And The Winners Were.....The Viewers

So being the new entertainment reporter for Radio Chicagoland, I thought I would comment on Hollywood’s biggest night: The Oscars!

Before I get into it, I should mention one thing: I didn’t watch the entire show. I went to the Blackhawks game that night, and since I don’t have TiVo, I didn’t tape it. But I have pretty much seen everything, thanks to the wonderful world of YouTube.

The opening number was funny. Actually, I didn’t know what to expect with Hugh Jackman hosting. Bringing in Ann Hathaway was OK; the whole number was entertaining, but the musical part later on was pretty stupid. I am not a big fan of musicals, and I don’t like Beyonce.

I also don’t like Ben Stiller, but his mocking of Joaquin Phoenix was amusing. I don’t get the whole Phoenix thing, and his appearance with David Lettermen: Was it fake, or is he really that screwed up? I will be honest: There are awards I don’t really care about, even if the industry insiders do, such as best sound editing, best original score, sound mixing and animated short film. This is the time of the show when I start to flip over to SportsCenter and see what they are showing. Thankfully, the president of the Academy did not give his big long boring speech; he just stood up and waved.

I did like how they handed out the Best Supporting Actress and Actor and Best Actor and Actress awards, with former winners coming out and giving a little speech. It added just a little bit of excitement to the show having former winners coming out and saying some nice things about the nominees, although some of them were a little more heartfelt than others.I did not see the big winner “Slumdog Millionaire,” but I do want to. I didn’t realize that Kate Winslet was nominated six times and had never won; I just assumed she had won for “Titanic.” So I was pleased she won. She is a good actress, and, surprisingly, has been in a few movies I have liked.

I hate Sean Penn. He has been in some good movies, but is a goof. There is a time and a place for him to talk all his political jargon, but the Academy Awards is not it. It has nothing to do with if I agree with him or not. I hate when any actor does this, he just happens to do it the most. Nice speech. His wife, actress Robin Wright Penn, was in tears, but in all his rambling he forgot or didn’t care to thank her.

Everyone and their brother knew Heath Ledger was going to win for best supporting actor. It was nice to see his family up there accepting the award. It was an unbelievable performance in a great movie. But if they were going to nominate Ledger and have him win (which he really deserved), why didn’t they nominate director Chris Nolan for writing the screenplay or for direction? The Academy has a thing against action and comic book movies.

I have not seen the movie Penelope Cruz won for, nor have I seen anything she has made, as far as I remember. So I don’t care one way or another that she won. But she is hot, and that’s all that matters.

It was one of the more entertaining Oscars I have seen in awhile. Thanks to YouTube, I saw everything that I missed, at least I think. Of course, it was still long and parts were very boring, but I was entertained.Oh and I don’t care about the dressed lists.

(Chuck Salvatore is a reporter for the Southwest News-Herald. He may be reached at (773) 476-4800 ext. 241; at chucksalvatore@hotmail.com; or at chucksalvatore.blogspot.com. Also, don’t forget to catch him with the sports report every Thursday on the Linda Padgurskis show from noon to 1 p.m. and “The Out-N-About Talk Show with Ron and Joe, on Fridays from 2 to 3 p.m., both on WJJG 1530 AM. Chuck may also be heard every Thursday on Radio Chicagoland with Ray Hanania with the Entertainment Report. He will guest host on Tuesday, March 3, from 8 to 9:30 p.m.