Joaquin Phoenix doppelgangers

 

Two awards shows in as many days, and two rumpled, shaggy-haired, unintelligible Joaquin Phoenix doppelgangers. Not sure who that was yesterday behind the scraggly beard and sunglasses at the Spirit Awards (getting screamed at by "Christian Bale" in a Bat suit), but today at the Oscars it's Ben Stiller.

Some of our Gold Rush readers have recently weighed in on the Phoenix debacle, sprung wide open on the "Late Show with David Letterman" recently. They mostly said they're concerned and sad about his erratic behavior and near-comatose public appearances.

They see it less as a ruse and more as a cry for help.

Who knew that Gold Rush commenters were missing the cynical gene?

We'd called bullsh** on Phoenix's claim that he has quit acting for a hip hop career. Everybody has. We consider it all a big joke perpetuated by a spoiled, self-important actor who's filming the whole "transformation" for a documentary. It seems so self indulgent and bratty.

But what if he's seriously in trouble, something our readers nudged us to really consider? What if he's going the route of his late brother? If that turns out to be the case, making fun of him on live TV could turn out to be a move of incredibly tasteless proportions.

'WALL-E' gets its due

 

Never bet against Pixar. Isn't that the rule? Isn't that what Jack Black just said?

One of our absolute favorite films of 2008, "WALL-E" just took the animated feature Oscar (with director and co-writer Andrew Stanton picking it up), as most everyone expected, but the Pixar-created short "Presto" has messed up our perfect batting average.

What did win in the animated short category? "La Maison en Petits Cubes," with its adorable director, Kunio Kato, making a Mr. Roboto reference in his acceptance speech. In this case, we learned that we should've bet against Pixar and that we really want to party with Mr. Kato.

Black, Beaufoy take writing Oscars

Two-for-two over here at Gold Rush, and we couldn't be happier about this win for Dustin Lance Black for his original screenplay for "Milk," even though he's collected a number of Important Awards this season.

This was the biggest. And this gave him the most extensive platform yet to inject some politics into the proceedings.

Black, after thanking the cast of "Milk," Harvey Milk's protege/film consultant Cleve Jones and others, talked about his conservative Mormon upbringing, as he's done repeatedly along the campaign trail, and how badly he needed Harvey Milk as an influence in his life.

And he spoke directly to the young gays and lesbians, saying: "You are beautiful, wonderful creatures with value. And God does love you. Very soon, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours."

Absolutely touching and absolutely deserved.

Simon Beaufoy, despite the steamroller routine that "Slumdog Millionaire" has done this season, said he didn't expect to be standing there winning for his adapted screenplay (nor did he ever imagine standing on the moon, the South Pole or the Miss World podium).

Thus begins what'll likely be a "Slumdog" romp.

Penelope Cruz needs smelling salts

"Has anyone ever fainted up here before?"

We'd have to research that one, Penelope Cruz, but we think that would've made the top 10 Oscar trivia lists, and there'd be video if it happened since the advent of the YouTubes.

So the new way of presenting awards, if they're all to happen the way best supporting actress did, was more meaningful, or maybe the script was just better. But having previous winners like Whoopi Goldberg and Goldie Hawn made this come alive.

Congrats, Penelope, the first win of the night, and let's hope this means we're on a roll.

The opening: kitsch and wink

 

Stars went for the empathy chic instead of the ostentatious bling on the red carpet, and producers of the 81st Annual Academy Awards put the opening number together with cardboard, crayons and duct tape, all in deference to the Economic Armageddon this country finds itself in.

It worked. It really worked, from the paper Oscar statues to the intentionally goofy dancers.

Don't recall an opening bit that got a standing ovation (big whoops from the local crowd here, too).

It deserved it, and so did host Hugh Jackman, who sang that he hasn't gotten around to seeing "The Reader" yet, like most of those people watching at home, and admits he's still stinging that "The Dark Knight" was snubbed, again, like most of the folks out there in TV-land.

Good on producers Larry Mark and Bill Condon for the kitsch and wink of that opening, and on Jackman for delivering it.

 

Tuning up for Oscar

 

Welcome to Oscar afternoon, for those of us on the West Coast, and Gold Rush's live and semi-coherent coverage of the show from a secret location.

Actually, it's a joint called Busby's East and it's just about as close to the Kodak Theater as the "backstage" press room we sat in last year. And it's a whole damn lot warmer. 

We're looking forward to an entire awards show where we will not have to hear the following question, "Who are you wearing, head to toe?" until our ears start bleeding. Oh fashion press, we won't miss you at all.

This is watching the Oscars, Version Regular Joe. We've ensconced ourselves in a group of about 60 such Joes, or as regular as is possible in this town, the entertainment apex. It's a bunch of movie lovers and the people who put up with them, with some really taking this seriously -- we know that because they're wearing gowns and tuxes. Others are much more interested in the chicken wing buffet. (Mmmmm, chicken wings).

See our predictions here, and keep coming back for some musings on the revamped show, the winners, the happs, etc.

Oscar picks, the final version

 

Oscar nominees are supposed to be gracious and self-deprecating, never letting on even if they think they have the win all sewn up. At least, that's what their publicists tell them to do.

Now here we have the flip side, with Melissa Leo at yesterday's Spirit Awards saying, "I have no chance," because she thinks it'll be either Meryl Streep or Kate Winslet taking home the best actress honor. Leo did win the Spirit Award for her riveting single-mom-on-the-skids role in "Frozen River."

Anne Hathaway at the same event: "I'm not winning."

And if we had a nickel for every time we'd heard the veteran actor Richard Jenkins assess his odds at slim to none in the best actor race, we could buy a venti latte by now.

We loved all those performances but, alas, it's true. They probably can't win, and modesty becomes them. So what will take home The Little Gold Man at the "81st Annual Academy Awards" in a few hours?

Here are our picks:

Best picture: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Best actor: Sean Penn, "Milk"

Best actress: Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

Best director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"

Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Best original screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"

Best adapted screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Best foreign language picture: "Waltz with Bashir"

Animated picture: "WALL-E"

Original song: "Jai Ho"

Musical score: A. R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Documentary feature: "Man on Wire"

Documentary short subject: "The Witness"

Animated short film: "Presto"

Live action short: "The Pig"

Art direction: Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Costume design: Michael O'Connor, "The Duchess"

Film editing: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Makeup: Greg Cannom, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Sound mixing: "The Dark Knight"

Sound editing: "The Dark Knight"

Visual effects: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

We have a good feeling about this -- really, much better than our hit-and-miss-but-mostly-miss Emmy choices!

Winning, Rourke style

And the crowd went wild. Not that there hadn't been a lot of love and respect shown for veteran actor Richard Jenkins -- because there had -- and the other best actor nominees at yesterday's Spirit Awards, but it was clear that the audience was fully behind winner Mickey Rourke.

For his part, he took advantage of the cable TV televised event and its "swear words encouraged" attitude to let loose (so this clip is NSFW) but not without spreading the goodwill that he's gathered by winning a number of high profile awards this season for his role in "The Wrestler."

Namely, he gave a shout out to Eric Roberts and said the actor "deserves a second chance," like the one he's now riding. He stumped for work for his talented, formerly troubled friend and, in the process, earned even more points on the likable scale. Though he quickly added, "Eric will probably be arrested by the end of the day."

Now that's a pal.

Rourke thanked his co-star, Marisa Tomei, whose name he nearly botched, for doing a hell of a job "bare assed." "Not many girls can climb the pole, you know what I'm saying? She climbed the pole, and she did it well."

Vintage Mickey, complete with thanking Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment and stumping for the next project for "The Wrestler's" producer Scott Franklin, "who's broke."

If he pulls an upset tonight, can't wait to hear what he'll come up with. Censors, prepare yourselves.

Oscar, Indies. Indies, Oscar

 

The champagne's flowing, one of the Olsen twins (never can keep them straight) is smoking, and Sheryl Crow and Laura Dern are chatting and giggling.

Mickey Rourke, who's spray-tanned to within an inch of his life, is thrilling the bicyclists, joggers, homeless guys and other onlookers outside the big tent just by walking by before the Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon.

Gloomy weather be damned. Nobody hanging around the area seems to care that Santa Monica isn't its usual 72 degrees and sunny because the stars have come out for this annual celebration of micro-budgeted indie movies that takes place on high-priced beachfront real estate.

Film Independent's Spirit Awards, also known as the anti-Oscars, are by their very nature, location and temperament the flip side of the awards granddad, with a mandate to honor movies made for less than $20 million, often with newcomers, up-and-comers or complete unknowns. But the kudos skated right up to the line this year, choosing some films that didn't have maxed-out credit cards behind them and or no-name performers in the top billing.

The two events have plenty in common, though, year after year, like a lot of "Juno" love at both last February.

So we'll cut to the chase for what results we saw today that we might see again tomorrow:

"Man on Wire" won for best documentary -- it's our pick for the Oscar, though "Trouble the Water" could be the lucky one.

Penelope Cruz for best supporting actress in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Unless Viola Davis does a runaround, we think Cruz will hit again at the Oscars.

Dustin Lance Black for best first screenplay for "Milk." He's been our pick for quite some time in the Oscar category (though there's no "first" screenplay award -- he's tossed in with a lot of veterans). If the Academy didn't see fit to name "WALL-E" one of its five best pictures, we're not sure that its screenwriters can win here, though they are nominated and favored by a lot of critics and Oscarologists.

What we don't think we'll see:

Mickey Rourke, who gave today's show some of its only real juice in an "f"-bomb-filled speech dedicating his award to his recently deceased 18-year-old Chihuahua, Loki, for best actor. We still say it's going to be Sean Penn for "Milk."

Melissa Leo, who took every opportunity on Saturday to give shout-outs to the indie world from whence she came, for best actress. Not that she wasn't great. She was. But we're still betting on Kate Winslet.

"The Class" for best foreign film, since the blitzkrieg that is Israel's "Waltz With Bashir" so far this awards season may have one more day to go.

See the full results here, which basically show the Spirits embracing "The Wrestler" with three awards; choosing Woody Allen, "Synecdoche, New York" and James Franco; and leaving "Rachel Getting Married" in the dust.

Rainn Wilson's ram jam on 'The Wrestler'

 

Hey look, Rainn Wilson is doing a two-fer as the master of ceremonies, in back-to-back years, of the Spirit Awards.

Oh, if only.

Outrageous funnyman and co-star of "The Office," Wilson gave us one of the only lively bits during the entire Spirit Awards on Saturday. Not sure why, but the event was a lot less freewheeling than in years past, and that could be because host Steve Coogan never really found a groove. Or maybe this just isn't his element. He tried but mostly fell flat with humor that talked about all the beautiful people expected at the Oscars on Sunday vs. those who are beautiful "on the inside" who show up to the Spirits.

Well, OK, that's kind of sharp. The rest of it, not so much. The best part was that he didn't hog the stage.

That left room for a choice performance from Wilson, last year's memorable host, who gave a song-and-"dance" parody of "The Wrestler" to the tune of "I Feel Good," with lots of Ram Jam, steroid and staple references. If you don't watch the show (and we're not necessarily recommending that) look for the clip on the YouTubes. It'll no doubt make it there soon.