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I've always found it ironic (and a little irritating) that the Oscar noms are announced during Sundance, forcing people who are already dealing with altitude nosebleeds and sleep deprivation to wake up early to see who's nominated for Hollywood's biggest annual self-congratulatory pat on the back. Fortunately for me, Monika very kindly dragged her own butt out of bed early to liveblog the noms so those of us who are holed up in the snow in Park City could sleep an extra hour.

This is the first year in a long time that I've felt a bit of excitement about the Oscar noms, because I woke up this morning to see that Juno ended up getting four noms -- Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (for Ellen Page) and Best Screenplay. I know there are folks out there (some of them even work with me, but I won't name any names ... you know who you are) who totally disagree with me about Juno, but damn, I love that movie, and I'm glad to see the Oscar blue-hairs giving it some love. Whether it will actually win remains to be seen, but I'm happy just with the noms, and Fox Searchlight will certainly be able to milk the noms for all they're worth either way.

Here's the thing about Juno, for the surly nihilists and Diablo Cody/Jason Reitman haters out there: for a lot of people, that film just works. Say what you will about the dialogue being unrealistically snappy, or how it's not realistic that Juno didn't think about birth control (anyone who honestly believes that has forgotten what it's like to be a teenager), or that it's just a quirky little comedy but not that big a deal. Whatever. Juno has struck a chord with audiences. It's box office receipts are phenomenal, especially considering it was made for a few million bucks.

I knew from the energy at that first preview screening at Telluride that this film was going to be big; it out-buzzed every film at that veritable festival, and that is no small feat. I know people, myself included, who have watched it over and over again, and I very rarely watch any film multiple times. It's a very cozy sort of movie, like eating a pan of Stouffer's mac-and-cheese when you're feeling down, only not as likely to pad your ass with extra poundage. So, yay for Juno! Haters, you may now commence with the "I can't believe this movie got four Oscar noms, it's just a comedy" comments.

Welcome to Cinematical's official liveblogging of the 79th Annual Academy Awards! Erik will be your host for the first hour; Monika will bat second and Kim will clean things up. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will get stuck in the bathroom? Let's find out ...

Best Picture: The Departed

Diane Keaton and (a bald!) Jack Nicholson come out to present Best Picture. There's some weird vibe or inside joke thing going on between Keaton and Nicholson. Anyhow, the Oscar goes to ... The Departed. Ah, well. I was really pulling for Little Miss Sunshine, but what're you gonna do?

So that wraps up our live Oscar coverage, folks. Now you talk back to us! What award are you most happy about? Who should have won that didn't? What winner can you not believe? And what did you think of Ellen as the Oscar host? She didn't really do it for me ... she's likable enough, and she had a couple funny moments, but she seemed to be really holding back and afraid of offending. Who would you like to see as Oscar host next year?


Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Cut right to the chase: Martin Scorsese wins it. He finally has his Oscar. He gets a standing ovation, everyone's whistling and cheering and crying. He gives a gracious speech, thanking everyone under the sun. He hopes to make movies with Leo DiCaprio for many more years, which is fine by me.


Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Here's Reese Witherspoon to present for Best Actor. She looks fantastic -- divorce has been good for her, at least physically. She's obviously been working out, her arms are buff. Love the long hair with short bangs, and the dress is stunning. Too bad for Ryan Phillippe. In my heart I'm rooting for Ryan Gosling, but all these performances are so strong, it's hard to be upset no matter who wins. And it goes to ... Forest Whitaker. Wow. I feel kind of bad for Peter O'Toole, who just can't get a break when it comes to actually winning one of those. They'd better give him an honorary one next year, before it's too late. (Note: Er, make that, anOTHER honorary one, since he won one in 2003, duh. Thanks, Kristie, Jason and Fezman88, for reminding me of that.)

Whitaker gives a moving speech. His wife is crying, Will Smith is crying, James McAvoy is crying, his ancestors are crying. We're all crying. No, seriously. Whitaker deserves the win, his performance was powerful and, like Mirren's in The Queen, carried the film. I met him at Telluride, and he was so nice; we'd both just come from Little Children, and he was blown away by that film, as I was. Good for him for the win.


Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen

Okay, now we're getting serious. We're down to Best Actress. What the hell happened to Philip Seymour Hoffman's hair? He looks like he used too much product and then decided at the last second to go for "artfully mussed-up." Oh, another upset. It's Helen Mirren with the win. Okay, much as I would have really liked to have seen Kate Winslet win, or maybe Penelope Cruz, we all knew Mirren had this locked, and I'm not going to begrudge her the naked gold man. Her performance totally made The Queen, and she looks absolutely stunning tonight in this lovely silver gown. She salutes Queen Elizabeth II, I'm sure Her Royal Majesty appreciates it.

To kick things off, Erik, Monika and Kim are liveblogging the red carpet coverage on E! The newest stuff is on top; read down to go back in time.

Erik: Ah, there's nothing like the classic production shot -- with a bunch of guys who were probably so pissed they had to actually dress up to sit in a room and yell, "Take, Seacrest!" Holy cow, the song Lady in Red was written for moments like this, with Nicole Kidman. Ryan asks about her car accident, and it's almost like she wants to say, "Actually Ryan, you're the car accident." Weird Keith Urban answer -- where is he, again?

And that about wraps us up -- check out our final predictions post, and we'll see you in just a bit for the ceremony. Yay, no more Ryan Seacrest ... until Tuesday ... and Wednesday ... and Thursday.

Kim: Queen Latifah, who will be presenting with John Travolta, looks fantastic. Cut to a shot of Abigail Breslin, looking cute as a button in an age-appropriate pink dress. She is SO damn cute. Now we're onto Meryl Streep. It seems everyone in the cast of The Devil Wears Prada got together and said, "Hey, let's do Opposite Day at the Oscars! Since we're in a film about fashion, we'll all dress badly!" Jay was picking on Anne Hathaway's gown earlier, he should have a heyday with Meryl.

Monika: Oh yes, I'm sure you were looking at Tracey Edmunds before Eddie Murphy. That went relatively smoothly, but I was more distracted by the enormous, hideous bow on Nicole Kidman's dress. The lady needs to eat a cheeseburger and not pick bows bigger than her cranium.

And Ms. Winslet is now talking to Ryan and still looks lovely. Ricky JARVIS. Who is that? Ricky Gervais. If he is going to send Kate special messages, you think he'd know how to say his name. I think Ricky's Siamese would be better than Seacrest at this job. Queen Latifah looks scared to walk up to Seacrest. Now he looks like a little person. And finally, Reese still looks hot, and the other Ryan is still crazy for dumping her.

Erik: Ryan is with Cate Blanchett, who looks like a silver statue. Very elegant. She will "die of shock" if she somehow beats Jennifer Hudson. Yikes ... although it would be an interesting acceptance speech. And then we cut to Ellen Degeneres on the set of her American Express commercial? And we care about this, why? All it does is make us want to see that turtle host the Oscars instead of her. Not a good thing.

Kim: Nice shot of J Lo looking sultry with Marc Antony. Not crazy about that dress, and what's up with her Mary Tyler Moore hairdo. Now we're examining Beyonce. Hate her dress, but I'm glad to see her boobies covered. We saw enough of them at the Golden Globes. Jay isn't digging on her dress either.

On the other hand, Gwyneth Paltrow looks amazing. Very much better than that dreadful goth look she had a few years back. This year she opts for long, straight tresses and a gorgeous an apricot-ish gown. The earrings don't do it for me, though, and the lipstick is a little too red for the dress. Jay apparently doesn't like it, because they had to take a break for Ryan to schmooze with Beyonce before breaking out The Pen.

Monika: Ryan cried while watching Prada. Anne Hathaway is being nice, and not telling him what a tool he is. Just before this, Kirsten Dunst showed up, fixing tuxes in her doily with dead birds at her feet. It's hideous. It looks like the trio are agreeing with me. I'm ignoring their detailed commentary, and imagining Sacha Baron Cohen lying on a chaise, half-nude, waiting to be fed strawberries.

Alan Arkin looks like Alan Arkin. I think he wants to deck Seacrest, or just pretend he can't hear him. They're talking about their futile plans to keep little Abigail from hearing profanities. Gwyneth is looking amazing... But first up is Forest. He doesn't want to forget anyone. If he wins, I predict a LONG acceptance speech.

Don't forget, kids, – because I'm absolutely insane, I'm forcing Martha and Erik to help me live blog the Golden Globes tonight. You can start your evening over at TV Squad where, starting at about 6pm, Bob Sassone will be blogging the red carpet arrivals. Then, swing back on over here for marathon coverage. And, of course, don't forget to snark to your hearts content in the comments.