Oscar Live Blog

For those who are both Eagles fans and Oscars fans, here's the complete text of the reaction of Christina and Jeffrey Lurie to the Oscar win of Inside Job, the terrific nonfiction film about the financial collapse of 2007, that took the best documentary prize at the Oscars. The Luries are the executive producers:

"The Academy's recognition of Inside Job is a distinct honor. We are humbled by winning this Oscar and we are very proud of the outstanding work of Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs and the entire team associated with the movie. Our goal was to bring a fair and thoughtful presentation of the actions that led to the financial collapse and show how it has negatively impacted millions of lives across the globe," said Jeffrey and Christina Lurie, Philadelphia Eagles owners and executive producers of Inside Job.  "Many people are still suffering from this economic disaster and it is our hope that by understanding its root causes it can be better prevented in the future."

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Roger Ebert has declared the 83rd annual Oscars as "the worst ever." Anticlimactic, maybe. But actually Dead. In. The. Water. as he tweeted? I've seen worse. Liked the opening. Liked the distribution of wealth. I have my lowest prediction average in years: I predicted Hailee Steinfeld would win best supporting and that David Fincher would win best director. Sorry if you lost your Oscar pool because of me.

So, who should host next year, e-mails Californiafan.

My second-favorite e-mail: Paul Steinke, executive director of the Reading Terminal market, e-mailed me his Oscar-night menu: California rolls in honor of "The Kids Are All Right" and true grits in honor of the movie of that name.

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The King's Speech, the one about stuttering sovereign George VI, wins four Oscars, including best picture, best actor (Colin Firth), best original screenplay and best director (Tom Hooper). Inception wins a quartet of technical Oscars. The Social Network is friended with three, for adapted screenplay, best score and best editing.

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Colin Firth wins best actor  for "The King's Speech," sayng "I think my career has peaked." Natalie

Portman wins best actress for "Black Swan," thanking many, including choreographer dancer Benjamin Millepied, with whom she is expecting a baby.

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Unusually graceful "In Memoriam" sequence with Celine Dion snging Charlie Chapln's "Smile" as the roll of the departed -- Patricia Neal, Tony Curtis, Blake Edwards -- went by, with each of the grinning. The last was Lena Horne, with a special appreciation of Hollywood first African American star delivered by Halle Berry.

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Christina and Jeffrey Lurie's reaction to the win of "Inside Job," which they executive-produced: "Our goal was to bring a fair and thoughtful presentation of the actions that led to the financial collapse and show how it has negatively impacted millions of lives acros the globe."

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Awards tally: At this moment, Inception has four, The Social Network 3, The Fighter and Alice in Wonderland two each., The King's Speech one.

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OK, so Eagles owners Christina and Jeff Lurie have yet to win a Super Bowl, but they are exec producers of Inside Job, which just took the prize for best documentary. They won the Super Bowl of movies.

Pretty funny musical mashup of Twilight and Harry Potter. Finally, a little humor midshow.

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As of this nanosecond, Inception leads the evening with three awards (all technical), The Social Network, The Fighter and Alice in Wonderland have two each, and The King's Speech one.

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Except for The Wolfman, which won best makeup,, the winners tonight have been for movies everyone saw. This is a year when the big winners are popcorn films. Alice in Wonderland now has two prizes, for art direction and costume, Inception three, for cinematography, sound mixing and sound editing.

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What do you guys think of the show so far? I liked the opening with the clips -- great use of the nominated movies, made me want to see 'em all again, great overture with all the themes of the evening. I find the min-lectures about the history of each category a little pedantic. You?

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The Fighter takes both supporting awards. Melissa Leo drops the F bomb; Cristian Bale exclaims "Bloody hell! So far, the evening is like a kid's birthday party, every nominated movie has something in the goody bag.

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The first three major awards have gone to the most popular films of the year: Toy Story 3 won best animated feature, Inception took the prize for best cinematograohy, Alice in Wonderland won for its art direction . So much for the Oscars only honoring movies no one has seen.

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Toy Story 3, the most popular movie of 2010, and the sequel to one of the most successul and beloved franchises of all time, was name best animated feature. To infinity and beyond.

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In the Oscar's pageant of youth it was fun to see Kirk Douglas, 94, hand out the award for supporting actress. Melissa Leo won for her role as the cast-iron mother, Alice Ward, in The Fighter. Like her character, she droppe the F bomb.

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The Oscars are a contradiction: A TV show honoring the best in film, unlike the Grammys that honor music and show musicians performing. Here's hoping the awards tonight are more, shll we say, cinematic? Co-hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway have matching widescreen smiles, so that's kind of cinematic. Onto the show.

Killer opening montage, a countdown of the 10 best picture contenders, smashingly edited, scored to Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King." "The naked girl from "Love and Other Drugs: and the guy from "General Hospital" digitally enter the nominated movies. Clever in a Billy Crstal way.

