Oscars ’12

I was so happy I finally saw The Artist on Saturday because it won BIG at last night’s 84th Annual Academy Awards.  The Artist picked up Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Picture.  I thought it was well deserved.  I was surprised to be completely pulled into a silent film, but that’s what happened.  I was mesmerized.  And that was thanks to the amazing talent of the director and the two lead actors, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo.  They have the best faces (and smiles!) that I’ve ever seen.  It was a joy to watch them on screen.

And Hubbie and I experienced our first downtown Jacksonville arthouse movie theatre, the Sun-Ray Cinema. It was the one place in our entire city playing The Artist this weekend. And not only did the Sun-Ray theatre look so architecturally cool, but they serve beer and wine!  And popcorn in funky silver bowls!  We will definitely be going back there.

Now, let’s get back to the Oscars.  Here’s my quick recap:  I adore Billy Crystal and thought he did a great job. He kicked it old school and it was entertaining.  But he also managed to throw in a kiss with Clooney and some time with the Biebs!  Octavia Spencer had my favorite acceptance speech of the night (she won for Best Supporting Actress for The Help) because she seemed the most sincere.  (But it wold have been over-the-top awesome if my girl, Melissa McCarthy, won for her hilarious performance in Bridesmaids.) I definitely did not gasp when Meryl Streep won for Best Actress because, hey, she rocks!  I think it was a bit of a surprise because Viola Davis was being pegged as the front runner for her great performance in The Help.  Meryl was genuinely overwhelmed and gracious.  I also loved her gold dress.

Speaking of dresses, these were my five favorite glam gowns of the night:

And I have to throw in a photo of the hottest couple of the night, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  By the time the broadcast ended, Angelina’s right leg was all the buzz.  Someone even created an @AngiesRightLeg Twitter account.  And it has over 18,000 followers!  Hilarious.  Well, her leg does look good.  So does that guy standing next to the leg.

The only thing hotter would have been Ryan Gosling on the red carpet but he wasn’t there. He wasn’t nominated!  I’m still sore about it too.  (Crazy, Stupid, Love?  Drive? Ides of March?  Come on, Academy!  Maybe next year.)

Let The Music Play

Whitney Houston passed away the day before the Grammy Awards at the age of 48. It’s so tragic when an unbelievably talented artist dies. It forces me to reexamine everything I loved about their music.  As soon as the news about Whitney’s death broke on TMZ and Twitter, my immediate thoughts went to her music.  And to all the memories. I remember watching the “How Will I Know” video on MTV and wishing I had that awesome hair bow.  ”Greatest Love of All” became my little “lift me up” anthem.  I first heard “I Will Always Love You” on the radio while I was studying in my college apartment.  I was stunned silent.  The song was so beautiful.  I haven’t really thought about Whitney much lately, but just like when Michael passed, she’s been front and center in my mind. She was a true talent with the most amazing voice.  It was all about the music.

It was fitting that Jennifer Hudson sang “I Will Always Love You” in Whitney’s honor last night at the Grammys in Los Angeles.  Jennifer has the voice that will do that song justice and she did not disappoint. It was all about the music.

The big winner of the night was the lovely Adele who is back from throat surgery and sounding better than ever.  She went six for six (!) which included Album, Song, and Record of the Year.   She won because she can sing.  She can sing alone in front of a microphone with no fireworks or set changes or fancy costumes.  It’s all about the music.

I also got a kick out of Bruno Mars and his fun set.  And, of course, I loved my girl, Taylor Swift.  She sang “Mean” and won a couple of awards too.  Katy Perry came out to kick some butt, and give some digs to her ex-husband Russell Brand, with her new song, “Part Of Me.”  Nicki Minaj gave me nightmares with her freaky deaky exorcism mini-operetta.  (I thought I was just getting old, but lots of Twitter folks didn’t get it either. )  Chris Brown was there and I just don’t understand the support he gets. (You should read this post by my fellow mom blogger, Mom-101.  You will be SHOCKED – or maybe you won’t be – by some of the Twitter comments she references from women defending Brown.)

