Whoopi Goldberg and her colleagues on The View wondered aloud on Monday why the comedian wasn’t shown hosting the ceremony in the many clip montages shown at Sunday night’s Oscars. Whoopi was the first woman and the first African American to host the top Hollywood awards ceremony, and she served as emcee in 1994, 1996, 1999, and 2002. There was no specific clip montage dedicated solely to the hosts, but one that included other hosts didn’t have anything with Whoopi. She was seen accepting her award for best supporting actress for 1990’s Ghost. (She was the second of four black women to be awarded a statue in the event’s 80 year history.) Whoopi also mentioned on The View that she didn’t see two time host Steve Martin in any of the clips, either.

The producer of the Oscars has spoken about the slight, and unlike Brad Renfro’s exclusion from the In Memoriam clip, which they didn’t say was a mistake but claimed “It is simply not possible to include everyone in that segment,” Whoopi wasn’t left out on purpose:

“No harm was intended, and I feel very, very badly that she was left out,” Gil Cates said Tuesday. “I’m going to call her and tell her that.”

Although described as a montage of hosts, the piece shown at Sunday night’s telecast on ABC was actually “supposed to be a montage of 80 exciting moments of the Academy Awards” culled from hundreds of hours of footage, says Cates. “Basically, that was not a montage about hosts.”

He noted that former host Steve Martin also wasn’t in the montage.

Still, Cates said, “It was an absolute oversight” to leave out Goldberg, an Oscar winner and nominee who had hosted telecasts that Cates himself produced.

“I asked her to be on the show. She did it twice,” he said. “She is a formidable talent.”

[From People.com]

They were probably just looking for the most sensational clips and were scrambling to put those segments together ahead of the show. More care should have been taken to make sure that people were honored that deserved to be, though.

We thought that the Oscars were the most entertaining ever this year and although they were long they kept it moving well, with both funny jokes and well produced clips. Not many journalists agreed with us, and neither did the viewing audience. People called the Oscars unfunny and antiquated, and way too long to fit into anyone’s schedule. The Oscars had their lowest rating ever this year, which might also have to do with the fact that no blockbuster films were nominated. Only Juno took in more than $100 million at the box office, and that started out as an indie film.

Whoopi Goldberg hosted the Oscars in 1994, 1996, 1999, and 2002. She was the first woman to host the event, the first African American to host, the first Oscar winner to host, and the second African American woman to even win an Oscar, one of just four black female winners in the event’s 80 year history. She was shown accepting her award in the Oscar clip montages at last night’s Academy Awards, but wasn’t shown during one of her many hosting gigs.

Hattie McDaniel, the first black woman to win an Oscar, was also shown getting her Oscar in one of the clips. They didn’t show her walking all the way to the front of the room from the specially designated table for her and her guest at the very back. She won in 1939 for her hackneyed role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. It was a whole 50 years before another black woman took home a statue, and that was Whoopi. Halle Berry was of course shown giving her weepy over-the-top Oscar acceptance speech for best actress in 2001. She was the third African American woman to win an Oscar, and was followed by Jennifer Hudson for best supporting actress in 2006.

Whoopi talked about the apparent snub of her contribution to the event Monday on the roundtable talkshow she co-hosts, The View. Barbara Walters mentioned that she did see a clip of Whoopi accepting the award. Whoopi said that the video where the hosts were seen also failed to show Steve Martin, who hosted in 2001 and 2003 and Barbara said it was more of an Oscar memories video than one honoring all the hosts.

Whoopi said “Undoubtedly I pissed somebody off yet again.”

I definitely saw Ellen Degeneres hosting in one if the clips shown last night, and she was the second woman to host after Whoopi and only hosted once. Maybe the people who put the clips together were focusing more on the acceptance speeches and memorable moments and were under the gun and didn’t miss her on purpose. There weren’t many hosts in the clips unless something interesting happened.

The Academy’s clip montage team also failed to include a one or two second mention of Brad Renfro in their In Memoriam clip. A representative told TMZ that “It is simply not possible to include everyone in that segment.”

Here’s a link to an over four minute tribute to Brad Renfro, created by MissyVintage on YouTube. Just because someone dies of a drug overdose doesn’t mean their life was any less worthwhile than someone else’s. Not that the Academy was biased in excluding Renfro or Whoopi or anything.

