I’ll let you in on a little secret: I generally hate awards shows. I think they’re overdone glitzfests designed to show off people’s egos. Having said that, I am glad the Oscars went on with the show this year, if only for tradition’s sake (the writer’s strike would have seriously hurt the ceremony, with no scripted banter and actors refusing to cross picket lines), and I do like to see people rewarded for their hard work. But sorry, I don’t make my viewing choices based on who won what, and I couldn’t care less who wore what designer gown.
Having gotten all that out of the way, here are some of the winners at last night’s Academy Awards:
Best Motion Picture: “No Country for Old Men.”
Lead Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood.”
Lead Actress: Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose.”
Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men.”
Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton.”
Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men.”
Foreign Language Film: “The Counterfeiters,” Austria.
Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men.”
Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, “Juno.”
Animated Feature Film: “Ratatouille.”
Art Direction: “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
Cinematography: “There Will Be Blood.”
Sound Mixing: “The Bourne Ultimatum.”
Sound Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum.”
Original Score: “Atonement,” Dario Marianelli.
Original Song: “Falling Slowly” from “Once,” Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.
Costume: “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.”
Documentary Feature: “Taxi to the Dark Side.”
Documentary Short Subject: “Freeheld.”
Film Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum.”
Makeup: “La Vie en Rose.”
Animated Short Film: “Peter & the Wolf.”
Live Action Short Film: “Le Mozart des Pickpockets (`The Mozart of Pickpockets’).”
Senate Democrats hinted at payback for Sen. Joe Lieberman, who called Barack Obama an untested candidate beholden to Democratic interest groups in a prime-time GOP convention address.
AFP - Authorities in China's Muslim-populated far northwest are seeking to prevent mass prayers and the distribution of religious material as part of a security crackdown for Ramadan, government notices said.
Reuters - Condoleezza Rice travels to Libya on
Friday, the first trip there by a U.S. secretary of state in 55
years, signaling improved ties between the two countries.
