Smallscreen News

The Oscars rewind on Hulu, some thoughts on sock puppets and sentimental speeches

By April MacIntyre Feb 25, 2013, 13:45 GMT

Samuel L. Jackson, George Clooney, Ben Affleck, Grant Heslov in the press room at the EE British Academy Film Awards 2013. Picture copyright by Solarpix / PR Photos.

The Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2012 were presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and were hosted by Seth MacFarlane. The Oscar presentation was televised live on the ABC Television Network and in more than 225 countries worldwide.

First an Academy Award fashion memo to all actresses: Stop wearing strapless dresses, you tug on them all night even though you think no one is watching. It ruins the whole magical black tie effect.  

Second: Men, you can let your hair grow out long or bushy AND be silver, but only if you have a full head of hair to rock. Think Cornel West and Jimmy Page! Winner of the silver locks award went to Oscar winner DP Claudio Miranda.

The Oscars, in its entirety, will be available to stream within hours of its broadcast completion, beginning Monday, Feb. 25th at 6:00 a.m. EST through Wednesday, February 27, at midnight EST.  Hulu and Hulu Plus will also have red carpet highlights and tonight's star-studded episode and clips of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" 

If tallying fan votes against the final Academy's results, find Hulu's third annual user vote results here: http://www.hulu.com/oscars.

Austrian Actor Christoph Waltz must absolutely love Quentin Tarantino. Waltz took his second supporting-actor Academy Award on Sunday for a Tarantino film, "Django Unchained." He previously won for "Inglourious Basterds."

Oscar host Seth MacFarlane was wonderful, fast on his feet and opened with a tongue-in-cheek edgy monologue that mentioned the contentious Chris Brown-Rihanna relationship and the snub of Ben Affleck, who missed out on a directing nomination for best-picture favorite "Argo." "The story was so top secret that the film's director is unknown to the academy," MacFarlane said. "They know they screwed up. Ben, it's not your fault."

A fun touch was having William Shatner beam in as Capt. James Kirk, appearing on a giant screen above the stage during MacFarlane's monologue, saying "Your jokes are tasteless and inappropriate, and everyone ends up hating you," said Shatner, who puts up headlines from the future: "Seth MacFarlane worst Oscar host ever."  The funniest bit was the film "Flight" imagined by sock puppets.

MacFarlane also dazzled with his crooner chops, singing "Just the Way You Look Tonight."

Ben Affleck's "Argo" took best picture without a directing nomination, as producer Grant Heslov gave a wonderful tribute to Affleck.

Affleck's turn was also heavily emotional, and from the heart to all people trying to make it, offering the simple salvo, "just get back up" when life knocks you down:

New mother Adele also was teary when accepting her award:

The tribute to British super-spy James Bond to mark the 50th anniversary of his first big-screen outing in "Dr. No." Adele performed her Oscar-nominated title tune to last year's Bond tale "Skyfall," while Shirley Bassey performed her classic "Goldfinger."

The segment "A Celebration of Movie Musicals" featured Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago) who joined this year's Oscar nominees from Les Miserables, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway along with co-stars Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks and Helena Bonham Carter.

It was also refreshing to see cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC win for his work on director Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. Of the eleven Oscar nominations the film attracted, the film won Best Director, Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score in addition to cinematography.

The Academy previously recognized Miranda’s work with a 2009 nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. For Life of Pi, Miranda also received a BAFTA, a Satellite Award and multiple Critics Society awards, as well as a nomination from the American Society of Cinematographers.

“Well this is unexpected, what a dream!” said Miranda. “I want to thank Ang in respect to his vision for this film. He’s an incredible talent – also, my crew and everyone who worked to make Life of Pi such a great experience. Thank you to my family and especially my wife Kelli for all their love and support. Now, it’s time to celebrate!”

The stars that appared incuded Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Jane Fonda, Jennifer Garner, Kristen Stewart, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Aniston, Michael Douglas, Jamie Foxx, Paul Rudd, Salma Hayek Pinault, Melissa McCarthy, Liam Neeson, John Travolta, Ben Affleck, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, Ted and "Marvel's The Avengers" cast members Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo; returning 2011 Oscar winners Jean Dujardin, Christopher Plummer, Octavia Spencer and Meryl Streep; "Chicago" cast members Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones; special guests Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Radcliffe, Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron; and performers including Kristin Chenoweth, Jennifer Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit and Helena Bonham, Adele, Dame Shirley Bassey, Norah Jones and Barbra Streisand.