(photo © AMPAS)

How bad did the Oscars do in the ratings last night? Well they were 14% below the lowest-rated Oscars ever and 21% below last year’s according to AP. I know I am one of those people who skipped out on the Oscars last night. Seriously I have not and do not plan on seeing any of the nominated films and I wasn’t that impressed with Jon Stewart when he hosted before so he was not enough for me to tune in. And looks like I was not alone.

Some people say that there was not enough time after the WGA strike to put on a show while others are saying because ABC did not have any new episodes on this week they could not promote it. My theory is since the last Oscars to do well was when Lord of the Rings 3 won, maybe the Oscars would be better nominating movies the average American has seen and not a bunch of movies they have no intention of seeing? Strange concept no? So this year when they are choosing what movies to nominate think of movies like Indiana Jones, Mamma Mia and Sex and the City and bring back Billy Crystal as a host and then maybe you will find those viewers you lost like me! 

Last night’s Oscar ceremony was the best I’ve ever seen, and JayBird and MSat agree. Planned and spontaneous jokes from Jon Stewart kept the evening feeling fresh while well-produced clip montages of Oscar’s past set the theme. The clips featured emotional moments from Oscar’s 80 year history as well as scenes from the films that shaped generations of movie goers. Swelling music kept everyone in an Oscar mood while unexpected skits added to the fun. Entertainment’s most anticipated night did live up to our expectations for once, and producers managed to create a fresh and interesting ceremony with less than two weeks preparation after the strike ended.

The best lead and supporting actress winners were complete surprises for me, as none of the journalists I’d read ahead of time predict that either would win. Tilda Swinton gave a witty dry speech for her best supporting actress win while Marion Cotillard was exuberant and shaking with overwhelming happiness.

We all laughed out loud when lookalike scruffy actors and co-presenters Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill were introduced by Jon Stewart as Halle Berry and Dame Judi Dench. They then proceeded to argue over which one of them would get to be Halle Berry.

Musicians and indie actors Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova win best song for the haunting “Falling Slowly” from Once. Hansard spoke quickly om hos acceptance speech but the music started playing once Irglova got to the mic. It cut to commercial and when we came back to the Oscars Jon Stewart brought Irglova back on stage to give her thanks. She said their win was for all independent musicians and that “it’s just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it’s possible.” (Will update with video of both acceptance speeches when they’re available.)

The best documentary: short subject was presented by a filmed clip from US soldiers stationed in Iraq, and it was a very nice way to honor the troops. It also struck me that the Academy was trying to balance out the political subject matter in the longer documentary films. It seemed like they used the troops to introduce the shorter documentaries so as not to make it too much of an obvious contrast with the several full length documentaries nominated with anti-war themes.

The only political statements of the night came from the documentary winners and were brief and well stated. Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth won best documentary short for their 38 minute film Freeheld, about a dying Lieutenant who wants to leave her pension benefits to her same sex partner. Wade said “It was Lieutenant Laurel Hester’s dying wish that her fight for, against discrimination would make a difference for all the same sex couples across the country that face discrimination every day.” (Video shown above.)

Anti-torture full length documentary Taxi to the Dark Side won, and director Alex Gibney did make a brief statement, and given his very harrowing film you would expect him to, but it was general and inspiring. He said “This is dedicated to two people who are no longer with us, Dilawar, the young Afghan taxi driver, and my father, a navy interrogator who urged me to make this film because of his fury about what was being done to the rule of law. Let’s hope we can turn this country around, move away from the dark side and back to the light.”

98 year old art director Robert Boyle was presented with an honorary Oscar, and his resulting speech was longer than about ten Academy Award winners put together. It was hard to tell quite when he would end or where he was going, but the guy was so awesome we were all hoping he would keep talking. At the end he wrapped it up with a wonderful statement that seemed to sum up what the Oscars and the movies are all about. He said “Since I’ve been around here for almost a century, I’ve noted a lot of conflicts, but there was one bright image in this whole life of ours, and that was the arts, and particularly the art of the moviemakers, of the moving image that we all love.”

Here are some more clips from the night.

Jack Nicholson presents the films that won best picture over the last 79 years:

Jon Stewart gives pregnancy award to Angelina Jolie:

I don’t know about you guys, but after staying up until midnight on a work night, all those nominees get jumbled in my head, and the next morning I have trouble remembering who won what. Is it just me? Maybe I should lay off the red wine.

