Live-Blogging the Oscars

***Make sure you refresh every few minutes for updates*******

8:00 Here we go! So far its just the red carpet, which if you think the show itself is just one big pagent, check out the red carpet. Bleh, we could do without this.

8:02 What the heck is Vera Farmiga wearing? And that hair. Ugh.

8:05 "She'll cut you with a stiletto." This is why George Clooney does comedy so well. Sandra Bullock is being graceful too. And she essentially wants Cook-Out after the show. Classy.

8:06 Five years later, Zac Efron still looks like a d-bag.

8:10 Helen Mirren looks very uncomfortable in her interview. And Morgan Freeman is a player to the max. Two dates? Well, one's his producer and the other's his daughter, but still, the man is still amazing.

8:13 So out of the 10 nominated films in 1943, only Casablanca lasted. Is history going to repeat itself this year? Come back in 2060 and ask me.

8:15 Sarah Jessica Parker is way too orange. Maybe its just my HD, but wow. Cameron Diaz's dress is phenomenal.

8:20 Tina Fey and Steve Carrell may be the funniest people on the planet. I can't wait until Date Night.

8:22 Did I detect a hint of sarcasm in some of Jeff Bridges' answers? I think I did. I just realized too that I have no pictures in this thing. I thought about trying to throw a bunch in here, but none would be from the show, so I'm not going to bother. Sorry everyone.

8:25 Taylor Lautner: "OMG its so surreal!" I hate that the producers of this year's show used Tiger Beat as a reference for guests. Oh well.

8:26 No more red carpet? Thank god! "Sandra Bullock! She looked like an Oscar!" Um, no. Try again.

8:30 Showtime! The lead nominees are all on stage. But for what reason? I suppose we'll find out. Oh its pageantry. Here's the hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin...or maybe Neil Patrick Harris? His song is full of win. And I love the stage setup. Please let him host next year.

8:34 Martin and Baldwin are here now. Don't ruin this guys.

8:36 Self-deprecating humor? Yes. Meryl-deprecating humor? Yes. So far, they're doing great. Just wondering though: where's Jack Nicholson? Meryl's going to beat his record of being the Oscar go-to closeup, since she's been on camera more than any other audience member so far.

8:40 And there's the first reference to James Cameron's and Kathryn Bigelow's former marriage. And they sat them together too. Awkward.

8:42 So this monologue is starting to drag out a little. The oh-look-its-so-and-so schtick is starting to grow old. Funny, but can we move on please?

8:43 George Clooney is looking pissed. Interesting.

8:46 Its time for the first award! Supporting actor goes to....Christoph Waltz! What an excellent choice, considering how wonderful he was in Inglourious Basterds.

8:50 The Blind Side gets to be the first Best Picture nominee to get a showcase. Ryan Reynolds describes it as best as possible without using the phrase "white guilt," which looks like it was on his lips the whole time.

8:55 The next award, presented by Cameron Diaz and Steve Carrell, is Best Animated Feature. Steve is hilarious, and I wonder if the Jude Law thing was improvised or not. Anyway, the introductions of the films by the characters is cute. And the winner is...Up. Of course. Pete Docter is an awkward looking man. But he's a director, he can be. And I like his bottle cap on his jacket.

9:01 Again, Tiger Beat. Though Amanda Seyfried > Miley Cyrus, and they're introducing Best Original Song. And the winner is..."The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)," from, of course, Crazy Heart.

9:05 Chris Pine, aka Captain Kirk, introduces District 9. The sci-fi connection, eh? I'm surprised they showed some of the gorier bits on TV. And this Kenny G version of "The Weary Kind" is kind of annoying. Just saying.

9:12 Robert Downey Jr. and Tina Fey are presenting now. Please let these two star in something together. Anyway, they are presenting Best Original Screenplay. And the winner is...Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker. And we have our first upset. And our first win for The Hurt Locker. We should see more of those soon.

9:17 So appearantly its 1989, because Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick are presenting. Of course, its about John Hughes, so its the In Memoriam segment. Or maybe just a John Hughes tribute.

9:23 Samuel L. Jackson is introducing Up. How strange is that? Not very: remember, Jackson was the voice of Frozone in The Incredibles. But still, its an odd coupling.

9:27 So Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have been good so far, but perhaps not the legendary work of hosts past. Anyway, Carey Mulligan and Zoe Saldana are here to introduce the shorts. The winner of Best Animated Short is...Logorama! They didn't pick Wallace & Gromit!?!?! The second shocker of the night. It was a great short, though.

9:33 The winner of Best Documentary Short is...Music by Prudence. I'm not sure what to think about the red-headed woman here. She's obviously the dominant force in the production. And the winner of Best Live-Action Short is.... The New Tenants.

9:38 Ben Stiller comes out as a Na'vi, probably part of a protest against his sketch with Sacha Baron Cohen being cut. And of course he is fantastic, especially when he talks directly to James Cameron. He's presenting Best Makeup (which, as he points out, Avatar is not even nominated here). And the winner is...Star Trek.

9:43 Jeff Bridges is introducing A Serious Man, which is an interesting choice of presenter. but whatever.

9:47 Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams are introducing Best Adapted Screenplay. And the winner here is...Geoffery Fletcher for Precious? This was really the only category Up in the Air had a chance at winning, so this is truly surprising.

9:52 Queen Latifah is here to honor the Governors Awards recipients. Lauren Bacall and Roger Corman are actually at the ceremony, and are receiving a standing ovation. Though I'll be honest: in the close-ups, a lot of people didn't seem to know who they were.

9:55 Robin Williams is giving out Best Supporting Actress. His dirty jokes always make me laugh. Anyway, the winner is....Mo'Nique, of course. Would it be anyone else? And she got a standing ovation. Awesome. And she's such a fantastic speech maker. I'm glad she won just for that even.

10:02 Colin Firth introduces An Education. "Hey, he's British, it's a British, it all makes sense!"

10:05 Sigourney Weaver is here to introduce Best Art Direction. And the winner is....Avatar. Which of course is not a major surprise. But it is the film's first award of the night, though probably not the last.

10:09 Tom Ford and Sarah Jessica Parker are introducing the Oscar for Best Costume Design. I like Steve Martin's introduction, "He directed A Single Man, she weighs a single pound." And the winner is....The Young Victoria.

10:12 Precious is being introduced now as a Best Picture nominee.

10:17 I'm really enjoying this Paranormal Activity spoof with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. That was fantastic.

10:18 Taylor Lautner and Kristin Stewart are introducing a tribute to horror films, which are usually absent from the Oscars. The reason: most of them are terrible and unoriginal. But does being in Twilight make you worthy of discussing horror? Because that most definitely is not horror.

10:23 Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick are presenting the awards for Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. And in a wonderful turn of events, the clip is narrated by Morgan Freeman. Sound Editing goes to....The Hurt Locker. For those of you keeping score at home, that's two for The Hurt Locker, one for Avatar. And Sound Mixing goes to....The Hurt Locker. The sweep continues, and that score is now 3-1.

10:28 Elizabeth Banks is introducing the Sci-Tech ceremony. For those who don't know, she also hosted that ceremony.

10:29 John Travolta is introducing Inglourious Basterds. Its a Tarantino fest!

10:34 Sandra Bullock is yet another presenter-nominee of the evening. She's here to introduce Best Cinematography, and she's trying out that down-home charm. Meh. But the Oscar goes to....Avatar. 3-2.

10:37 Demi Moore is introducing the In Memoriam montage. Her speech seems really forced, and James Taylor's performing live for it. Its a nice touch.

10:44 There's nothing on but commercials right now, but so far it looks like if this year's ceremony really is going to be shorter, it'll be by maybe five minutes. Nice try guys.

10:45 Jennifer Lopez and Sam Worthington (?) are presenting Best Original Score, along with an interpretive dance crew. What? The? Heck? The dancing is impressive, but not at all fitting to the music. They could've done without this routine. But someone (Adam Shankman) thought it was a good idea. Anyway, the Oscar goes to....Michael Giacchino for Up! How wonderfully perfect!

10:54 Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper are introducing the Visual Effects category, which will undoubtedly go to Avatar. And the Oscar goes to....Avatar. For those still keeping score, 3-3.

10:56 Jason Bateman introduces Up in the Air. I'm still amazed that George Clooney still looks very pissed this late into the ceremony. What's going on there?

11:01 Matt Damon (one of tonight's Supporting Actor losers) is introducing Best Documentary Feature. And the winner is....The Cove.

11:05 Tyler Perry is presenting Best Film Editing. Its nice to see that he recognizes his chances of returning to the Oscars one day (which is slim to none). Martin and Baldwin in a Snuggie = yay. And the winner is...The Hurt Locker. 4-3 The Hurt Locker.

11:08 Keanu Reeves introduces The Hurt Locker. I don't know why, but I find that very funny. Maybe its the irony of the acting styles: naturalistic in the movie, wooden from Reeves in everything.

11:14 Pedro Almodovar and Quentin Tarantino are introducing Foreign Language Films. Tarantino is dominating the conversation, and is certainly very enthusiastic about the opportunity. Almodovar, on the other hand, looks awkward. And the winner is...El Secreto de Sus Ojos won?!? Stunning!

11:19 I don't know how Kathy Bates fits into Avatar, but she's introducing it. Go figure.

11:24 Tim Robbins, Colin Farrell, Michelle Pfiffer, Vera Farmiga, and Julianne Moore are here en masse to introduce the Best Actor nominees. It seems a little much to me, but its probably an effort to extend the show they said they'd shorten. Oh well. And the Oscar goes to...

11:31 After all that, they don't say, and Kate Winslet's going to make the announcement instead. Excess much? Anyway, for real this time, the Oscar goes to....Jeff Bridges. It is his time, after all.

11:39 I'm predicting more excess for the Actresses too. And I'm right, because Oprah Winfrey , Forest Whitaker, Stanley Tucci, Michael Sheen, and Peter Sarsgaard are all here to talk about their experiences with the nominated actresses. And I'm willing to be none of them have the envelope. Personal note, the broadcast blackouts are not helping my nerves. Ugh satellite come on! And yeah, Sean Penn has the envelope. And the Oscar goes to....Sandra Bullock. This is what I had feared. "Did I really earn this or did I just wear y'all down?" The latter, I think, Sandra. But she is recognizing the other nominees, which is nice.

11:50 Its almost the end of the broadcast, leaving only Director and Picture left. This is where The Hurt Locker vs. Avatar competition is going to peak. Who will take which? We're about to find out....

11:52 Barbara Streisand is introducing Best Director, and of course she makes a point to mention the woman and black director (Kathryn Bigelow and Lee Daniels, respectively). And the Oscar goes to....Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker! That's 5-3 for The Hurt Locker, who will probably be the night's big winner as well.

11:58 Tom Hanks gets to announce Best Picture. And why not? The Oscar goes to...The Hurt Locker of course! It's the little film that could, and now it finally has. Too bad for James Cameron and Avatar. Better luck next time, eh?

To all of you who followed this live-blog, thank you for doing so. I had a blast doing this, and I can't wait until next year! I'll try to keep the posts coming daily, but I know that Oscar withdrawal is about to kick in, so be on the lookout for more random posts on film-related topics. Good night all!