I did, for the sake of full disclosure unlike some journalists, watch the last 45 minutes of last night's broadcast and here are my thoughts:
- Hillary Swank gave a great speech. She is an excellent speaker.
- Looks like Million Dollar Baby didn't win all the awards. Jamie Foxx was brilliant as Ray Charles and clearly deserved the best actor nod.
- There was a definite battle for best picture. Sideways was good but not of the same caliber as Ray and The Aviator. Couldn't judge Million Dollar Baby since I haven't seen it.
- Was it me or did it seem that Chris Rock wasn't as good a host as Billy Crystal or Steve Martin have been? His voice didn't carry that well and his jokes just didn't have the oomph as Billy or Steve's jokes did. Even Paul Simon did a better job when he hosted the Grammys one year. Maybe Jamie Foxx should host because from what I saw in his acceptance speech was a clear command of the audience and he's funny. How about Cedric the Entertainer?
- Not only is Clint Eastwood's mom 92 years-old, she was sitting right there and looked very well for her age. My grandmother never looked so good and she passed away last April at 94. Wow.
- That acceptance speech timer was really getting on the nerves of some of the winners. Buy a clue, keep the speech short and don't worry if your pet hampster didn't receive adulations.
- Charlize Theron spoke in an American accent. She's South African and lives in South Africa. Ooh, this will not sit well with the South African press.
- Martin Scorsese was robbed again. Go figure. He and people like Johnny Depp operate outside the mainstream so my guess is that while Marty would like an Oscar, he gets enough other awards. The Oscars tend to be very political, hence why I don't pay too much attention to it or the Grammys.
- Sean Penn is very much like Jack Nicholson. Very much following his own set of rules.