Here are the winners from last night’s ceremony:
Best Picture: No Country For Old Men
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Best Animated Feature: Ratatouille
Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, Juno
Best Adapted Screenplay, Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti/Franscesca Lo Schiavo, Sweeney Todd
Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood
Best Costume Design: Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Best Makeup Effects: Didier Lavergne, Jan Archibald, La Vie En Rose
Best Visual Effects: The Golden Compass
Best Sound Editing: Karen Baker Landers, Per Hallberg, The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Sound Mixing: Scott Millan, David Parker, Kirk Francis, The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Film Editing: Christopher Rouse, The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Original Song: “Falling slowly,” from Once
Best Score: Dario Romanelli, Atonement
Best documentary: Taxi to the Dark Side
Best Documentary, short feature: Freeheld
Best Foreign Film: The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Lifetime Achievement: Robert Boyle (Art director)

The Bourne Ultimatum took home three awards for sound and editing, which was a surprise. Another big surprise: Transformers was actually nominated in three categories. No Country For Old men racked up four awards - Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture.

While most of the wins went the way experts predicted, there were some interesting choices. Probably the biggest upsets of the night were in the actress categories: Marion Cotillard won Best Actress for La Vie En Rose, in a year when everyone thought Julie Christie would take the statue for Away From Her. Michael Clayton’s cold-as-ice villainness, Tilda Swinton, won for Best Supporting Actress, when Cate Blanchett was the favorite for her work as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There.

Usually we do separate best and worst dressed post for the Oscars, but there wasn’t any truly atrocious fashion among the big names, and that’s a disappointment. Like the ceremony itself, the red carpet seemed to go off without a hitch with a few minor bumps. Everyone looked lovely, with no one really nailing it or or failing miserably. There’s been criticism that the actresses are playing it too safe on the red carpet, and it’s true that there wasn’t anyone to point in awe or laugh at.

If you just look at Renee Zellweger’s dress and not her hair (I’m trying to be nice here) it was amazing. Her beaded gown was incredible, and she usually plays it too safe in Carolina Herrerra, but this time the designer really came through for her. Hilary Swank looked flawless, and maybe that’s because when I saw her close up during her interviews her makeup was perfect. Her dress also was a good balance between simple lines a and a moderate risk, but both MSat and Jaybird told me she looked boring.

I like elegant design and clean lines without a lot of frills. In these fashion posts I invariably get called on my conservative taste, which is why I consulted with MSat last night as we gossiped about the arrivals’ gowns. Other standouts for me were Kristin Chenoweth, Laura Linney and Helen Mirren.

MSat loved Marion Cotillard’s cream-colored Jean Paul Gaultier dress. The mermaid design was a bit of a risk and she really pulled it off. Another one of MSat’s favorites was Amy Adam’s deep green strapless gown. It complimented her coloring well and wasn’t an overly-safe choice in that it featured a small belt on the bodice and a sculpted bustline. Anne Hathaway’s striking scarlet red Marchesa gown draped her perfectly and featuring snaking roses that led from one shoulder down the front.

Many thanks to People.com for the details below on the fashion last night.

Best Dressed: Celebitchy’s Favorites

Hilary Swank in Atelier Versace with Chopard diamonds and a Ferragamo clutch

Renee Zellweger in hand-embroidered Carolina Herrara with Cartier jewelry

Kristin Chenoweth in Armani Privé with Fred Leighton diamonds

Laura Linney in Michael Kors with Cathy Waterman jewelry and Ferragamo clutch

Helen Mirren in red satin George Chakra with sleeves made of Swarovski crystals. She wore Fred Leighton and H. Stern diamonds:

George Clooney’s girlfriend Sarah Larson in a tight strapless blue gown with pink accents

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Best Dressed: MSat’s Favorites

Marion Cotillard in Jean Paul Gaultier gown with Chopard diamonds and a Daniel Swarovski clutch

Amy Adams in Proenza Shouler with Fred Leighton Diamonds

Anne Hathaway in a Marchesa gown that looked Grecian with Harry Winston diamonds

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Other lovely gowns:

Catherine Heigl in red silk Escada. It was a gorgeous gown and it hugged her body perfectly, but she seemed to ruin it with overdone hair and makeup

Jennifer Garner in a Oscar de la Renta with Van Cleef & Arpels diamonds and a Roger Vivier clutch. I thought her dress was too tight and had too many bunched-up layers at the bottom.

Jessica Alba in plum Marchesa with Cartier diamonds

Ellen Page in Jean Louis Scherrer dress with a Fred Leighton chain dating to the 19th century made with natural pearls and crystals

Keri Russel in Nina Ricci with a 46 carat H. Stern necklace

Penelope Cruz in Chanel with feather detail at the bustline with Chopard diamonds and a Roger Vivier clutch. I didn’t like this dress and want to put it in the “worst” list, but I think that would be too biased of me.

