Oscar Wrap Up

With the 2011 Oscars come and gone, we have yet another award show season behind us. Unlike any other year, this year I've seen all ten Best Picture nominees and a majority of the acting, directing and screenwriting nominees. (The count: All directors; all screenplay nominees except Original Screenplay nominee Mike Leigh's Anther Year; all supporting acting nominees except Best Supporting Actress nominee Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom; all Best Actor nominees except Javier Bardem in Biutiful; and all Best Actress nominees except Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole. Not a bad record, huh?) This is all to say that, like the 2010 Tony Awards, I have a justified opinion of the winners and nominees, which I happily express below in the list of winners.

Of course, we'll wait to get to the winners after we discuss the more important part: the fashion!

A big trend this year seemed to be sparkles. And lots of them. Perhaps best exemplified by the lovely ladies above, Michelle Williams, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams, many women rocked this trend, looking glamorous and festive. Williams appeared in a very classic looking Chanel dress. This short sleeved slinky number fit her perfectly and she looked quite old-Hollywood. Leo wore a Marc Bouwer cream and gold gown, with a sexy but tasteful deep V-neck and a daring slit up the front. These sexier attractions were balanced out by a high neck and cap sleeves, creating a nice balance of still-got-it sexy and age appropriateness. Adams sparkled in Lorenz Scott. Her saturated, midnight blue gown fit like a glove, showing off her great figure. The only thing I couldn't figure out, though, was why she was wearing that Cartier drop necklace. The gown had a high neck and plenty of sparkle. This necklace just seemed like too much. Sans necklace, she would be a best-dressed nominee.

Another trend on the red carpet was happy couples! Looking at the couples above, (in descending age order) Annette Bening and Warren Beatty; Susan Downey and Robert Downey, Jr.; and Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chambers, it seems the secret to looking good on the red carpet, aside from slick threads, is smiling and laughing with someone you love. Let's all try that the next time we're posing for a picture!

Then we had two lovely ladies in lavender. One took a risk and didn't quite make it work; the other took a risk and worked it! Above, Mila Kunis is wearing an ethereal Elie Saab. (You may remember that Saab was put on the map after dressing Halle Berry when she won her Oscar.) The dress almost works, except the lace inlay at her bust make it look, at least on camera and from a distance, like she's having some sort of wardrobe malfunction. Too bad, because otherwise she looks good - and has all award season. On the other hand, Cate Blanchett, who's been known to take risks on the red carpet, is wearing a Givenchy that only she could pull off. (Maybe Charlize Theron could work it, but last night it was Blanchett.) With an interesting structure and an unusual pairing of light lavender and pale yellow, Blanchett walked the carpet with confidence and looked fabulous and fashion forward.

Not to be outdone, the three hunks from The Social Network stepped it up. Look at those handsome men! On the left, Jesse Eisenberg looks remarkably comfortable in what is almost certainly an anxiety inducing situation. On the right, JTims looks just right in a perfectly tailored tux from Tom Ford. (I would except nothing less from Ford.) And in the center, Andrew Garfield looks classic and ridiculously handsome. Can't you just see him taking up the mantle currently held by George Clooney and once held by Cary Grant as that timeless, talented and really, really good looking guy? Oh, and he's about to be a super hero. Zang!

It wasn't all good, though. Nicole Kidman showed up in a Dior dress that didn't work for her. She commented on the carpet that she liked it for its structure, but I thought that's what was worst about it. The structure did nothing except make her look like she had terribly large hips - and she doesn't. And the pattern on the skirt of the dress looked more like a tablecloth than something that was red carpet ready. She's a tall, statuesque woman who can sometimes pull off these more structured dresses, but not this time.

Perhaps the best dressed, though, was my girl crush, Reese Witherspoon. A past winner for her incredible portrayal of June Carter in Walk the Line and a presenter on Sunday night, Reese looked absolutely stunning in a simple, clean and classic black and white dress. The black tube bodice hugged her body, complementing her curves and making the petite star look seven feet tall, while the white trim up top gave the dress a little something extra, don't ya think? And though the dress has a very classic look and her make up was appropriately understated, her high and full pony tail added some modern flair and helped bring out her bubbly, effervescent personality. Snaps for Reese!

