There was so much hype surrounding the decision to give hosting duties to Anne Hathaway and James Franco for this year’s Academy Awards. It was a bold decision by the Academy. I thought they were a good pairing–the eccentric indie actor and the talented yet safe movie darling. The previews were hilarious and I was excited and ready to laugh my socks off.
Unfortunately this year’s Oscars underwhelmed me. Franco acted like a distracted kid brother the whole time who couldn’t really be bothered to be there. Hathaway looked like she was struggling to keep the show from sinking by acting overly excited and giggly. I feel a little bad for her. It’s hard to do your best when you’re pulling all the weight. I kept hoping it would get better, but it just ended up getting worse.
But looking back, it’s not much of a surprise that this year’s Oscars was a bust. In an interview with the Associated Press Franco foreshadowed his “too cool” hipster attitude.“I have no desire to make my mark on the hosting gig,” said Franco. “I have no need to etch my lines into there. I feel fairly confident that I’ll be able to deliver whatever they give me.”
To both of their credit, the beginning montage made me giggle a little.
I’m sure you all know who won, but in case you don’t here’s the rundown:
BEST PICTURE
The King’s Speech
BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
BEST ACTRESS
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
BEST DIRECTOR
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
BEST SONG
“We Belong Together,” Toy Story 3, Randy Newman
BEST EDITING
The Social Network, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
God of Love, Luke Matheny
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Strangers No More, Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood
BEST MAKEUP
The Wolfman, Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
BEST SOUND EDITING
Inception, Richard King
BEST SOUND MIXING
Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, and Ed Novick
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In a Better World (Denmark)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The King’s Speech, Screenplay by David Seidler
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Social Network, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Toy Story 3
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Inception, Wally Pfister
BEST ART DIRECTION
Alice in Wonderland, Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
SL