Nicole Kidman in Balenciaga with a L’Wren Scott necklace featuring 1,399-carats of diamonds! I really liked her dress, but that icicle necklace ruined it for me.

Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp looking retro lovely

Miley Cyrus in Valentino chiffon with Neil Lane jewels

Cate Blanchett in blue satin Dries Van Noten with Lorraine Schwartz jewels and a Roger Vivier clutch

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Worst Dressed: Celebitchy’s Picks
These “worst dressed” noms looked pretty good by a lot of people’s estimation, and I don’t find any of their dresses awful, just slightly off. You may disagree, and that’s expected since there’s no real fashion bloopers here. Last years worst dressed are improving, but still landing in the same category.

Cameron Diaz in a John Galliano too-tight gown with Bulgari jewelery and a Roger Vivier clutch. She made the same mistake with that dress that she did last year. It’s too tight and too light for her coloring. I even thought her dress last year was the same designer, but it wasn’t, it was Valentino.

Heidi Klum in a John Galliano dress with too much fabric. She must not have seen what he did to Charlize Theron at the 2006 Oscars

Tilda Swinton’s one arm wonder:

Diablo Cody didn’t wear the million dollar shoes and also passed up some better dresses for this leopard print sack. I’m so sorry to say that because she’s awesome.

Kelly Preston’s bright yellow dress. Still not as bad as her leopard print last year.

Jennifer Hudson’s white dress looked like it had a snake working as a shelf for her boobs. It was also much better than the bolero jacket she wore last year.

Well the verdict here at Celebitchy is that Jon Stewart did a fantastic job hosting the Oscars last night. His monologue was really funny. He seemed a little tense for the first minute or so, but then relaxed and fell into a very comfortable rhythm. His humor was right on the ball. He made a few strike jokes, but definitely didn’t overdo it at all. Overall, I felt his performance was very even, humorous, and well-written. He did a good job of lightly making fun of the awards. Producers had a long line of prepared montages ready in case the WGA strike didn’t end. Jon jokingly showed two of them, telling the audience, “Please enjoy Oscar’s salute to binoculars and periscopes,” which featured some fine clips of Jimmy Stewart in “Rear Window,” Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs,” and “Toy Story.” And it was a damn fine salute. That was followed by “Oscar’s salute to waking up from a bad dream,” featuring clips of people gasping while quickly sitting up in bed. What’s extra funny is the thought that they might really have had to use these (or similar) montages. Here’s one of Stewart’s best jokes of the night.

Oscar is 80 this year, which makes him now automatically the front runner for the Republican nomination. You have to admit, this is a huge election. An historic election. So much excitement. For the first time in so many years we don’t have an incumbent president or an incumbent vice-president. The field is wide open. Have you all had a chance to examine all the candidates, study their positions and pick the Democrat you’ll vote for? Democrats do have an historic race going. Hillary Clinton versus Barack Obama. Normally, when you see a black man or a woman president an asteroid is about to hit the Statue of Liberty. How will we know it’s the future? Silver unitards, that can’t be all? You have to give Barack Obama credit, he’s overcome a great deal. Not just [that] he’s an African-American. Barack Hussein Obama is his name. His middle name is the last name of Iraq’s former tyrant. His last name rhymes with Osama. That’s not easy to overcome. I think we all remember the ill fated 1944 presidential campaign of Gaydolf Titler. It’s just a shame, Titler had so many good ideas. We just couldn’t get past the name. And the mustache.

[Transcribed From the Academy Awards]

Jon Stewart did a good job of keeping the show moving. He was very much likable and funny, but without being too safe or bland. Late on in the evening, he joked about Cate Blanchett’s performance as Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.” He teased:

Cate Blanchett is the woman who can’t be stopped. She played Elizabeth. She played Bob Dylan. In No Country for Old Men she played the pit bull chasing Josh Brolin. Cate Blanchett, she is amazing. Right now, I Jon Stewart, am being played by Cate Blanchett.

[From the Academy Awards]

About three quarters of the way through the show, “There was a small technical glitch, so we’re going to have to restart the show.” It was a nice tease on the Oscar’s length. Overall Stewart did a great job hosting, and the show kept up a great pace. It was definitely the best Oscars in a very long time, and will be quite the show to top.

Here’s Stewart’s opening monologue: