The 81st Academy Awards: The Live-Blog

Just like I did for the Grammys a few weeks ago, I will be live-blogging the Oscars!

Starting at 8 PM EST, I will be covering everything from the winners, the losers, the special secret presenters, the clothes, Hugh Jackman's anticipated MC duties, and everything else in between.

Don't forget to press F5 every few minutes to see what's going on!

7:57 PM - Hugh Jackman just gave Barbara Walters a lap dance. Is this what we should expect at the Oscars?

8:27 PM - About to begin....

8:30 PM - And it begins...(please don't go overtime lol)

8:31 PM - First note of the night: the stage looks spectacular.  


8:32 PM - The first non-comic host, Hugh Jackman, doing pretty good

8:33 PM - I cannot believe what the hell I'm watching. (Love Kate Winslet's face).
So much for the recession, huh? Actually looking at the Batbike, I take that back lol

8:35 PM - Jackman/Hathaway duet = the most amazingly random thing I have ever seen on an Oscar broadcast.

8:37 PM - What the hell does people in metallic outfits have to do with The Reader?
Love how much fun Hugh Jackman is having on stage...

8:38 PM - This is the best opening number I have ever seen on an Oscar telecast! Who needs comedians?

8:40 PM - LMAO at Mickey Rourke's filling gleaming in the light
Brangelina joke....meh...

8:41 pm - Oooooo....Steroid joke with Meryl Streep...funny!
Like the previous Oscar winner montage

8:42 PM - And the first surprise guests are... previous winners!

8:43 PM - All of the words are nice, but its a bit long-winded, to be honest (seeing Viola Davis almost cry was nice). Love Whoopi-Sister Act reference!

So...this is a tribute to the new winners....they couldn't cut to a minute?

8:49 pm - And the winner is... Penelope Cruz!?! First upset of the night! Congrats to Penelope (so, two of Tom Cruise's exes have won Oscars after he dumped them, and he hasn't won period. Hmm....)

8:53 pm - OK, this is kinda stupid, although the pairing of Tina Fey and Steve Martin is ace.

8:54 pm - How could they make a Scientology joke, and not have Tom Cruise in the audience???? That's not fair! And the award for Best Original Screenplay goes to ....Milk

8:58 pm - Wonderful speech from Milk's screenwriter, and first Prop 8 mention of the night.

8:59 pm - Steve Martin and Tina Fey are so funny...the award for Best Adapted Screenplay goes to... Slumdog Millionaire!

9:03 pm - Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black....please cut to Brangelina.....and Jack Black made a Pixar joke (sorry Disney, lol)

9:04 pm - WALL-E FINDS AN OSCAR...and the 2008 Yearbook for animated films (recession my butt!)

9:06 pm - That was really cute...and the Oscar goes to Wall-E for Best Animated Feature!

9:08 pm - Brangelina! And they're smiling (even Angelina! No death stares for Aniston tonight, huh?) And the award for Best Short Animated Film goes to....La Maison En Petits Cubes

9:10 pm - Did he just say "Domo Origato, Mr. Roboto"???


9:15 pm - Can we get some more of the song and dance, please?

Sarah Jessica looks amazing, the set behind her...not so much...

And the winner for Best Art Direction goes to...The Curious Case of Benjamin Button! (Why do I feel like The Dark Knight is getting snubbed, save for Heath Ledger?)

And the winner for Best Costume Design goes to...The Duchess!

This is a seriously boring segment...And the award for Best Makeup goes to....The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. No surprise there.

Somewhere, millions of Twilight fans have gone completely apeshit over Robert Pattinson.

The Romance of 2008, featuring too many Twilight and High School Musical references. Way too many! Love Wall-E though!

9:31 pm - I REALLY do not care how the movies are made, Hugh Jackman!

Ben Stiller impersonating Joaquin Phoenix is INSANELY hilarious!! If he raps, I will lose it!

And the award for Best Cinematography goes to...Slumdog Millionaire!

