9:00p PT
My sincere thanks to Melissa Hansen, Kent and Michelle Dixon, Jim Thomas, and Kerry Birmingham for contributing to our live coverage. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did bringing it to you.

8:59p PT
With respect to the ABC new series previews, Judge Kent Dixon, “CUPID!?!?!? ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?! First they’re making Candy Land into a film and now they’re resurrecting Cupid? Are they just pretending the original series was a collective dream? My brother was in an episode of the original to boot.” Judge Jim Thomas, “I think the point of resurrecting Cupid is so that the irony gods can make it a hit, while Castle and Paula Marshall fade into oblivion.”

8:56p PT
Only 26 minutes over schedule, but thoroughly engaging. Not something we’ve been able to say about the Oscars before today. Judge Melissa Hansen, “Best Academy Awards in recent memory. Kudos to all. And the previews… way cool.” Judge Jim Thomas, “What Melissa said about the BP montage! Yeah, that. A sense of reflection (as opposed to patting oneself on the back) permeated this year’s awards, a sense I can’t really recall seeing before.” Judge Kerry Birmingham, “An enjoyable ceremony, though it seemed like there were a lot of technical gaffes — did I hear someone say Steve, open the curtain before that first montage started? Jackman certainly has charisma to spare, sort of the opposite of Bill Maher tonight.” Judge Kent Dixon, “…no actors were harmed (at least not permanently) in the filming of these awards.” Judge Chris Kulik, “One of the best ceremonies in recent years. Loved the genre montages and the Bollywood aura which surrounded the competition… even if the Best Picture winner was a given.”

8:53p PT
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire produced by Christian Colson. Judge Kent Dixon, “And who said that dog couldn’t hunt?” Judge Kerry Birmingham, “Not a surprise, of course, but an excellent movie. I wouldn’t say it’s the best or even my personal favorite of 2008, but it’s a worthy film. In fact, while none of the movies nominated strike me as true future classics, they’re all solid movies (even accounting for the snub of The Dark Knight), which isn’t always the case with the Academy.”

8:48p PT
Spielberg intros an inspired montage of Best Picture nominees. Judge Melissa Hansen, “Brilliant montage, just brilliant.”

8:43p PT
Actor: Sean Penn for Milk. “You Commie, Homo-loving sons of guns…” This was a brilliant acceptance speech from a man of normally few public words. Judge Jim Thomas, “Awww, Sean Penn DOES have a sense of humor!” Judge Kent Dixon, “Robin’s reaction made the whole moment for us; that and Sean’s grace, humor, and humility. Judge Kerry Birmingham, “Now I want to see Mickey Rourke stand up, smash a whiskey bottle on the floor, and tear his chair out of the ground.”

8:38p PT
Robert DeNiro, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Douglas, Ben Kingsley, and Adrian Brody intro the nominees for Best Actor. Judge Kent Dixon, “Personal messages from each winner to each nominee brings a personal touch to the Best Actor and Actress categories that should have been done long ago.” DeNiro’s tribute to Sean was priceless. Judge Kent Dixon, “Chills. Aside from the fact that Adrian Brody’s not quite in the same league, these men are some of the greatest and most legendary actors of all time. Tributes given by legends indeed.”

8:33p PT
Actress: Kate Winslet for The Reader. Damn. Kate is phenomenal on all levels, but I was sure this was going to Meryl. Maybe the sentimental vote has been retired. This is one ballsy, bawdy, authentically gifted woman.

8:25p PT
Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, and Marion Cotillard present Best Actress nominees. As an actor myself, I adore this format. Shirley’s intro of Anne Hathaway was extremely touching. Sophia Loren is an amazing, but frightening woman, and could not have been a more perfect choice to intro Meryl. Judge Melissa Hansen, “Screw the gold award, these great actresses saying these rave things about you is the real prize. Wait, is that a Ring Pop on Angie’s finger?”

8:19p PT
Director: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire. Danny is a unique combination of talent, class, and humor. Judge Kent Dixon, “…and coming in strong on the inside…it’s….it’s….Slumdog Millionaire?” Judge Kerry Birmingham, “Classy, heartfelt speech from Danny Boyle. The guy that had Ewan McGregor dive into a dirty toilet now has an Oscar…for a movie where a small child dives into a dirty latrine. Maybe slathering Leonardo DiCaprio in excrement would have helped The Beach.” Judge Jim Thomas, “*Nothing* could have helped The Beach.”

8:11p PT
Another tear jerker, remembering those who passed in 2008, courtesy of the Queen. Judge Melissa Hansen, “Damn, they made the wall of death part even more heartbreaking. Thanks Queen.” Judge Kerry Birmingham, “It appears Paul Newman narrowly beats Syndney Pollack in the Death Montage Applause-o-Meter.” Judge Kent Dixon, “Queen Latifah..what a fitting song and performer for the memorial, a portion of the Oscar telecast that usually slips by without the attention it deserves. The entertainment industry lost many great people in all areas this year, they will be deeply missed. Uhhh guys? What about Heath?” He died just before last year’s telecast and was remembered then. Judge Jim Thomas, “While I appreciate the attempt to do something different with the requiem piece, isn’t it counterproductive if we can’t read the names?”