I thought Rihanna did a great job lighting up the stage with her voice AND her dance moves and I even enjoyed the old school folks: The Beach Boys, Glen Campbell, Tony Bennett and Paul McCartney.  The Beach Boys, and especially the tributes from Maroon 5 and Foster the People, were a blast.  It’s amazing how Glen Campbell’s music has stayed with me all these years.  I remember being a little kid and my parents would play his records.  McCartney’s jam session at the end with Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters totally rocked.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed all the classic stuff.

But then I remembered.  It’s all about the music.

 

Golden Globes ’12: My Favorite Moments

Ricky Gervais was back to host the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles and these are my top five favorite moments of the night:

1. Christopher Plummer’s acceptance speech.

Christopher Plummer won the first Golden Globe of the night for “Best Supporting Actor” for his role in Beginners and, yes, I admit I was rolling my eyes when the legend was going on and on during his acceptance speech.  But then he ended by talking about his wife of 43 years.  ”Her bravery and beauty haunts me still.”  Wow.  Just Wow.

2. Michelle Williams and Busy Philipps.

I watched these two actresses on Dawson’s Creek MANY years ago.  They are still best friends today.  They show up together to many of these award shows and I think it’s cool.  Plus, they both always look super glam. Michelle won for portraying Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn. I loved when she thanked her 6-year-old Matilda Rose (her daughter with the late Heath Ledger) for “suffering through six months of bedtime stories, where all the princesses were read aloud in a Marilyn Monroe-[sounding] voice.”

3. Kate Winslet’s dress.

Not only is Kate Winslet an amazing actress, but she has amazing style.  And you can’t go wrong with a simple black and white gown.  Sophisticated and elegant.  I want this dress!

4. Morgan Freeman awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement.

I had the amazing opportunity to meet Morgan Freeman in a hotel lobby in Washington, DC about 6 years ago.  He was in town for a press tour and my friend was his press day “handler.”  He was having the time of his life working with Morgan and he would constantly tell everyone in our PR office what a great and humble guy he was.  When I went to the hotel to help with an event that evening, I saw my friend walking down the stairs with Morgan.  I was introduced to the actor and he stopped to look me in the eye and chat for a second.  Then, he sat on the banister and slid the rest of the way down.  He was just as laid back and cool as you would imagine, which is sometimes rare in the business.  I was so happy to see him FINALLY win this lifetime achievement award and Shawshank Redemption is still one of my favorite movies of all time.

5. Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy Sing Their Lines.

It’s SO NICE to see a Hollywood couple with a successful marriage and these two could not be cuter. Especially when they present like this.

Congrats to all the Golden Globe winners.  You can see the complete winners list HERE.

Emmys 2011: Best Dressed

These are my five favorite looks of the night.  These are also five of my favorite actresses.  What a treat to see them all look so amazing.

1. Kate Winslet in Elie Saab.

2. Dianna Agron in Roksanda Illincic.

 

3. Sofia Vergara in Vera Wang.

4. Christina Hendricks in Johanna Johnson.

5. Elizabeth Moss in Marchesa.

Emmys 2011: Modern Men and Girl Power

The 2011 Emmy Awards: Here are my top five favorite moments…

1. The Ladies of Comedy.

I love Amy Poehler from Parks and Recreation so leave it to her to be the mastermind behind the fun surprise when the Best Actress in a Comedy Series nominees were announced.  As each leading lady’s name was called, she ran to the stage like she was representing a state in the Miss America Pageant.  It was sweet and funny and so nice to see all those talented women share the spotlight.  The grand finale?  When Mike and Molly‘s Melissa McCarthy won the big prize (and was also handed a crown and bouquet of roses!)  I have a soft spot in my heart for Melissa who played “Sookie” for many years on Gilmore Girls.  She also was HI-larious in Bridesmaids.

2. Phil and Claire Dunphy win for Modern Family.

Ok, I know their names are really Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen, but they are such amazing comedic actors I will forever think of them as the goofy and neurotic Dunphys of Modern Family.  They have such great chemistry so it was no surprise they both picked up the trophy for Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series.  The bittersweet moment?  They beat out their colleagues.  Every adult actor in Modern Family was nominated for an Emmy this year.  So it wasn’t a surprise when…

3.  Modern Family wins Best Comedy.

I LOVE THIS SHOW!  And everyone saw this Best Comedy win coming from miles away.  It was also so great to see the kids of Modern Family get special recognition from show creator Steven Levitan.