9:40 pm - Am I the only one thinking, "Why is Jessica Biel here? With an ugly dress to boot?" 

9:42 pm - Pineapple Express review the best of comedy...considering how stoned they are, I'm surprised they even knew what the Oscars were.

Seriously, what the hell am I watching right now?

Dear God, they want to make an Oscar into a bong? (Michael Phelps, stay away!!)

And the award for Best Short Film goes to...Speilzugland (Toyland)

9:52 pm - According to Hugh Jackman, the true change coming in the world is Mammia Mia! and its gross in the UK...ok....

Song and dance number!!


BEYONCE!!!!! IN RED!!!!

Beyonce and Hugh Jackman doing Sandy and Danny from Grease....this is really fun.

9:55 pm - Jay-Z must be steaming right now! 

Are you serious!!!! How the hell do they have High School Musical here?? It's the Oscars!!

So that's why Hugh Jackman brought up Mamma Mia!

That was the most ridiculous thing the Oscars have ever been put together. It was also the most interesting thing of the night. Go figure.

10:01 pm - Time for Best Supporting Actor, which WILL go to Heath Ledger.

And the past winners/presenters are... Christopher Walken, Kevin Kline, Cuba Gooding Jr. Alan Arkin, and Joel Gray.

Again, although nice, the past winner/presenter tributes to the present nominees are kind of unnecessary and frivolous.

Cuba Gooding Jr., the only black presenter up there, talking about RBJ's blackface? Stroke of genius or slightly racist dig? Still funny.

And the winner is... Heath Ledger!!! Going to accept the award his father, his mother, and his sister. Prepare your Kleenex, folks.

Even Brad Pitt's tearing up. So is Angelina. So is everybody.

Congrats to Heath Ledger...may you continue to rest in peace.

10:11 pm - Doc montage...time for a snack...

Bill Maher presenting Best Documentary Feature...why wasn't Religilous nominated for an Oscar?

The winner is...  Man On Wire

Magic tricks on the Oscars? That's new. Balancing an Oscar on your chin? That's newer, and stupid.

And the winner for Best Short Documentary Feature is... Smile Pinki

The best in Action...lots of The Dark Knight clips...is this to make up for the Best Picture snub?


Speaking of snubbed, here is Will Smith!

And Curious Case of Benjamin Button wins Best Visual Effects.

Best Sound Editing goes to...The Dark Knight! (Seriously, how do you vote for these awards???)

Now for Sound Mixing.... (can't they give these awards away during a pre-show or something, a la the Grammys?) which goes to Slumdog Millionaire!

One more award in this painfully moring segment (thank God)...for Film Editing, which goes to...Slumdog Millionaire. Question: since the film received 10 nominations, why the hell are the people all the way in the back?

10:41 pm - The Jean Hersholt Award, presented by Eddie Murphy, given to Jerry Lewis (in case you don't know who he is, he is the host of theose Labor Day telethons). Another random cut to Sophia Loren (in case you don't know who she is, she's an Italian actress).

10:45 pm - His looks and speaks well for someone who's 82 years old!

10:50 pm - Time for the Oscar music, without Hugh Jackman unfortunately. I didn't know that even the Orchestra director is a nominee!

The Slumdog score is spectacular, love the Western/Eastern fusion.

10:53 pm - Alicia Keys and Zac Efron. You decide who shouldn't be there. (Hint: Alicia looks stunning).

And Best Original Score goes to Slumdog!

And Best Original Song nominees (which is oddly sparse this year) perform. Two from Slumdog and one from Wall-E

I'm loving the first Slumdog song.

So that's why John Legend was there, he's singing the Wall-E song, I think.

Here's the second Slumdog song. I thought M.I.A. was supposed to be performing. Nice ending with the songs together.

And the winner is... "Jai Ho" from Slumdog!

11:05 pm - Time for Foreign Language Film, which goes to Departures from Japan. Congrats, but it would be nice if he would stop shouting.

