Oscar Tonight

Finally tonight we will be able to see who wins an Oscar and even when I’m not home I will try to watch them live, but where I am right now the broadcast is really late, so I’m taping it just in case is too boring and I fall asleep before its over.

Yep, this year I’m wondering if is going to be entertaining because following all the awards has spoiled for me the suspense for most categories. I do believe that Slumdog Millionaire will win and you already know what I think about this movie. The only good thing I could think about this movie is that the child actors will travel outside India for the first time to attend the ceremony in Los Angeles, which I do hope it will be a good experience for them but I do wonder with all the possible contrast from an India slum to the glitz of Hollywood… so, the last category of the night is boring!

The director. Hmm… The odds go to Danny Boyle and the only surprise will be if he does not win!

The best actress. Kate has to win. Saw again The Reader and gee, she truly deserves the award. I believe that the only other actress with possibilities is Meryl Streep. If other actress gets the award it will be a good surprise.

The best actor. Last night Mickey Rouke won and perhaps gave the best acceptance speech of the night; if he wins tonight I imagine that he will be less “expressive” which would be a true shame, but if he does not control himself there will be a lot of blip*s! The only other actor that has a possibility is Sean Penn, but the Academy is not really fond of him, so it will be a huge surprise if he wins.

Actress supporting role. Penelope got the Spirit award but I do wonder if the Academy members will give the Oscar to her… strong contenders are Marisa Tomei and perhaps Viola Davis. I’m really glad that this is the first major award of the night as here surprises could really happen and I’ll be able to watch it!

Actor supporting role. No surprises here Heath Ledger has and will get it. But many are “complaining” that no acceptance speech will happen… a true and upsetting surprise will be if he does not get it.

Adapted screenplay. Will be Slumdog Millionaire and a surprise will be if the scripter does not get it. Original Screenplay. This is a guess, most say that WALL-E has to get it, but I hope that Milk gets at least this Oscar as I believe that the movie deserves at least one honor tonight.

Best Documentary. I know that Man On Wire will win and I do believe that deserves the honor.

Foreign Language Film: I really hope that Waltz With Bashir becomes the first Oscar Israel ever gets because the film is truly extraordinary. But I know that the Academy is reluctant to give awards to animated features and on top, to semi documentary films with controversial themes… so, the Cannes top award winner, The Class, perhaps has better opportunities. Unfortunately I haven’t seen yet the movie, but I know that soon I’ll be able to watch it.

Another category that I look forward to watch in the ceremony is the song competition, but this year this category is full with controversy as producers decided to do a medley and gave very little time to each of the three songs nominated. The time was so small that Peter Gabriel declined to perform “Down to Earth”, so who knows what we finally will be able to see. The only sure thing is that this category will look more like a Bollywood ceremony with two songs from Slumdog Millionaire competing, which by the way I really do not mind as music/song/dancing is one of the things that I love most of Bollywood movies.

To be honest the other categories are not that exciting in the award ceremony and I really hope that producers found an entertaining way to fill the time with a host (Hugh Jackman) that is not a comic by trade, clips from movies that are not boring, a nice salute to those Academy members that passed away this year and what else? No idea. As you can see I have no big expectations for tonight which is not as bad as it seems as will be quite easy to please me with an entertaining show… (lol!).

If you feel like reading stuff from the internet about expectations for tonight I suggest you read Nikki Finke’s Deadline Daily as with her usual “acid” perspective tells what this year broadcast could mean to Americans. The article is here. I believe that we in the rest of the world are a little more excited that the Oscars are not ONLY American, but definitively there are some other comments that I do agree with her and others that made me think that perhaps now that geographical barriers had been torn down by the web, someone should be thinking of producing an award show that honors World Cinema and leave the Oscars to Americans that somehow care more about local box office success, show ratings and Americans viewership… what do you think???

So, let’s see what happens tonight and I hope I won’t fall asleep with a not entertaining show…