Whether you love them or you hate them, you really can't ignore them: The 82nd Annual Academy Awards were last night, the event emitting the amount of buzz you'd expect from such a celebrity confab.
Maybe Kanye's gaff at the MTV awards freed everyone up, because this year, stars really seemed to capitalize on their opportunities to say or do exactly what was on their minds, much to the amusement and bewilderment of those watching.
So whether you couldn't keep your eyes off of them -- or you couldn't stomach the four-hour marathon ceremony but still want to hear about what happened -- here are 10 of the most notable moments of the evening.
10. Live music is a waste of time, but bizarre choreographed dances are a great idea.
This year, the Academy decided not to offer live performances of the Best Original Song nominees. Word on the street was this had a lot to do with the amount of time they took up. Evidently, in their quest to make the Oscars more palatable, and more widely watched, the Academy thought that this was one place it could cut back and people wouldn't be too upset. It didn't, however, cut out a medley of orchestral music nominated for Best Original Score. There were choreographed dances for the pieces, and they were mostly just odd -- even for someone with a high tolerance and general appreciation for modern dance and abstract performance art. The movements were generally sharp and featured quasi-break dancing, robotronic looking moves. Weird.
9. Jeff Bridges' introduction and acceptance speech
Not only was his endearing performance in Crazy Heart touching enough to win the Best Actor award, but Bridges almost couldn't contain his emotions when Michelle Pfeiffer did his introduction, and then also during his acceptance speech. He began to tear up when Pfeiffer was talking to him, and once he won, he gave a shout-out to T Bone Burnett and friends and family. He got so excited at one point that he screamed, "Yeaaaah!" It was a bit reminiscent of a Howard Dean moment. But in a good way.
8. Text "Dolphin" to 44144
Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens took home the award for Best Documentary Feature for The Cove, a film about the abuse of dolphins and the environment in a cove located in a town called Taiji along the Japanese coast. When the pair came up to accept the award, one of them held up a sign which read, "Text Dolphin to 44144." No one was entirely clear what results texting the word would yield. Nonetheless, we were encouraged to do so. (And it should be noted that the film beat out several documentaries that focus on human rights abuses.)
7. Ungrateful costume designers
Sandy Powell won the award for Best Costume Design for her work in Young Victoria. She began her acceptance speech by saying, "I already have two of these." Her point was supposedly that there were others deserving of the award and that she shouldn't have gotten it. But, come on, she still took it. Humble? Classy? I think not. She should've pulled a Patton.
6. Meryl Streep is selfish?
Actor Stanley Tucci, who played opposite Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia, jokingly introduced Streep by saying that she has, "A certain selfishness that is unseemly," for having so many Academy Award nominations. It sounds harsh and uncouth, but it was actually comedic and cute.
5. Meryl Streep is a good kisser?
Sandra Bullock seems to think so. When she beat out Streep for Best Actress, Bullock flooded her with a slew of compliments, including, "You are such a good kisser." It was a bit awkward, especially for those who didn't know that Bullock kissed her when they tied for Best Actress at the Critics' Choice Awards.
4. Ben Stiller speaks the language of native Pandorans
The man dressed like an Avatar to present the award for best makeup. He opened his introductory speech in that all-too-familiar foreign tongue, and made a crack about attaching his hair to something on James Cameron. Right before he did the actual presenting of the award, he remarked, "I will try to stand as far away from [the winners as possible] so as not to demean their triumph." Good call, buddy.
3. Jeff Spicoli presented an award
Honestly, what was Sean Penn on? He made almost no sense, stuttered, and just left everyone wondering, "What the hell was that about?" His nearly incoherent babbling was unexpected, and he seemed more like Jeff Spicoli than an Oscar presenter.
2. Farrah Fawcett left out of "In Memoriam" segment
Michael Jackson made the cut (with resounding applause) but somehow Fawcett didn't. This was just plain insulting. What the hell happened, Academy? It defended its decision, saying that you can't pay tribute to everyone. My thought? That blows. Everyone was expecting to see her on there. They managed to put up PR people and "executives." This was just in poor taste.
1. Best Picture acceptance speech pays mention to Hazmat workers
When Kathryn Bigelow accepted the award for Best Picture for her film, The Hurt Locker, she thanked all those in uniform who serve the country - not just the soldiers. She even made special mention of the Hazmat workers. I have to believe that this is the first time that Hazmat was mentioned at the Oscars. Interesting choice for an interesting night.
