OSCAR/SCHMOSCAR

My God what a horrendous show Sunday night's Academy Awards was, wasn't it?

For THIS they ended the Writer's Strike?

I love Jon Stewart, I think he is often brilliant. But this is just not his thing.
He already hosted one of the lowest rated Oscar shows in history & now guess what? He topped himself!  Sunday's ratings were in the toilet. At least Whoopi Goldberg's ratings were better even though the Academy snubbed her by not including any of her clips from past Oscar telecasts (they left out Steve Martin too!) The Academy has since apologized. When asked to explain why the late actor Brad Renfro was left out of the annual "ode to the dead" they explained(basically) that there were just too many dead people.

THRILLED for MARION COTILLARD & her deserrved Best Actress win! And she looked so lovely on her Gautier gown.

Someone who did NOT look so hot was TILDA SWINTON. Now don't get me wrong I think she is amazing actress & truly gave a terrific performance in"MICHAEL CLAYTON" But was she aware that the Academy Awards are TELEVISED? Has she developed some ALLERGY to MAKEUP since the film wrapped? Blessed Mother of God! 

Very tall with a SHOCK of red hair & pale skin you can almost SEE THROUGH the lady is ARRESTING! She shoukd come with a WARNING LABEL. A little foundation, some blush, hell it's L.A.... a little self-tanner wouldn't have killed her. And I think she should sue the designer at Lanvin who persuauded her to wear that dreadful dress. She looked like she was mugged on the way home from Graduation. I really like her & think she cold be helped. Perhaps she's just ill-advised. A very interesting woman too. She has some sort of complicated European love life...husband, kids AND a Lover! And we're all friends...isn't that terrific? Sort of?

Somebody who would never be caught without makeup was the late great LANA TURNER. The last great bombshell before MARILYN MONROE, Lana was quite a glamorous character & not a bad actress either. ("Imitation of Life" is one of my all time favorites) Though her 12 yr. old daughter did famously stab her gangster lover to death (Nobody's perfect!) Lana went on to find some happiness with 3 more husbands after that. I read this little anecdote the other day:

"She liked her booze!" the columnist James Bacon recalled. He tells of driving in a limousine with Lana on their way to a cocktail party & watching her sip vodka from a silver flask. "My God! Lana" Bacon said. "You're going to have a drink in 10 minutes!"
Lana replied: "And that's 10 minutes without a drink!" You gotta love those old broads!

I'm going to have to re-think my own drinking strategy for future Oscar shows apparently. I have always made it a policy not to have a cocktail til at least the "Best Supporting Actress/Actor" category which USED to be about 25 minutes or so in.  Not this past Sunday that award wasn't even handed out in the first HOUR! 

GayGardener Decorating TIP: Again this year,  I had fun decorating for my Oscar party with, what else? FILM!  Just grab some cheap film from your favorite discount store (99 Cents!) and use the "spools" as a table runner or garland for the fireplace mantle. Another cute thing is to take some of your old "negatives" (the ones you keep & aren't sure why) & wrap them around some clear votive candle holders, makes a nice effect when all lit up...as do I!