And now that we have fashion out of the way, how about the actual award ceremony? Our fearless leaders, James Franco and Anne Hathaway, did a nice job in this experiment aimed at attracting younger viewers. I doubt they had much input to the "history lessons" we got throughout the broadcast, which seemed only to slow down the proceedings so I won't blame them for that. I liked their opening montage, in which they interpolated themselves into some of this year's best picture nominees...and Back to the Future! As someone who can probably speak the entire movie along with Marty and Doc, I found this random addition to be particularly fun. And James Franco dressed at Marilyn Monroe was also particularly fun.

No truly outrageous moments, but here are a couple of things I didn't understand or that I question: (1) Would there have been that extra tribute to Lena Horne if there had been more (or any) diversity among the top nominees? (2) Why did Hilary Swank need to introduce Kathryn Bigelow to present the award? Couldn't have Franco or Hathaway just introduced Bigelow?

My favorite part, aside from Aaron Sorkin winning, of course, was Steven Spielberg's intro to the Best Picture category. He noted that one of the ten nominees would join the ranks of All Quiet on the Western Front and On the Waterfront. But he also noted that nine of the ten nominees would join the ranks of such great films as Citizen Kane and Raging Bull. I liked this frame because it's a reminder that so many of the great films in the canon and so many prolific and celebrated actors, directors and designers may be awardless (or remain awardless until regrettably late in their career) and yet that's not what we remember. We remember that Raging Bull was a great film. That Leonardo DiCaprio is the best actor of his generation yet, to date, he's never won an Oscar. That Martin Scorsese didn't win an Oscar for directing until 2007 when he won for The Departed, but that didn't stop him from making incredible films until and since then.

So, while we are reminded that sometimes the Academy misses the mark or flat out gets it wrong (there are some examples of that this year), here is a selected list of nominees and winners (winners are in bold). You can visit oscars.org for the complete list of winners.

Best Cinematography

• Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
• Wally Pfister, Inception
• Danny Cohen, The King’s Speech
• Jeff Cronenweth, The Social Network
• Roger Deakins, True Grit

(This was the right choice. Inception looked beautiful and though it was Christopher Nolan's vision, it was Pfister's execution that made the magic. Speaking of Nolan, he seemed to be the Michael Mayer of the Oscars. Do you remember at the 2010 Tony Awards that Mayer was grossly left out of the Best Director category? Then you may also remember that when Kevin Adams (lighting designer) and Christine Jones (scenic designer) won their awards, they went out of their way to honor Mayer and his vision as a director. Inception won four awards on Sunday, each for a design or other technical element, and each award recipient gushed about Nolan and his visionary direction. The Academy was remiss to leave Nolan out of the directing category, and these winners didn't let them forget it. Way to go, designers!)

Best Editing

• Andrew Weisblum, Black Swan
• Pamela Martin, The Fighter
• Tariq Anwar, The King’s Speech
• Jon Harris, 127 Hours
• Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter, The Social Network

(Excellent choice. The way this film cut between depositions and rowing competitions and parties and hack-a-thons was brilliant so kudos to Wall and Baxter on winning one of The Social Network's three Oscars.)

Best Score

• John Powell, How to Train Your Dragon
• Hans Zimmer, Inception
• Alexandre Desplat, The King’s Speech
• A.R. Rahman, 127 Hours
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network

(This is definitely the right choice. Reznor and Ross's haunting, atonal score added so much to the film. I was re-watching it again yesterday (are you surprised?) and noticed that certain scenes, despite Aaron Sorkin's brilliant words, David Fincher's expert direction and the cast's incredible performance, would have been rather boring or slow moving were it not for this terrific score. Also, Trent Reznor looks mighty fine in a tuxedo!)

Best Original Screenplay

• Mike Leigh, Another Year
• Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson,The Fighter
• Christopher Nolan, Inception
• Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
• David Seidler, The King’s Speech

(This isn't a surprise and I think the script is good, though I would have really liked for either Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg or Christopher Nolan to have won. I really would have liked Nolan to have been honored here since he was left out of the directing category.)

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
• Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
• Michael Arndt, Toy Story 3
• Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
• Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, Winter’s Bone

(Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This didn't come as a surprise - it was one of the surest awards heading into the night, but I'm so happy that the Academy honored smart, high-minded writing that celebrates smarts. Also, now Aaron Sorkin's daughter's guinea pig will give Sorkin some respect. So there's that...)

