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Monday, February 28, 2011

The Academy Awards

Did you watch the Academy Awards last night? I don't know why, but I always love watching the Oscars, even if I haven't watched all the films. There's something about the glitz and glam, the gowns, the faux pas and teary speeches.

These people, for one night anyway, seem to have it all. And though I can never hope to join them on the red carpet or in the Kodak theater, I can enjoy all the fun vicariously.

There were moments I despised -- in fact, watching an Oscar telecast should never make you sick to the stomach and should never make you cry for a bad reason. Which happened. Gave me a headache too -- quite disenchanting.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, be thankful. And if you do, I only hope you handled it far better than I did. I can't abide cruelty to animals, and I believe there were tons of other clips they could have picked to represent a certain foreign film. Grrr.

Nevertheless, there were far better things to celebrate about the Oscars. Dare I say it?




Yes, Colin Firth, aka Mr. Darcy, won Best Actor for his role in The King's Speech. As the conversation on Twitter exploded with his win, it became apparent that a great many ladies wished he would leap into a lake for them.




Remember this scene? Sigh.

But of course that's not why he won. I haven't seen all the films nominated for Best Picture, but I did see The King's Speech. I thought it was fabulous. I love when a movie is about people, not car chases or explosions.


Natalie Portman won the Best Actress award for Black Swan (haven't seen that movie yet). Melissa Leo won for Best Supporting Actress for The Fighter (also haven't seen) and dropped the F-bomb in her speech. Christian Bale won Best Supporting Actor, also for The Fighter.

There were of course a ton of other awards, most of which I don't remember, and a lot of beautiful dresses -- all worn by Anne Hathaway as she changed clothes for nearly every appearance on stage. Her co-host, James Franco, seemed a bit, well, drunk perhaps. Or stoned. He even forgot the name of the best picture moments after it was announced. Twitter was aflutter with speculation about what was wrong with him.

There was the obligatory shot of past host Hugh Jackman in the audience, which I did not mind, and an appearance by Billy Crystal that earned him a standing ovation. Seriously, can we bring these folks back? Anne did her best, but James wasn't much help and the hosting left a little to be desired.

Today, I'll be clicking over to see the best and worst dressed lists (I think there's little doubt, on Twitter anyway, that Cate Blanchett will be on the worst list), and I'll read recaps of the event and see if anyone figured out what was wrong with Franco. And then I'll forget the whole thing (though I might have to pull out Pride and Prejudice for a viewing) and get back to work on the latest glitzy, glam-y story that's occupying my mind these days.

Do you watch the Oscars too? What did you think of this year's telecast? Did you have a favorite moment? One commenter will win an advanced copy of my April release, THE DEVIL'S HEART!



A diamond, and a deal with the devil…

Francesca D’Oro was just eighteen when darkly sexy Marcos Navarre swept her up the aisle—then fled before the ink on the marriage licence had dried. Marcos might have given Francesca a jewel for her finger, but he stole another: the Devil’s Heart—a dazzling yellow diamond he believed belonged to his family…

Years later Francesca, no longer so youthfully naïve, is determined to reclaim the precious gem! But she’s forgotten that Marcos lives up to the treasure’s name—and dealing with the devil is always dangerous!



RT Book Reviews Magazine awarded this story 4 stars, saying, “Lots of conflict, hot love scenes and a satisfying ending make this an entertaining read.”


Lynn Raye Harris writes glamorous, sexy romance for Harlequin Presents and Mills & Boon Modern. Her latest UK release, Prince Voronov's Virgin, was the Mills & Boon Book of the Month for January and spent 6 weeks on the bestseller list, 3 of those weeks at #1! Lynn's next North American release is The Devil's Heart in April, followed by the NA release of Prince Voronov's Virgin, retitled Behind the Palace Walls, in June in Presents EXTRA.

You can learn more about Lynn and her books at http://www.lynnrayeharris.com/.

You can also follow Lynn on Twitter @LynnRayeHarris or visit her author page on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLynnRayeHarris

20 comments:

Unknown said...

I saw the King's Speech and thought it was a fabulous film, so I'm glad it won.

pageturner345@gmail.com

Mary Kirkland said...

I don't usually watch any of the award shows. I don't find them as entertaining as they used to be.

miztik_rose@yahoo.com

Paula said...

I thought the best presenter was Sandra Bullock. She was hilarious and easy to watch. Most of the others were just painful to watch.

I thought the prettiest of the lot were Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, Sandra Bullock and Helen Mirren. Cate Blanchett looked like a kid eating a mustard dog had upchucked on her shoulders. And Scarlett Johannsen seriously needs to comb her hair before going on the red carpet.

Now that the catty is out of my system, I'm thrilled Mr. Darcy won. :)

Kirsten said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alicia Hunter Pace (aka Jean Hovey and Stephanie Jones) said...