8:07p PT
Foreign Language Film: Departures (Japan) directed by Yojiro Takita. Judge Kerry Birmingham, “Glad to see so many international winners, but these are the Polite Clapping for Broken English Academy Awards.”

8:01p PT
Music Song: A.R. Rahman for “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire. Judge Kerry Birmingham, “Is Springsteen wishing he’d written The Wrestler in Hindi right now?”

7:56p PT
Oh boy, we’re back to interpretive dance for Best Song nominees. Judge Jim Thomas, “At least interpretive dance with the music is better than the interpretive dance with costumes they did in ‘89.” John Legend, what happened to your voice??? Peter Gabriel should be performing this song. Judge Melissa Hansen, “Peter Gabriel refused to come — he’s protesting.” Bollywood invades Los Angeles. Judge Kerry Birmingham, “Just one minute of each song? Are these the nominees for Best Ringtone?”

7:54p PT
Music Score: A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire

7:50p PT
Michael Giacchino conducts his arranged selections from this year’s nominated film scores. Zac Efron joins a gorgeous Alicia Keys on stage to present the nominees. Judge Melissa Hansen, “Starring in a new commercial for Neutrogena are…”

7:44p PT
Jerry Lewis receives a standing ovation for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. That was quickest speech of the night. Judge Kent Dixon, “Lewis is a class act; unfortunately, his presenter is not. Was Murphy the lowest bidder or something!? How come Lewis didn’t break into song after receiving his award?” Judge Melissa Hansen, “Can you be a humanitarian and a big old homophobe at the same time? I guess so.”

7:41p PT
After Norbit and Meet Dave, can Eddie Murphy still call himself a comedian? Judge Melissa Hansen, “HIm denying his daughter after he dumped her mother was pretty funny.” Judge Kerry Birmingham, “Hmm, if only someone had recently ruminated on Eddie Murphy’s career at length in a recent DVD review… Wait, I did that in my Coming to America review, ready to read at dvdverdict.com! What luck!”

7:36p PT
Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire. Danny Boyle could not be more proud of his crew.

7:33p PT
Sound Mixing: Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, and Resul Pookutty for Slumdog Millionaire

7:30p PT
Sound Editing: Richard King for The Dark Knight Judge Kent Dixon, “And the award for Best Gravelly-Voiced Superhero goes to…”

7:28p PT
Visual Effects: Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, and Craig Barron for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Judge Kent Dixon, “…won over Batman and Iron Man!?!?!?!? Aside… Nice Giacchino insert of Roar! from Cloverfield during the intro and extro. Go Michael!”

7:24p PT
I’m digging the year-in-review montages for each genre, and I usually abhor these time wasters.

7:19p PT
Documentary Short: Megan Mylan for Smile Pinki

7:14p PT
Documentary Feature: James Marsh and Simon Chinn for Man on Wire. Bill Maher plugging his own film. Tacky. But saved by a wonderful acceptance speech from the film’s star.

7:10p PT
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight. This is going to be an emotional few minutes. There is not a dry eye in the house. Wow… Judge Kent Dixon, “I know what people might be saying about the other nominees being as, or even more deserving, but the Academy has done a great thing tonight by recognizing Heath and honoring both him and his family. Bravo!”

7:02p PT
Joel Grey, Alan Arkin, Kevin Kline, Christopher Walken, and Cuba Gooding Jr are presenting for Supporting Actor. Judge Kent Dixon, “Now this is what the Oscars are all about! MORE COWBELL!” Hey Philip, what’s with the hat?! Having a bad hair day? Judge Melissa Hansen, “Who the hell wears a knit cap to the Oscars?! I mean, besides Anna Paquin.” Chris needs a haircut.

6:52p PT
Here comes the big musical number! Oh no, Beyonce. This is lame. Zac and Vanessa join in the fun. Amanda and Dominic step in too. Ugh. That was painful. Baz Luhrman was responsible for that mess?! Judge Melissa Hansen, “No Rob Lowe and Snow White though.” Judge Kent Dixon, “…get Hugh Jackman a MONITOR!! He’s having a little trouble keeping some of those notes inflated. Beyonce is completely stunning..what a voice! What is this…High School Musical 4? And what’s with the drums!?!?!” Judge Jim Thomas, “Hugh Jackman: The musical is back! My wife: Unfortunately, so is the sucky Oscar production number.“

6:48p PT
Live Action Short: Jochen Alexander Freydank for Spielzeugland (Toyland). Judge Kent Dixon, “Hmmm… Franco is clearly NOT a German surname! What was with that pronunciation!?!?!”

