The HBO Documentary Films presentation SMILE PINKI received an Oscar Award in the category of Best Documentary Short at the 81st annual Academy Awards, presented at the 2009 ceremony of the
Smile Pinki: HBO's Short Documentary Wins the 2008 Oscar
February 23, 2009 by
Oscar Speeches: Sean Penn’s Reaction to Winning for “Milk”
February 23, 2009 by
Sean Penn won a second Best Actor Oscar for the biopic “Milk.” His First Actor Oscar was in 2003 for Clint Eastwood's “Mystic River.”
Penn, who reference President Barack Obama in his accesptance speech, went into greater detail backstage. “We know that his public position, in terms of the specific issue of gay marriage, has not been, let's say, officially supportive. I would like to believe that's a political stand right now, and not necessarily a future one and a felt one,” he said. “I don't think any of us and, in particular, our president, will long be able to take that position. He'll adapt.”
Oscar 2008: Kate Winslet Reaction to Winning
February 23, 2009 by
Kate Winslet won the Best Actress Oscar for “The Reader” at her sixth nomination. “It's just dawning on me now that I've won an Oscar,” said the actress winner. “It's just starting to sink in. Oh my God.” And as someone who's been nominated before, I can tell you winning is really a lot better than losing. Really a lot better.”
Oscar 2008: Show’s Ratings Slightly Better Than Last Year (32 Million Viewers)
February 23, 2009 by
Feb 23, 2009–Strong viewings in the country's biggest urban markets helped the ratings of the 81st annual Academy Awards telecast on ABC Sunday night. The numbers rose by about 6% in Nielsen's metered-market overnights compared to last year's record low.
Oscar Show 2009: Middling Affair
February 23, 2009 by
Despite high hopes and many promises, the Oscar show last night was just a middling affair, a ceremony that demonstrated above all the nearly impossble task of reenergizing the creaky old format of the vet kudocast.
When Bill Condon, the director of the Oscar-nominated “Dreamgirls,” was appointed executive producer and Laurence Mark producer, we were led to believe that the Oscar ceremonies, whose ratings have been in severe and steady decline, would be totally reinvented. There was a veil of secrecy reagrding the structure of the show, the celeb-presenters, the nature of the acceptance speeches, and so on. Rumors were flying and suspense was building up.