11:10 pm - Queen Latifah presents the Memoriam, while singing "I'll Be Seeing You" beautifully.

10:18 pm - YAY, no Academy President speech!

Reese makes a funny, lol. Her dress doesn't. It's kind of randim-looking. Anyway, she's presenting Best Director, and it goes to... Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire! He channels Tigger upon winning, for his kids. Awww. Gotta love truly excited winners.

11:24 pm - Time for Best Actress! And the past winner/presenters are...Sophia Loren (so that's why she's there), Shirley Macclaine, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, and Marion Cotilliard.

Please Academy, give Kate Winslet the freakin' Oscar this time!

Honestly, I feel like the added this segment just to make the nominees cry (see Viola, Ann, and Kate).

Sophia, Sophia, Sophia, Sophia, there's too much to say, so I won't say anything.

And the winner is... KATE WINSLET!!!!

Time for the best speech of the night....

Seriously, who the hell doesn't love Kate Winslet at this point?

I love it when she mentions other actresses (smartly, she doesn't try and list their names)

11:36 pm - Now for Best Actor...

And the past winner/presenters are... Robert DeNiro, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins, Adrien Brody, Michael Douglas!

Robert DeNiro: "How did Sean Penn get all of those roles as straight men?" Line of the night. That plus his "gently reasons with the paparazzi" quip equals brilliance.

Mickey Rourke and Robert Pattinson in the same shot? Foreshadowing, maybe?

And the winner is... Sean Penn! (does anyone think that Mickey was robbed?)

"You Commie homo-loving sons of guns" - Senn Penn. Second best line of the night.

Penn bashes Prop 8 supporters and honors Mickey Rourke. Second best speech of the night. Love ya Kate.

11:47 pm - Best Picture time! Actually, time for a montage.

Loving the mixing of past and present, and the past is relevant to the current films.

And the winner is...Slumdog Millionaire! (I knew that Benjamin Button's 13 nods were crap, no offense Brad Pitt)

Raise your hand if you're going to see Slumdog at some point in the coming week.

Well, its over/ There were some shocks, some guarantees, and lots of love for Slumdog.

Good night, everybody!

Grammys 2009: The Live-Blog!

I will be doing my first live blog tonight of the 2009 Grammys, so you'll get to see my opinion of the telecast, unfiltered (well, a bit, maybe).

Starting now!

8:03 - U2 is performing new single "Get On Your Boots". I don't get why the song didn't do well. It's good, and another great performance.

8: 04 - WHITNEY, WHITNEY, WHITNEY, WHITNEY!! LOOKING AMAZING! Presenting Best R&B Album

8:07 - And the winner is.. Jennifer Hudson!! First shock of the night!

8:08 - Why is The Rock here? Yea, "I Kissed a Girl" jokes? Um, no.

8:10 - PLEASE STOP JOHNSON!!

8:10 - Justin replacing Chris?

8:12 - First performance of the night: Keith Urban, Boyz II Men, Justin Timberlake, and Al Green performing "Let's Stay Together". Pretty good combo, producers, But why is Justin there? New album soon?

COMMERCIAL NOTES - I loved that they played "You Pulled Me Through" during Jennifer's win. Favorite song on the album. The Rock was pointless. JT should stick to singing. Whitney looked amazing, sounded like she had gravel for breakfast.

8:21 - Coldplay up for performance... performing Lost? (the slow version). What happened to the current single, Lovers in Japan, or even Viva La Vida?

8:23 - Jay-Z with Chris Martin? Another surprise. Then again, he was on the EP.

8:24 - Nvm. Here's "Viva La Vida". BTW, what's with Chris Martin's jackets? Very interesting.

8:27 - Carrie Underwood's up now, playing my favorite role for her: sexpot! Go mini-Shania! "Last Name" should've been a bigger hit!

8: 30 - Totally shallow comment: I liked what she was wearing last year more. She looks better in black lol!

