The following are excerpts from our staff roundtable over The Oscars highs and lows.
Sunday night (live)
J Alan Sharrer: Some iffy camera work there. This is a pretty brutal monologue.
Chris Utley: LOVE IT!
Alan: This scrolling thing makes the presentation look like Pop Up Video.
Darrel Manson: My picks for the first two came through….
Alan: I expect you to be like Steph Curry with these things, Darrel. [smile]
Darrel: I’m usually awful at picking winners. Or perhaps the AMPAS is bad at picking the best.
Alan: At least the orchestra is in the building…
Chris: Half of my party thought it was gonna be Kate [Winslet, for Supporting Actress].
Alan: Nah. Fassbender way overshadowed her in that film.
Jacob: He did overshadow her. Hateful Eight and Spotlight didn’t give those women enough to do. It was a three-way race.
Jacob: Fassbender and Cranston both deserve the Oscar Leo will get. They did more than grunt. Leo didn’t appreciate the line about how he gets a good role every year.
Alan: Mad Max – one win . . .”What another lovely day . . .”
Chris: Booo!
Jacob: Yesssss! Best movie you saw last year [laughing].
Chris: Uh…NO.
Alan: Mad Max – 2 and counting . . .
Jacob Sahms [9:25]: Leto shoulda come as the Joker.
Chris: This is gonna be a long night.
Alan: There’s a trifecta for Mad Max!
Jacob: Yeah but they won’t win the big stuff. It’s like consolation.
Chris: They will win all the tech.
Alan: There’s a BEAR! And…another bear? The Revenant gets one. It won’t be a shutout . . . [smiles]
Steve Norton [finally showing up]: What does Roger Deakins have to do to win an Oscar?
Alan: Change his name?
Alan: 5 wins for Mad Max. And then a drop off in the sound…
Arnaldo Reyes [finally showing up]: Is something going on tonight?
Alan: UFC.
Chris: A bunch of Hugh Jackman’s kinsmen are winning Oscars.
Arnaldo: As long as it’s not Hugh [grins]. Another award for Chris’ fav film.
Alan: In the half-dozen size!
Jacob: It’s gonna be sad when they win everything but the majors.
Chris: It’s all tech so whatevs.
Jacob: Not like Leo acted much… The water really was that cold [laughs].
Shouldn’t Straight Outta Compton have won sound mixing??
Alan: Another bear! It’s going to win something before the night is up.
Ooh! A surprise!
Jacob: They’re saving up. Don’t want to be able to say they ignored the best movie of 2015 but Inarritu is the cool kid so he’s gotta get his.
Alan [10:06]: Making the actors pay for GS Cookies? Yeah!
Jacob: Shaun was better than Inside/Out. Docter needs to talk to someone about his childhood.
Alan: And my house just cheered! But I think Darrel said Anomalisa was better.
Chris: Booing Jacob! Inside Out was AMAZING! One of Pixar’s best.
Alan: I’m dismayed.
Jacob: Not funny.
Chris: Exactly.
Jason Norton [finally showing up]: Shaun got rooked.
Alan: Bring back Wallace and Gromit!
Jacob [10:17]: Bridge of Spies is the only one of the films that didn’t feel like a real BP candidate for me.
Chris: You know I disagree. Bridge of Spies was in the old fart academy voter’s wheelhouse.
Jacob: But Bridge of Spies, Spotlight, Big Short, and Mad Max all had something to say. Bridge of Spies was an old-hearted film.
Alan [10:28]: Come on, Stallone . . .
Chris: Rooting for Rylance.
Jacob: I’m rooting for Mike B Jordan. Oh wait…..
Alan: Go, Chris, go! Rylance wins!
Chris: Absolutely deserved.
Jacob: So humble. For the win right there.
Steve: Deserved but should’ve been Stallone
Darrel: LOUIE CK!
Alan: Mad Max wins again!
Jacob: We’ve moved into the “Darrel only” portion of the awards…[Smiles]
Alan [10:46]: The overall production has been less than stellar.
Chris: This is the funniest hosting gig ever!
Jacob: I think Rock has killed it; less impressed by lines written for others.
Darrel: I always liked Bob Hope.
Jacob: I’m not old enough for that [laughs]. The music choices have been strange.
Alan: Lady Gaga! She makes it look effortless — Freddy Mercury-like.
Chris: They’re pulling her towards the center so she can get those Adele numbers on her next album.
Chris: This is like when Common/John Legend did Glory last year.
Chris: Mark the day I say this. Cause it will never be said again. GAGA WAS ROBBED!
Alan: YES. A thousand times yes.
Alan [11:36]: Director first . . . Iñárritu gets three in a row! I love that he outtalked the music!
Alan: Actress next . . . Larson hopefully wins.
Chris Utley: TOO! MANY!! COMMERCIALS!!!!!!!
Alan: Actor — all five are fine choices.
Chris: At last. It was his time.
Alan: Yup. He deserved it (and the bear too).
Climate change talk . . .
Jason: Get him off the stage. I fell asleep in The Revenant.
Alan [12:00 am]: Spotlight gets it!
Monday morning
Steve [9:37am]: I thought Gaga was robbed, yeah… but her song really wasn’t that great. Great message. Bad vocals. Also, did NO ONE catch the shout out to TIFF during Larson’s speech? You’re welcome, America. Most entertaining hosting gig since Jackman in 2009, I thought. Good for Vikander as well. She likely won due to her body of work last year. I’m still mad about Stallone though. [laughs]
Chris [12:13 pm] :Rylance got my loudest cheer of the night!
Steve: Yeah. He deserved it…. but….I feel bad for Stallone. He’ll never be back
Rylance likely will.
Jason: So Leo tells me they tramped around the world over and over trying to find a cold enough location. Map out that carbon footprint then tell me how you’re helping the problem.
Jacob [1:46] : I don’t get hating on max. Who can’t see that telling the story visually without having to verbally tell us every plot point is genius? And from a story perspective: 90% of stories say blow it all up and start over while the message of max is that there is something we need to fight to redeem
Chris: Jacob…it’s over.
Jacob: He grunted for too long.
Chris: LET IT GOOOO! LET IT GOOOOOOOOO!
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