Best Supporting Actor

• Christian Bale, The Fighter
• John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
• Jeremy Renner, The Town
• Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
• Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

(We all knew this was going to happen. And it's well deserved. Still, I have to take a moment to bemoan the fact that Andrew Garfield wasn't even nominated. Bale still would have (and probably should have) won but Garfield could have, in my opinion, easily replaced either John Hawkes or Jeremy Renner as nominees. Both were good but neither impressed the way Garfield did.)

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams, The Fighter
• Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
• Melissa Leo, The Fighter
• Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
• Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

(Right choice. Simple as that.)

Best Actor

• Javier Bardem, Biutiful
• Jeff Bridges, True Grit
• Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
• Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
• James Franco, 127 Hours

(Like the Supporting Actor Category, this wasn't a surprise and is definitely a good choice. This was a tough category, with truly fantastic performances from Firth, Eisenberg and Franco. But like the Supporting Actor Category, I'll lament, once again, the outrageousness of Ryan Gosling being left out of this category. I haven't seen Biutiful so I have no idea of Bardem's performance; I have seen True Grit, though, and as much as I love "The Dude," perhaps that slot would have been better filled by Gosling.)

Best Actress

• Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
• Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
• Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
• Natalie Portman, Black Swan
• Michelle WIlliams, Blue Valentine

(Great performance. Great choice. Great dress. Great speech. Nicely done, Natalie.)

Best Director

• Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
• David O. Russell, The Fighter
• Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
• David Fincher, The Social Network
• Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit

(Nope. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Of those nominated, either David Fincher or Darren Aronofsky deserved this. Truly, Christopher Nolan deserved this for his incredible vision in Inception. In my opinion, there were some odd directing choices in The King's Speech and hooper shouldn't have won this over Fincher or Aronofsky. Boo.)

Best Picture

• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The Kids Are All Right
• The King’s Speech (winner)
• 127 Hours
• The Social Network
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit
• Winter’s Bone

(Well, dear readers, it shouldn't surprise you that I disagree with this one. The Social Network should have won. Each element was absolutely perfect and the film actually had something to say about the year, or at least era, it's representing at this year's awards. The King's Speech was good and inspiring, and I liked it just fine, but it says nothing of its time, which I think a Best Picture should do. But, I guess this just further proves the power of Harvey Weinstein.)

And that's it. No more awards...that is, until this spring when theatre honors will begin to be handed out, culminating in June with the Tony awards! But regarding film, this was a pretty good year for film, with the majority of the ten Best Picture nominees actually being good (and successful!) movies. Cheers to designers, writers, directors and actors expressing themselves on celluloid!

City Ballet: Mirage, Plainspoken and Hallelujah Junction

This weekend marked the closing of New York City Ballet’s 2011 Winter season. On Friday night’s program were three pieces, all by contemporary choreographers. In fact, two of the three pieces are less than a year old! Playing at the State Theatre were Peter Martins’s Mirage, which premiered last spring as part of the Architecture of Dance celebration; Plainspoken, a new Benjamin Millepied work that premiered this August in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and a slightly older Peter Martins piece, Hallelujah Junction, set to a score by John Adams and which premiered at City Ballet in 2002 after enjoying its world premiere at the Royal Danish Ballet in March 2001.

First up was Mirage. You may remember that I saw and thoroughly enjoyed this last June, when it was having its premiere run. It was beautiful and exciting then and it is beautiful and exciting now. I was struck once again by the sense of time and its power over us. The two dancers who appear at the beginning, in this case Chase Finlay and Anthony Huxley, stand in front of the Santiago Calatrava-designed structure and mirror each other in a round sort of way. (One dancer begins the dance and then after an eight count, the other dancer begins the same dance, following the beginning, just eight counts behind.) Throughout Mirage, they act almost as gate keepers of time. Each time they appear, you get the sense that some time has gone by; the structure moves and shifts and the principal couple, Jared Angle and Jennie Somogyi, return to the stage to explore this new moment in time.

With the slightly scattered and discordant, though never cacophonous, score (in one moment is slips into a bar or two of a jazz riff!) and the mirror-in-the-round dancing, you get the sense that time is playing tricks on you; you’re not sure if what you’re hearing or seeing is actually happening - sort of like a mirage. On Friday, Angle and Somogyi were terrific, gracefully navigating through the mirage, dancing under the giant Calatrava structure and on top of the haunting shadows it created. Kudos also to Finlay and Huxley. As our time-keepers, they impressed throughout, particularly their extension when their minute hand (their leg) wound around the clock. Those are two very limber fellows!