8:32 - BTW, congrats to Gene Autry and Brenda Lee for their Lifetime Acheivement awards
Sheryl Crow and Leann Rimes announce Best Country Group Performance to... Sugarland!

8:41 - Duffy and Al Green? Fantastic pairing...presenting Song of the Year... and dueting on "Bridge Over Troubled Water"? Awesome

8:42 - And the winner is... Coldplay for "Viva La Vida". I was expecting Adele, but congrats to them. Maybe now they'll look like they sold millions of copies.

Awesome moment: Coldplay apologizing to Paul McCartney for jacking their outfits lol

8:44 - Why is Kid Rock performing???

8:45 - He went from a good song to the most annoying record of 2008. Thanks producers.

8:47 - They gave THIS guy a slot, but not Leona? They should just admit they hate the girl.

8:55 - Miley and Taylor? No thanks. Both proved they can't sing live well. BTW, two Jonas exes, on the same stage? I'm betting that Nick and Joe are adjusting their ties right about now.

8:57 - So, they're presenting Best Pop Collaboration... I wonder who wins... Poor Rihanna....not so much for Chris...and the award goes to Alison Krauss and Robert Plant for "Rich Woman". So, no awkwardness for Rihanna and Chris...

9:00 - My girl J-Hud's performing, my favorite song "You Pulled Me Through". Sing it girl! She looks spectacular too! This should've been the second single, in memory of her lost family.

9:02 - SING IT!!! Jennifer breaks down at the end, my heart tugs, and she gets a very deserving standing ovation. Watch her album skyrocket this week.

9:09 - Oh no....the Jonas Brothers...

9:10 - Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder, what sacrilege is this?????? At least Stevie sounds good....BUT WHY??????? This is wrong!!!

9:12 - This is a joke, right? Jonas doing "Superstitious"? Kill me now....and they are killing the song...

9:14 - A reunited Blink-182? Very good (and I'm happy for Travis Barker) presenting Best Rock Album...and the winner is... Coldplay...no surprise.

9:22 - Screech sex tape jokes? Awesome
Katy Perry's performing....cool

9:24 - Fruity Katy? Very clever...(if you don't get it...sad for you). Good vocals so far...and I just noticed the banana...

9:27 - Time for Kanye and Estelle now...speaking of Estelle...I didn't know they made silver-sparkly garbage bags! Cool performance, though.

9:29 - I just remembered how much I liked this song. Now, times for Best New Artist...please don't be the Jonas Brothers...and its Adele!!!! Yay!!! She looks so happy....and she's crying...OMG she just made a face when she said she loved the Jonas Brothers!!! She really does win!

COMMERCIAL NOTES: Who does Kanye think he is, Lionel Richie? Get a haircut!

9:36 - Morgan Freeman? Hmm... Kenny Chesney performs now....time for snack break....

9:39 - Not a huge country fan, but Kenny's doing really good.

9:40 - P. Diddy, Herbie Hancock, and Natalie Cole? Presenting Record of the Year...It's gonna be Coldplay...love that Leona's setting next to Keyshia...the winner is Alison Krauss and Robert Plant for "Please Read The Letter"....ok, sure...whatever

You know what, no offense to "Please Read The Letter", but what the hell? Leona, Katy, Jazmine all get snubbed, and they win ROTY? Grammys = EPIC FAIL

COMMERCIAL NOTES - I completely had a deja vu moment...when Herbie Hancock won AOTY....

9:48 - Queen Latifah presents Dean Martin with Lifetime Achievement...and the biggest performance of the night..."no one on the corner has swagga like us". I love that uber-preggers M.IA. is performing. She looks like she's gonna bust, now.

9:50 - Seriously Kanye, haircut, today. "The Rap Pack"? Everybody does look fresh, Lil' Wayne's scarf is weird though...M.I.A going into labor would be the highlight of the night. Unlikely though.

9:55 - Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl....

Ignorant question - Who the hell is Alison Krauss, who I just found out has won 21 Grammys???

