COMPILED FROM HAMILTON SPECTATOR NEWS SERVICES
(Feb 17, 2010)
OSCAR OSCAR OSCAR
No acting, please
The producers of the upcoming Oscars show are doing everything in their power to get Oscar winners to give creative, heartfelt and personal thank-you speeches.
And, to bring home that point, they revealed at this week's Oscar Nominees Luncheon, how the show is going to open. Taped comments of previous winners will be shown explaining what winning their award means to them. The producers showed bits of new unedited interviews with Diablo Cody, Renee Zellweger and Davis Guggenheim.
Any bag will do
Sandra Bullock says she's oddly relaxed about what she'll wear to the Oscars. She says it's because it's someone else's job to finely stitch thousands of pleats and jewels into a gorgeous thing to make you look divine. Bullock jokes if she has to wear a trash bag she'll belt it with rhinestones and she'll make it work. Bullock is nominated for The Blind Side.
The fun's in the journey
Maggie Gyllenhaal got Oscar advice from her brother even before she was nominated for Crazy Heart. Jake Gyllenhaal was nominated for Brokeback Mountain. He told his sister there isn't actually anything at the end of the rainbow. Maggie Gyllenhaal says Jake also told her it's a lot of fun and to enjoy it in that spirit. He told her that if she makes it mean too much more than that, she'll probably go astray.
Stick to your day job
The role that has given Jeff Bridges another Oscar nomination has also caused him to adjust his focus. He plays a troubled but likable country singer in Crazy Heart.
Bridges said he wants to devote more time to his music and possibly tour. He has to put that plan on hold for a little while. Next month Bridges starts filming the Coen Brothers remake of True Grit. He'll play the same role John Wayne had in the 1969 version.
Do the bump
English actress Carey Mulligan met Quentin Tarantino in a slightly embarrassing way. Both were going into the Oscar Nominees Luncheon. Mulligan says she leaned over and she and Quentin Tarantino accidentally bumped butts. (moon landing!) She says that is a surreal thing to happen.
This jerk she likes
Going to her first Academy Awards is doubly exciting for Gabourey Sidibe. First, she's nominated for Precious. But, second, she says her mom has a crush on Steve Martin.
She says she and her mom used to watch The Jerk pretty much every day. So, Sidibe says she's really excited that the show will be hosted by Jack Donaghy and The Jerk. Jack Donaghy, of course, is the character Alec Baldwin plays on 30 Rock.
Love the troops, hate the war
The Hurt Locker has been life-changing for Jeremy Renner. And it's not just because he and the movie are up for Oscars.
Renner says he is anti-war but wholeheartedly supports the troops who are involved in battle. He says he now walks up to any military personnel he can find, and he shakes their hand and thanks them for their service. He says in September, he'll go on a USO tour to meet troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Renner plays Staff Sergeant William James, a skilled bomb detonator in Iraq in The Hurt Locker.
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