Next was Plainspoken, the new Millepied ballet. Plainspoken seemed to be an exploration of relationship tensions; of the push and pull; of how we rely on one another to help us through and how we learn to help ourselves. Everything was messy - in a good, loose, casual, natural way. This made sense because Plainspoken is just that: it lacks a fancy set (it’s just a lit backdrop; the color keeps changing and how much of it we get to see varies); there are no fastidious costumes (while I didn’t like the purple and neon yellow combo the men wore, I loved the women’s outfits: purple boy shorts paired with a purple strapless smock which had a slit in the back - exactly what I’d like to lounge around in on my days off); and nary a move of fancy footwork. Just casual, emotional dancing. (At one point in the piece, I thought to myself, “This is so much more modern than anything I’ve seen at City Ballet. Much more Twyla Tharp than George Balanchine.”)

Dancing Plainspoken were just four couples, which, on Friday, were made up of seven principal dancers, Sterling Hyltin, Tyler Angle, Teresa Reichlen, Amar Ramasar, Jennie Somogyi, Janie Taylor and Sebastien Marcovici, and one corps de ballet member, Justin Peck. They all seemed to get it and worked wonderfully together. You won’t be surprised to know that I thrilled over Hyltin’s performance. She has this beautiful way about her, this slightly slinky wilt that is just so intimate - like she’s dancing and moving her hips the way you would when you’re home, dancing around your kitchen while making dinner. (What, you don’t do this?!?)

But what really impressed was the pas de deux between Taylor and Marcovici. It was beautiful and loving and mature. After their pas de deux, it dawned on me that each “movement” was a different stage in the relationship. Each couple or combination of dancers represented a different aspect of relationships and the tension that arises (and eventually settles itself) at that time. This pas de deux was also much different in pace than the rest, particularly the beginning and end, which seemed to echo one another. The preface and the epilogue, as they were, were intense and fast and showed the eight dancers messing with each other, in a way. Plainspoken was playful and also, as the title suggests, easy and understated. No bells or whistles. Just the dance.

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I saw After the Rain I mentioned that going in to see that, I was picturing a certain ballet? After watching After the Rain I realized that what I had been picturing was not, in fact, After the Rain but I readjusted and then thought it was Hallelujah Junction. Turns out, what I’ve been picturing all season isn’t entirely Hallelujah Junction, either. I correctly remembered the dueling pianos (what a fantastic sight to see!) but the way the stage is divided in the picture in my head was absent in Hallelujah Junction. I’m thinking now that perhaps what I’m picturing is Christopher Wheeldon’s Mercurial Movements, which I’ll see this spring. (Check back then to see if my memory is working - even a little bit - or if I’ve fantasized an entire ballet in my head!)

All that said, I liked Peter Martins’s Hallelujah Junction, in particular because of the great John Adams score and, on Friday, because of the terrific performances from Daniel Ulbricht and my favorites, Sterling Hyltin and Robert Fairchild. The way this is staged, as efficiently described in the repertory notes, “The two pianists, dimly lit and facing each other [upstage center], appear to hover in the darkness above the dancers.” These pianists expertly execute the score, which “centers on delayed repetition between the two pianos,” demanding intense dancing from the dancers - and those dancers readily oblige.

Parts of the dance are all about energy - a sprint - and on Friday were realized in perfect form by Ulbricht. He bounds out on stage and executes his steps with intensity and precision. On the other end of the spectrum, parts of the dance are about longing and are languid. These moments were brought to beautiful life by Hyltin and Fairchild. It is such a delicious treat to watch these two dance together. They both have expert technique but what thrills the most is that, individually, they both always look like they’re having fun dancing. So when they dance together, they truly ignite; their chemistry is fantastic. They move together like each is a flower that they’re simultaneously caring for and showing off. Getting the chance to watch Hyltin and Fairchild dance together to this amazing score just makes me want to shout, “Hallelujah (Junction)!”

Head over to nycballet.com for more information about any of these pieces and to book your tickets for the spring season, which begins in May.

