Hollywood's Top Dogs Aren't Slumming It
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TAIPEI TIMES P A G E 1 6 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2009 Hollywood’s top dogs aren’t slumming it efined but unapologetically glamorous, supporting actress Oscar for Vicky Cristina Hollywood’s biggest stars strode the red Barcelona, and her fellow supporting actress R carpet at the Oscar awards on Sunday nominee Taraji P. Henson of The Curious with white dresses, bold necklaces and one- Case of Benjamin Button wore voluminous shoulder gowns among the night’s top trends. strapless white gowns. Despite an economic recession that has Best actress nominee Anne Hathaway also many Americans pinching pennies, stars didn’t wore a white gown, studded with sequins, that pare back their finery, delivering the glitz for style expert Jennifer Fisher called “perfect which Hollywood is known. Hollywood glamour.” “If I turn my head, I don’t see any change,” Asked on the red carpet why she had designer Valentino said on the red carpet, chosen the Armani gown, Hathaway said: adding that any toning down of Oscar style “Wouldn’t you want to wear this dress?” would be “very, very bad.” Other light-colored gowns included Sarah Style experts called the night a return to Jessica Parker’s belted light mint green clean, sophisticated Hollywood style, saying strapless dress by Dior. actresses such as best actress nominee Kate Chunky, collared necklaces were also one Winslet and Slumdog Millionaire star Freida of the night’s big trends, with best supporting Pinto went for classic looks. actress nominees Henson and Amy Adams of Winslet achieved her retro look in a grayish Doubt, garnering the most buzz with their Fred blue one-shoulder gown with black details by Leighton designs. Yves Saint Laurent that she told reporters was “Thank God the necklace returns to “quite comfortable,” a swept-back hairstyle and Hollywood,” style expert Michael O’Connor said. diamond earrings. Other necklaces that stood out on the Pinto donned a darker blue beaded one- carpet were best actress nominee Melissa Leo’s sleeved gown by John Galliano. Winslet and spider-shaped diamond pendant, designed by Pinto stood out for the choice of blue, as many her friend Katherine Wallach, and best actor actresses favored white and other light colors. nominee Mickey Rourke, who wore a picture of Pinto’s pint-sized Slumdog Millionaire his Chihuahua, Loki, both around his neck and co-stars wore custom-made outfits by Brooks in a pin on his lapel. Brothers. “I was going to bring her with me,” Rourke The big stars went with a Jolie and Brad Pitt looked very much the said of the dog, who died six days ago. “But she clean, sophisticated look on part of the red carpet’s golden couple at the is with me.” Kodak Theatre in classic, almost retro, styles. Fashion misses for the evening for Fisher Oscar night, but one- She wore a black sweetheart-neck strapless included supermodel Heidi Klum’s bright red shoulder gowns and chunky gown by Elie Saab, accessorized with green Roland Mouret futuristic gown, which she drop earrings, and he wore a classic bow tie. paired with big, chunky diamond earrings and necklaces topped the bracelets by Lorraine Schwartz. broader fashion trends “It looked like it should have been on Star NIGHT OF WHITE Trek,” Fisher said. BY NICHOLA GROOM For O’Connor, best actress nominee Meryl Reuters, LOS ANGELES Pinto looked “flawless,” said stylist Mary Streep missed the mark with her gray off-the- Alice Stephenson. “Everything is right!” But shoulder gown. “It was just not the right Jolie, Stephenson added, was disappointing. shape for her,” he said. “Angelina Jolie is always beautiful but boring ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AP and ho-hum in that black dress. It is just too Top looks on the red carpet: Slumdog Millionaire’s Freida Pinto, right, made many best-dressed lists at the 2009 Academy drab, dour and depressing for the Oscars.” Awards in her beaded John Galliano gown with a bejeweled lace sleeve; while fashionistas gave the asymmetrical Roland Penelope Cruz, who picked up the best Mouret dress worn by supermodel Heidi Klum, left, mixed reviews. PHOTOS: REUTERS on movies’ strong commercial appeal: The ‘Slumdog’ best picture candidates — The Curious Case 81ST ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS WINNERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The After Penelope Cruz won for best supporting Reader and Slumdog Millionaire — altogether BEST PICTURE actress for her role in Vicky Cristina had fewer than half the viewers of The Dark Slumdog Millionaire Barcelona, she gave part of her speech Knight, an audience favorite that was praised by LEAD ACTOR in Spanish — she said backstage it was a many critics but still did not make the cut. Sean Penn in Milk dedication to the actors and people of Spain In the end, The Curious Case of Benjamin LEAD ACTRESS — and then suggested backstage that the Button, which had been the evening’s most- Kate Winslet in The Reader movies had to grow beyond the bounds of nominated film, with 13 nominations in all, DIRECTOR strictly American stories. won for its art direction and make-up but not Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire “We are all mixed together, and it has to be in the crucial acting and directing categories. FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM reflected in the cinema,” she said. Frost/Nixon, directed by Ron Howard, was the Departures (Japan) The supporting actress award, the night’s only best picture nominee to come away with no SUPPORTING ACTOR first, was presented by no less than five past prizes at all. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight winners of the prize, Whoopi Goldberg, Tilda Slumdog Millionaire, though it had no SUPPORTING ACTRESS Swinton, Eva Marie Saint, Goldie Hawn and actors nominated for prizes, swept many Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona Anjelica Huston. The heavy show of star awards other than those on the top line, ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY power was meant to make good on a promise including prizes for cinematography, sound Dustin Lance Black for Milk that the broadcast would deliver entertainment mixing, score and film editing. ADAPTED SCREENPLAY value that reached far beyond that offered by Slumdog’s eight Oscars was the largest Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire the nominees. total won by a single film since The Lord of the ANIMATED FEATURE Heath Ledger, in a widely anticipated devel- Rings: The Return of the King won 11 in 2004. Andrew Stanton for WALL-E opment, won the best supporting actor prize Phillipe Petit, the French tightrope walker ANIMATED SHORT FILM for his performance as the Joker in The Dark from Man on Wire — which won for best docu- Kunio Kato for La Maison en Petits Cubes Knight. Ledger died unexpectedly of a drug mentary feature — walked into the ceremony ART DIRECTION overdose early last year, before Dark Knight on the carpet and said, “I haven’t been looking Donald Graham Burt for art direction and Victor was released. French high-wire artist Philippe Petit balances the best documentary Oscar for Man on Wire on his chin after accepting the at the red carpet, I’ve been looking above and J. Zolfo for set decoration on The Curious Case of Ledger’s parents afterward said his Oscar prize at the 81st annual Academy Awards on Sunday. PHOTO: AFP thinking of what it would be like to be on a wire Benjamin Button statuette would be held in trust by the Academy above all this.” COSTUME DESIGN of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. laughs from the crowd inside the Kodak Theater. with themselves, as songs, cinematic retrospec- In one of the night’s few surprises, the best Michael O’Connor for The Duchess Many other awards also went to those Hugh Jackman, the evening’s host, started tives and actor after actor working Hollywood foreign language film went to Departures, MAKE-UP favored in the preshow betting. with a very short comic monologue that poked in-jokes crowded the screen. One sequence, a drama about an unemployed cellist, from Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Dustin Lance Black won the best original fun at his own failure to get nominated for his directed by Bennett Miller, of Capote, was Japan. Many observers had predicted Waltz CINEMATOGRAPHY screenplay Oscar for Milk. Black, who is performance in Australia. He then plunged into squeezed out altogether but was shown to the With Bashir, an Israeli animated drama about Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire openly gay, said Milk’s story had given him a comic song-and-dance number that poked fun in-theater audience during a commercial break. that country’s past war in Lebanon, would take LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM hope that one day he might “fall in love and at serious movies that were nominated for best In keeping with the self-referential tone of that prize. Jochen Alexander Freydank for even get married.” picture, including Milk and Frost/Nixon, and the night, the best live action short was teed up The glittering event at the Kodak is generally Spielzeugland (Toyland) Beaufoy, whose Slumdog screenplay was less serious movies that were not, including The with a live action short from Judd Apatow, with a pretty grown-up affair, but this year children DOCUMENTARY FEATURE based on a novel by Vikas Swarup, rattled off Dark Knight. Seth Rogen and James Franco, in character from from halfway around the world made a splashy James Marsh and Simon Chinn for Man on Wire a list of places he never expected to be — “the An early appearance by the screenwriting their Pineapple Express film, in starring roles. appearance. The kids from Slumdog Millionaire DOCUMENTARY SHORT moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium winners helped give the evening a story line of “This is almost a surreal moment to me,” had no trouble adjusting to the head-snapping Megan Mylan for Smile Pinki and here” — as he accepted that award for his its own: the awards categories were arranged in said the German filmmaker Jochen Alexander cultural shift from India to the red carpet.