen Mirren (“The Last Station”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Matt Damon (“Invictus”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz (“Nine”)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell (“District 9”)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman (“The Messenger”)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

“The Secret of Kells” (GKIDS)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

“Burma VJ” (Oscilloscope)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“The Milk of Sorrow” (Peru)

BEST ART DIRECTION

“The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” (Dave Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Bruno Delbonnel)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

“The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” (Monique Prudhomme)

BEST FILM EDITING

“District 9” (Julian Clarke)

BEST MAKEUP

“Il Divo” (Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

“Sherlock Holmes” (Hans Zimmer)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Loin de Paname” (“Paris 36”)

BEST SOUND EDITING

“Up” (Michael Silvers, Tom Myers)

BEST SOUND MIXING

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Geoffrey Patterson)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

“District 9” (Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken)

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

“French Roast” (Fabrice O. Joubert)

BEST SHORT FILM (DOCUMENTARY)

“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” (Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher)

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

“The New Tenants” (Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson)

Photo: A scene from best makeup nominee “Il Divo.” Credit: MPI and Music Box Films.

There have been rumblings, of late, that Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic — the co-producers of the 82nd Oscars show, which will air Sunday night on ABC — have decided to scrap last year’s addition of having past acting winners introduce current acting nominees and instead have friends of current nominees introduce current nominees. Apparently, a few of the actual pairings have even leaked out, but who knows whether or not those reports can be trusted? What I do know is that it’s always fun to speculate about who will present what/to whom, so here — based on existing rumors and my own gut — are my best guesses. (I’ll be happy if even just a few turn out to be correct!)

Best picture

Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts

Best director

Steven Spielberg and…

• Barbra Streisand for Kathryn Bigelow
• Sigourney Weaver for James Cameron
• Tyler Perry for Lee Daniels
• Ivan Reitman for Jason Reitman
• Samuel L. Jackson for Quentin Tarantino

Best actor

Kate Winslet and…

• Robert Downey, Jr. for Jeff Bridges
• Jason Bateman for George Clooney
• Tom Ford for Colin Firth
• Jack Nicholson for Morgan Freeman
• Charlize Theron for Jeremy Renner

Best actress

Sean Penn and…

• Keanu Reeves for Sandra Bullock
• James McAvoy for Helen Mirren
• Peter Sarsgaard for Carey Mulligan
• Oprah Winfrey for Gabby Sidibe
• Stanley Tucci for Meryl Streep

Best supporting actor

Penelope Cruz and…

• Ben Affleck for Matt Damon
• Ben Foster for Woody Harrelson
  
• Julie Andrews for Christopher Plummer
• Anne Hathaway for Stanley Tucci
• Diane Kruger for Christoph Waltz
  

Best supporting actress

• Queen Latifah for Mo’Nique
• Pedro Almodovar for Penelope Cruz
• Jude Law for Vera Farmiga
• Jake Gyllenhaal for Maggie Gyllenhaal
  
• Kristen Stewart for Anna Kendrick

Best adapted screenplay & Best original screenplay

Steve Carell and Tina Fey

Best foreign language film

Quentin Tarantino

Best animated feature

Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston

Best documentary feature

Bradley Cooper and Colin Farrell

Best cinematography

Chris Pine and Zach Quinto

Best original score & Best original song

Zac Efron and Miley Cyrus

Best art direction & Best costume design & Best makeup

Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington

Best film editing

John Travolta and Ryan Reynolds

Best sound editing & Best sound mixing

Megan Fox and Taylor Lautner

Best visual effects

Ben Stiller

Best animated short & Best documentary short & Best live action short

Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jason Segal

In Memoriam

Kathy Bates

Photo: Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks in a scene from “Charlie Wilson’s War” (2007). The two have announced plans to co-star again in another film, “Larry Crowne.” Credit: Universal.