Media Morsels 2.25.11

• American Idiot on Tour
  As announced a few weeks ago, American Idiot will hit the road this fall. Producers made the official announcement this week, though no dates or cities have been announced. But the exciting part is that producers are holding open casting call for all the roles for the touring production. According to the Playbill.com announcement, open calls will be held in LA on March 5; in Toronto on March 26; in Boston on April 9; and in Chicago on April 23. Thespians in their early to late 20s hoping to become an Idiot should visit the show's Facebook page, facebook.com/americanidiotbroadway to learn the specific locations and times of the calls. The show is still playing here in New York, so visit americanidiotonbroadway.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
  
  
• New Foo For You
  A brand new Foo Fighters song, "Rope," from their upcoming record, Wasting Light, is now available for streaming on foofighters.com! It has a delicious opening guitar lick and has a terrific loose feel to it. (Listen below!) The record will "drop" (as the kids say) on April 12 but you can pre-order it now. On March 1, "Rope" will be available as a single for digital download (and if you pre-order the album on iTunes, you'll receive a free download of "Rope"). This record is going to rock!!! (Visit the Foo site for the track listing.)
  

• The Oscars!
  
  Ladies and gents, the Oscars are this Sunday! Here are some things to help you prepare and have fun during the broadcast (with the most important part first):
• Oscar Cocktails (my favorite (based on the description!) is the James Franco shot)
  
• Your complete Oscar ballot
• Oscar Bingo
• Oscar Odds
• Oscar Ballot Tabulating Procedure
• Oscar Presenters and Performers (including Ms. Reese Witherspoon and JTims!)
  
• Hosting Advice, from Judd Apatow to James Franco:
  

How Do You Host? with James Franco and Judd Apatow from James Franco

• Things to Ruin
  Dear Readers, I've gushed before about Joe Iconis and his merry band of badassians but I'll gush again because they're about to cause a beautiful ruckus at Le Poisson Rouge here in New York. Things to Ruin, which previously played at Ars Nova (by the way, did you know Jesse Eisenberg wore his own Ars Nova shirt in The Social Network?) and Second Stage Theatre, is back! In celebration of the release of the original cast recording (order it now at sh-k-boom.com) of these honest, raw and rocking songs, the gang is getting together to blow the roof off of this downtown venue. This is a limited, four-show engagement, with the first show this Monday night at 9:30. These shows will be legendary so book your tickets now! (Update: Check out this awesome video of the song "Head Shot.")
  

• Spirit Awards
  While the Oscars are on Sunday, don't forget that the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which honor films created on a very limited budget, will be presented the night before in a laid back ceremony hosted by snark-master Joel McHale. The ceremony will be broadcast on the IFC channel so tune in to find out if Black Swan will take down (the undeserving) Winter's Bone. Plus, Rent's original Mimi, Daphne Rubin-Vega, is up for an award. You have to tune in! (Here, IndieWire readers make their picks.)
  
  
• Spiderman Smackdown
  Writer Justin Moran is launching Spiderman Smackdown, "a guerrilla theatre project to write, rehearse and perform a fully realized musical based on the character Spider-man in under 30 days with a budget of $0." Naturally, this will open one day before Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (which recently brought on a consultant and which, rumors assert, may delay its opening once again). Interesting challenge - which do you think will be better? (Late this week, we learned that a third Spidey will swing into New York! Has Spidey jumped the shark?)
  
  In other Spider-Man news, the cast of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark will perform on Dave Letterman next week, on Tuesday, March 1. Tune in for your first look at the spectacle.
  
  
• Catch Me on Broadway
  Broadwayworld.com is offering readers a series of backstage vlogs from the upcoming Catch Me if You Can. This first video, "hosted" by Kerry Butler (who makes me cry every time I hear her sing "Fly, Fly Away") introduces us to some of the cast, including leading man Aaron Tveit.
  

• Rent
  After many more than 525,600 minutes off the New York boards, Rent will return to New York this summer. The Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning seminal Jonathan Larson musical will call off-Broadway's New World Stages home, with previews beginning July 14 in anticipation of an August 11 opening. No details on how this production will differ from the original (if at all); also no casting announcement or on-sale dates, but I'll definitely keep you posted!
  
  
• Dig This
• The Drama Desk Awards will be broadcast on Ovation this June. (Awards will honor excellence on and off-Broadway in the 2010-2011 season.)
• Dig these photos of the cast of Arcadia, including the boyishly good looking Billy Crudup, the handsome and talented Raul Esparza and Grace Gummer, who looks just like her sister, Mamie, and mother, Ms. Meryl Streep.
  
• Pee-wee on Broadway is coming to HBO on March 19. Check out this trailer.