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Natalie Portman, perfection in mulberry chiffon with a beaded portrait neckline and matching tasseled earrings.

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Everyone's awaiting the arrival of Natalie Portman, presumptive best actress winner for "Black Swan." Will the very pregnant star wear pink, as she did to the Golden Globes, the color sported by her character, Nina? Will she be as glam as other very pregnant winners, a club that includes Eva Maria Saint (for "On the aterfront," who announced onstage "I think I'm gonna have the baby right now"), Meryl Streep (for "Sophie's Choice') and Catherne Zeta-Jones (for "Chicago,")

On ABC, I'm watching Anne Hathaway, like so many other ladies tonight, in tangerine. She says she consulted Shirley MacLaine, an Oscar host in 1975, who advised, "Change outfits as often as possible."

Mark Wahlberg, extremely gracious, is proud of his nominated co-stars from "The Fighter" -- Amy Adams, Christian BAle and Melissa Leo -- even though Wahlberg's performance was not recognized.

Prior best actress winners Reese Witherspoon and Sandra Bullock each tell different interiewers that they have no memory of the night they won.

Another prior winner, Gwyneth Paltrow, in columnar silver lame, looks like a futuristic space princess. Celine Dion, likewise in silvery lame or lurex, in a streamlined gown that reflects the flashbulbs,

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This is what we know about the evening: There will be the customary in memoriam tribute to the departed, with Celine Dion singing "Smile." Lena Horne will get a special tribute from Halle Berry. I'm guessing Tony Curtis will be the last celeb in the "In Memoriam" roll call.

Best supporting actress will be the third award of the evening, which means I can get it in the the B edition of the newspaper.

Helena Bonham Carter in deconstructed black (by film costumer Colleen Atwood), looking like a Goth version of John Singer Sargent's Madame X. Helen Mirren, a vision in chocolate-brown, wears a gown with ruched sleeves. Sandra Bullock in a strapless tangerine gown. Halle Berry is strapless champagne pink, resembling a cloud at sunrise. Many sequins were sacrificed for this occasion.

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Kevin Spacey's advice to nominee Jeremy Renner: "Hav fun and find the bar as soon as you can!"

For the women, the colors of the evening are tangerine (Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Lawrence), lilac (Mila Kunis and Cate Blanchett) and champagne pink (see below plus Melssa Leo, in a stunning openwork lace with a standup collar). Scarlett Johansson, va-va-voomy a a wine-colored openwork lace.

Ryan Seacrest asks Justin Timberlake a good question: How did it feel to play Napster founder Sean Parker, who was the guy who change the music industry from buying CDs to sharing music. Long reply short: "I was conflicted." JT is wearng Tom Ford. Very natty.

Is it time to ask you to join me in the annual Oscar prayer: May no acceptance speech be longer than the movie itself.

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The fashgasm has begun on E! Hailee Steinfeld, Michelle Williams and Mandy Moore  all sporting champagne pink, clearly the (non) color of the evening, if not the season. Roger Ebert just tweeted that Russell Brand's Mom (his date) is a babe. Mila Kunis, in lilac chifforn: Great color, but the dress has so much detail and fringe that she resembles a Victorian lampshade.

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Welcome to Flickgrrl's live blog, honoring all things Oscar on this evening considered the Super Bowl for women, gay men and movie geeks.

While you're waiting for the red-carpet festivities to begin, some factoids.

Did you know that:

Supporting actor nominee Christian Bale is the stepson of feminist leader Gloria Steinem?

Supporting actress nominee Hailee Steinfeld is the niece of Hollywood trainer Jake Steinfeld? And that she is the only acting nominee of color? Her father is Caucasian, her mother is of Filipina and African-American heritage.

Supporting actress nominee Melissa Leo has a son by actor John Heard, her former beau?

Actress nominee Natalie Portman (Black Swan) had a hand in a rival Oscar contender, The Social Network? When she heard writer Aaron Sorkin was working on a script about her Harvard classmate Mark Zuckerberg, she met with Sorkin to give give him color about her Harvard years. To return the favor, Sorkin wrote a line in the script (delivered in a deposition scene) that Zuckerberg was the biggest thing on a campus that included several Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners and a Hollywood movie star?

Actor nominee Colin Firth, son of British academics, lived in St. Louis and Nigeria while he grew up? And that his wife, Italian filmmaker Livia Giuggoli, produced In Prison All My Life, a documentary questioning the evidentiary procedure in the trial of Mumia Abu-Jamal?

According to friend of Flickgrrl Eddie Copeland, no film starring British royals has ever taken home a Best Picture statuette. A Man for All Seasons, best picture winner in 1966, featured Robert Shaw as King Henry VIII but was about Sir Thomas More (best actor winner Paul Scofield) and his conflict with the King who wanted to break with the Catholic church.

Share your Oscar factoids.