9:57 - Spirited, although unnecessary, performance of "I Saw Here Standing There" BTW. Macca still has it.

9:59 - Facebook quote of the day: "M.I.A. looks like Yoshi for Mario". True talk.

10:04 - Jack Black and a guy I've never heard of, presenting Best Male Pop Vocal
And the winner is... John Mayer?!?! WTF!! Complete and utter shock.

10:07 - Jay Mohr and LL Cool J? Weird combo....Sugarland and Adele combo....weirder combo

10:08 - I may need to trek over to iTunes and find Sugarland's "Stay"

10:10 - I just learned Jennifer Nettles was the girl part of Sugarland (she performed at the Obama HBO concert)....Adele's on...love that they jazzed it up a bit.

10:14 - Adele and Sugarland duet on "Chasing Pavements"...nothing special, honestly.

10:19 - Gywneth Paltrow presents Radiohead...wonder how Chris feels about that. Radiohead totally has my interest right now.

10:21 - I'm totally iTunes-ing "15 Steps" tomorrow, this song is so weirdly hot and insanely cool.

10:28 - Samuel L. Jackson, introducing T.I. and J.T. singing my favorite collaboration of the year "Dead and Gone". J.T. doesn't sound too hot.... Ignore that, he got better. Plus, he was forced to perform twice since Rihanna-beater Chris Brown couldn't make it...

10:31 - Just a thought, has there been a year where Justin HASN'T appeared on the Grammys?

10:35 - Time for a Prez of the Academy speech about charity...using Obama-speech...


10:38 - Smokey Robinson presents Four Tops with the Lifetime Achievement award...and they are performing with Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx! Surprise performance! Love spontaneous tributes!


10:41 - Sugar pie, honey bunch....love Motown!


10:47 - Sorry, can't look at Josh Groban without thinking about his Emmy crackheaded-ness. Time for Neil Diamond!


10:51 - Time for the Memoriam. May those who passed rest in peace... (love ya Eartha Kitt and Issac Hayes!)


10:54 - John Mayer, Keith Urban, and B.B. King perform... don't really know why, but it's good...


11:02 - Why is there no CSI: LA? Lil' Wayne and Robin Thicke?? Not very interesting...When he's no screaming, Lil' Wayne actually has a really smooth flow, and Robin Thicke certainly highlights that.

11:07 - Bringing in some New Orleans spirit here...lovin' it.

11:09 - T-Pain won a Grammy....he and Will.i.am present Best Rap Album...which Weezy has on lock....the winner is....Lil' Wayne. No way in HELL he was losing that!

11:18 - Time for the two people kicking the most ass, that many people who tuned in to see the Jonas Brothers have never heard of, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss!!

11:20 - I think I may need to trek to iTunes and check out "Rich Girl" by these two, its a very chill record.

11:23 - Holy crap! Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day went blond...and presenting Album of the Year...and the winner is...Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss....maybe she'll actually talk this time

11:26 - Well, the Grammys are over. I gotta say, this year was quite boring, predictable, and disappointing with how many robberies there were. Check back tomorrow for my full Grammy roundup..

11:27 - Stevie Wonder's closing out...his treat for performing with the freakin' Jonas Brothers. Now its over. Night everybody.

Live at the Olympics: Serbian Team Filing Protest Against Phelps

The Serbian team is currently in the Resolution Room as I type, filing a protest against the end of the 100 m butterfly race, which Michael Phelps won within this hour.

It appeared that Serbian team member Milorad Cavic was about to win the gold, but the touchpad on the wall recorded that Phelps indeed touched the wall before him, by 1/100th of a second.

Cavic's coach is currently contesting the results.

More news as it comes via NBC.

UPDATE: The Serbian protest against the 100m butterfly race has been denied, because of sufficient evidence proclaiming Phelps as the winer, according to Don Bloom, the chairman of the Technical Committee. Michael Phelps will retain his gold medal, while Cavic keeps his silver medal.