4. Mad Men wins Best Drama.

Mad Men had the most nominations this year but no real wins until the BIG prize of the night.  I adore this show and I’m tortured by the fact I have to wait until 2012 for its return.  But seeing Jon Hamm in his super hot tux helps ease the pain.  And how bombshell gorgeous is Christina Hendricks?

5. The “new” Office.

It was neat to see a new cast of characters “join” The Office in a funny comedy sketch about halfway through the night.   (But BOO that Steve Carell did not pick up the Best Actor in a Comedy award.  It was his last chance to win and he deserved it!) But we did get to imagine The Office filled with new characters including Tom Haverford from Parks and Recreation, Roger Sterling from Mad Men, and even Kim Kardashian!  The best was Ashton Kutcher, sitting in Michael Scott’s old chair, telling Ed Helms he was the new manager. Then, realizing he was just on the wrong lot, he says, “Oh, I was wondering where the Half Man was!”

Ashton also made headlines today because of a certain camera photo taken backstage with that guy he’s replacing.  Charlie Sheen was calm and relaxed at last night’s event and even wished the best for the new Two and a Half Men team.  Well, it looks like everyone’s winning!  The brand new Two and a Half Men premieres tonight on CBS.

MTV VMAs 2011: Adele’s “Someone Like You”

When Adele started to sing “Someone Like You” at Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, Hubbie and I both stopped typing on our laptops and looked up at the television.

We had to watch this incredible stripped-down performance.  Her voice is beautiful.  This song is amazing.  Just give this woman a microphone and a stage and she is undeniable.

You’ve done it again, Adele.

MTV VMAs 2011: Beyonce is Pregnant!

The highlight of last night’s MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles was Beyonce announcing she is pregnant!

She was absolutely glowing when she spilled the beans during the black carpet arrival.

Then she performed her song “Love on Top” while telling the audience to stand up and “feel the love that’s growing inside of me.”  At the end of the song she took off her sparkly purple Dolce & Gabbana jacket and rubbed her pregnant belly.  It was the cutest thing. Her husband Jay-Z was in the audience looking like a proud Papa-to-be while his BFF Kanye West gave him a congratulatory hug.

Congrats Beyonce and Jay-Z! That is going to be one talented baby!

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez

I was going to write all about the 2011 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, but this is all that really happened:

Justin Bieber and his girlfriend Selena Gomez kissed!  Justin did not mention Selena when he took the stage to accept his many Billboard awards, but he did call her “amazing” in a backstage interview.  These two pop stars kept their teenage romance under wraps for months, but now it looks like they are comfortable enough for some PDA.  Ahhh…they are too cute.  (And I really dig his gold sparkly coat.  Very cool.)

Taylor Swift: “Mean” at the ACM Awards ’11

Taylor Swift won the big prize last night at the 2011 Academy of Country Music Awards in Sin City.  She was named “Entertainer of the Year!”  She also performed her song “Mean” for the first time.  It’s off Speak Now and I think it’s her best song on the entire album.  I can’t wait for it to finally hit radio!

Here she is looking super cute in her signature dress while playing the banjo.  She rocked it!

Oscars ’11

I thought Anne Hathaway and James Franco were just ho-hum hosts of this year’s Academy Awards, but Anne sure did look amazing in all her costume changes.  She kept smiling through all the zaniness of the evening.

The King’s Speech was the big winner picking up the awards for Best Picture and Best Lead Actor.  I was crossing my fingers that The Social Network would win the big prize, but it didn’t happen.  Boo.  At least Social Network star Justin Timberlake was there and looking super cute in his tux.  And he brought his mom as his date.  Even cuter.

I was happy that Natalie Portman won for Best Lead Actress for her portrayal of a tortured ballet dancer in Black Swan.  Her baby now has an awesome story about also attending the Academy Awards.  Natalie looked pretty in purple.

I must also mention Matthew McConaughey because we are BFFs.  (Well, sort of.)  And he looked hot.  Scarlett Johansson didn’t look too bad either.

But my favorite dress of the evening was worn by Mila Kunis from Black Swan.   She looked amazing and she gets major credit for keeping the purple doilies on the top of her dress perfectly intact.  You go, girl.

Next Page »