No matter how much you may hate sitting through three-plus hours of the Academy Awards, there's always that moment -- or two -- that touches your jaded heart and makes it somehow worth being tortured by those painfully lame musical numbers (two out of three of the nominated Enchanted songs), seemingly endless montage sequences, and wooden speeches by presenters (the exception being Helen Mirren). For us, that moment of redemption this year came in the form of Markéta Irglová's delayed acceptance speech for winning the Oscar for best song. Irglová, along with Glen Hansard, co-wrote the song "Falling Slowly" used in the indie hit Once, in which she and Hansard starred. Kudos to Oscar host Jon Stewart for bringing Irglová back on stage after she was unceremoniously silenced by the orchestra when it was her turn to speak following Hansard's chance at the mike.
Here's part of what Irglová, the youngest Oscar recipient this year, had to say: "The fact that we're able to hold this, it's just proof that no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up. The song was written from a perspective of hope; and hope, at the end of the day, connects us all, no matter how different we are. So thank you so much [to those] who helped us along the way."
What was most notable is who was not thanked at this year's Oscar ceremony: the casting directors who contributed to the success of these winning pictures and performances. Shame on the Coen brothers for wasting their moments in the spotlight and not taking the opportunity to thank their longtime casting director, Ellen Chenoweth. The CD was integral to No Country's success, including Javier Bardem's win for best supporting actor. Although it might not have been Chenoweth's idea to cast the Spanish actor, she was responsible for finding many of the actors Bardem worked opposite, including Kathy Lamkin, who played the no-nonsense trailer park manager, and Gene Jones, who
will forever be remembered in the "friendo" scene.
But what else is new? Casting directors have been ignored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for 80 years. Actors: Next time you win an award, consider thanking the casting director who got you that job, or at the very least recognize the CD's contribution to finding great actors for you to work with.
Congratulations to the Academy for recognizing Marion Cotillard for her remarkable transformation in La Vie en Rose. Julie Christie seemed a sure bet for her moving work in Away From Her, for which she had already won a Screen Actors Guild Award. Although both actors were Oscar-worthy, Cotillard's work was a role of a lifetime.
Our other favorite moment of the evening? Best supporting actress Tilda Swinton's comparison of the Oscar statuette with her Endeavor agent, Brian Swardstrom. "I have an American agent who is the spitting image of this -- really, truly the same shaped head and, it has to be said, the buttocks. And I'm giving this to him because there's no way I would be in America at all," said Swinton, upon winning for her portrayal of the icy attorney in Michael Clayton.
Now that's using "ass" and "agent" together in a sentence in an entirely new way.
