Final Answers

Here are the Final Answers from Oscar night (see below), the ones in red were the ones I missed. 18 of 24 was pretty good, but I have done better in previous years. The best actor race was the closest, and I went with the underdog Rourke, which gave me 11 of 12 in what I consider to be the major categories.

Also of note is that all 8 of my picks for Slumdog Millionaire were winners.

It turns out that Roger Ebert is still alive, and I tied him in the "Outguess Ebert" competition. Since I technically did not "outguess" him, I lose, kind of like playing a game in a casino where the dealer or "the house" wins a tie or "a push". You should always avoid these types of games.

The online contest at Oscar.com was very enjoyable. Very enjoyable if you like technical difficulties like servers crashing and pick selections erasing into thin cyberspace. Next year I will stick to watching the show on the big screen in HDTV with some tasty snacks and the laptop computer safely powered down.

Here are some highlights of the show that I remember, that do not involve cursing at the fine people at Oscar.com, who will be appearing at an unemployment line near you:

Philippe Petit, the subject of the documentary "Man on Wire," balances an Oscar on his chin after the film won for best documentary feature. (It is unprecedented that an oscar highlight involves a non-Michael Moore documentary feature.)

Senn Penn's acceptance of the best actor award..."You commie homo-loving sons of guns", I take offense to this insult of Hollywood types. They are not commies.

Kunio Kato, accepting the award for Best Foriegn Film for Japan's "Departures" had two memorable quotes...Domo arrigato, Mr. Robato from the Styx song and Sank yu, Sank yu, Sank yu. (from Titanic?)

Hugh Jackman looked deep into Kate Winslet's eyes and sang the words every girl hopes to hear: "I would swim a sea of human excrement for you"

Jackman filled the hosting role in much the same fashion as Billy Crystal with an opening number that highlighted many of the best-picture nominees in a song-and-dance routine.

Jackman did a techno number claiming he hadn't seen "The Reader," which was somewhat of a controversial pick over "Dark Knight."

"How come comic-book movies never get nominated," Jackman sang in praise of "Dark Knight." "How can a billion dollars not be sophisticated?"

36.3 million people tuned in to watch the show, which I am sure you all remember was the exact number I predicted my "Two Weeks Until Oscar" post. I will stop typing while you scroll down and check.

OK, my exact words were "approximately 36 million." There is no push here, no "you missed it by 300,000", I got that one exactly right. You are not going to go full Ebert on me, are you? "Never go full Ebert."

The last reference was to a Tropic Thunder quote that I had to modify, so I would not upset my dozens of loyal readers.

My comments and/or predictions on the presenters were clearly wrong. It was a secret. How was I to know that everyone in Hollywood would be a presenter, as they brought them out in groups of 5, one for each nominee. Everyone except George Clooney, who was meeting with President Barack Obama, finalizing his diplomatic mission as Ambassador to Darfur. I didn't see that one coming.


Best...
-Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
-Lead Actor: Sean Penn (Milk)
-Lead Actress: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
-Supporting Actor: Heath Legder (The Dark Knight)
-Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
-Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
-Original Screenplay: Milk
-Adapted Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire
-Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire
-Original Song: “Jai Ho” (from Slumdog Millionaire)
-Animated Feature: Wall-E
-Documentary Feature: Man on Wire

-Foreign Language Film: Departures (Japan)
-Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-Costume Design: The Duchess
-Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
-Film Editing: Slumdog Millionaire
-Sound Editing: The Dark Knight
-Sound Mixing: Slumdog Millionaire
-Make-Up: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-Live Action Short Film: Spielzeugland (Toyland)
- Animated Short Film: LaMaison en Petits Cubes
-Documentary Short: Smile Pinki