Oh, yes. I watched. Except for the American Music Awards, I love awards shows. Yea Mr. Darcy! I had only seen four of the movies: The King's Speech, True Grit, The Social Network, and Toy Story III. I think the winners were spot on though I loved The Social Network and True Grit.

Like you, I didn't care much for the show itself. I guess it may be a sacrilege to say this but I didn't like how Kirk Douglas presented the award for best supporting actress. One might say he has earned the right to do what he wants but I am not that one. It frustrated me. I was working a crossword puzzle during the foreign film part, so I was spared what upset you. I won't go looking for it.

Trenda Marie said...

I missed the Oscars last night but was thrilled to hear Colin Firth won Best Actor. Love him! :-)

Julia Broadbooks said...

I don't usually watch the Oscars. My attention span is too short to listen to all the talking. But I do check out all the red carpet dresses. I haven't seen anybody too crazy yet.

I'll have to say I wouldn't have recognized Sharon Stone if the picture hadn't been labeled. Perhaps it was just the camera angle, but it seems she might have had more than a little work done.

Lynn Raye Harris said...

Hi, everyone! Thanks for stopping by. :)

Paula, I agree about Sandra Bullock! She was funny and wasn't wooden or canned at all. And her dress was gorgeous. LOL about Scarlett. She did indeed need some hair help.

Kirsten, sounds like a good plan!

Hi, Jean! Yay for Mr. Darcy! So glad you didn't see the animal abuse scene. No, don't look for it at all. I know it was fake, but I don't care. Horrible.

Kalliope, me too! I watched because I wanted Colin to win and I wanted to see it. That's the only reason I kept watching when things jumped the shark.

Julia, no kidding about Sharon Stone! I had to look twice at the pictures today.

Nas said...

I'm glad The King's Speech won, and I liked Halle Barry's dress. But I like Halle Barry everywhere because I like the way she holds herself. Her posture is great.

Estella said...

I don't think I have ever watched the Oscars.

Leni said...

I haven't watched the Oscars in quite some time.

lenikaye@yahoo.com

Kaelee said...

Okay I am the nut case here because I watch the Oscars always but I don't go to movies or watch them on TV. Watching the Oscars is a great way to see a bit of who is who and what they are wearing. I started watching the Oscars back when Bob Hope was the host and so my favorite moment was the flashback to his clips. Worst moments were some of the documentaries.

Anne was semi okay as a hostess but James Franco stunk and his drag moment was not anywhere near the funny thing it could have been.

Pat Cochran said...

Used to watch religiously, not so
much anymore. Favorite moment: the
children's choir at the end! The
Bob Hope segment.

This year's edition wasn't the
worst, but it definitely wasn't
the best!

Pat Cochran

TashNz said...

I have to watch the awards online becuase I dont have Sky (in NZ) and they dont play the awards on free to air anymore. And I'm usually at work when they start *sigh*

I just LOVE the awards season xoxo

TashNz said...

Oh, and I look forward to the segment they usually show deceased actors... it's a good time to reflect (mind you been doing A LOT of that with Christchurch :( )

ev said...

Yup, he was stoned. Big shock. (He's teaching a class at my daughter's college via Skype.)

RDJ and Jude Law were good- and RDJ knows how to poke fun at himself. Charlie Sheen should take a page out of that book.

I missed the foreign film clips, so I am glad. I am sure I would have been upset- still.

bookwyrm217@gmail.com

Lynn Raye Harris said...

Hi, Nas! Halle looked so cool and lovely, didn't she? Such an elegant lady!

Kaelee, I agree that was a great flashback to Bob Hope! You're right -- the drag moment was NOT funny.

Hi, Pat! The choir was very nice too.

Hi, Tash! I remember when I lived in Europe and had to watch the Oscars at odd hours. At least with online, you can skip all the boring stuff -- trust me, skip the foreign film segment! Many hugs on the situation in Christchurch. Such a shocking thing when it happened! My heart goes out to everyone there.

Hi, Ev. I did enjoy Jude Law and RDJ too! I'm still upset about that foreign film clip. I'm so glad you didn't see it. Franco was stoned, huh? That explains a lot. :/

Nas said...

The Fiji Connection!

DAVID Seidler, a former journalist and speech writer to Fiji's first prime minister, the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, scooped the award of a lifetime.

Yesterday, the former adviser to Ratu Mara won an Oscar for best scriptwriter in The King's Speech.

Yay!

Lynn Raye Harris said...

Thanks everyone for stopping by today! The winners, chosen by the Random Number Generator, are Nas Dean and Kaelee! I just couldn't choose one. See, we've had our own awards show here today. :) Email me at lynn AT lynnrayeharris DOT com with your details!

Kaelee said...

Thank you Lynn. An email is on it's way.