6:45p PT
The Pineapple Express bit was a riot. James Franco, “Who do you think is a better actor, Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama?” “I wonder if you could make this into a pipe?” (looking at Kaminsky’s statue). Janusz Kaminski, “They made me do it Mr. Spielberg.”

6:41p PT
Judge Kent Dixon, “Uh, Jessica… Draping in fashion doesn’t mean literally wearing drapes!”

6:38p PT
Judge Kent Dixon, “We’re actually enjoying watching the Oscars for the first time in MANY years. There’s a level of sincerity here that’s been missing for quite some time.” Magistrate Michelle Dixon, “There’s a LOT of movies they’re showing tonight that I wanna see!” Kent, “Hmmm… shadows of Flick Swaps to come?”

6:35p PT
Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire.

6:30p PT
Ben Stiller is hilarious doing his best Joaquin Phoenix impression. “I just want to retire from being the funny guy.” Judge Kent Dixon, “Wow, Nick Nolte and Natalie Portman are AWESOME! Is it wrong that I think she’s hot?”

6:25p PT
Judge Melissa Hansen, “I am LOVING this presentation style.”

6:24p PT
Makeup Design: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

6:23p PT
Judge Kent Dixon, “Maybe Daniel Craig’s just nervous, but it seems he rented his tongue for tonight’s performance as well as his tux.”

6:20p PT
Costume Design: Michael O’Connor for The Duchess.

6:16p PT
Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt and Victor Zolfo for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

6:10p PT
Best Animated Short: La Maison en Petit Cubes. Pixar is shut out for a change. Judge Kent Dixon, “Mr. Katô just may win best improvised acceptance line of the night with his Domo Arigato Mister Roboto quip. The ’80s salute him!”

6:07p PT
Best Animated Feature: WALL-E. Judge Jim Thomas, “That animation yearbook made it painfully obvious why Jack Black’s comment about Pixar is so on target.”

6:05p PT
Here we go! Angie and Jen face-to-face. Angie’s laughing and Brad’s not. Jen looks a bit uncomfortable after the clips.

6:00p PT
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire.

5:57p PT
Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk. A touching heartfelt acceptance speech.

5:55p PT
A fantastic way to present the screenplay nominees.

5:55p PT
Tina Fey and Steve Martin are great together… “Ahhh Steve…no one wants to hear about our religion.” Judge Kent Dixon, “I laughed out loud on THAT one.” Her beauty puts many of these women to shame.

5:52p PT
I’m surprised. I loved Penelope’s performance, but I didn’t expect her to win.

5:50p PT
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

5:45p PT
Wow… having multiple Oscar winners presenting each of the major awards is a tremendous feat. I’m digging this format. It adds a gravitas and humanity we haven’t seen before. It’s a community of peers celebrating the work of each nominee.

5:40p PT
There’s an amazing lack of pretentiousness tonight.

5:35p PT
Hugh Jackman has decent comic timing. He’s a bit tone deaf tonight though. This opening number is cheesy train wreck… but Anne Hathaway is having fun. Judge Melissa Hansen, “are you kidding me?! Hugh is amazing!” Give Jackman credit for giving everything he’s got to pull this off. This is like Mickey and Judy doing a show in the barn. Judge Mike Rubino, “Jackman’s opening song was hilarious. I think he owes some of that to Be Kind Rewind.” Judge Kent Dixon, “It’s an amazing testament to Hugh Jackman’s skill as an actor he is able to completely and convincingly mask that cultured Australian accent so skilfully in the majority of his roles.”

5:30p PT
Places everyone…

5:25p PT
Five minutes to show time. Jack Black looks like he’s already had more than a few drinks. Michael Giacchino is the musical director tonight, which should be a blast! The production tonight is a blend of Busby Berkeley and Michaelangelo. Seriously?!

5:20p PT
Miley hopes to be nominated for an Oscar next year… yeah, good luck with that. Judge Melissa Hansen, “Tilda Swinton keeps surprising me. I keep thinking she can’t look any worse.” But she’s one hell of an actor.

5:15p PT
Robert Downey Jr has become the next George Clooney; a rare breed who takes all this insanity in stride with a wink and a smile.

5:10p PT
Judge Melissa Hansen, “Evan Rachel Wood is a Greek goddess” …but the shine wears off fast, knowing she’s sucking face with Mickey Rourke.

5:05p PT
Those dress trains have to be completely trashed by the end of the evening. SJP and Matthew Broderick look very uncomfortable together. Taraji P. Henson is absolutely adorable.

5:00p PT
I forgot ABC has an additional 30 min of red carpet coverage. Kate Winslet has impeccable style and class. Tim Gunn is a cartoon character.

4:55p PT
Five minutes to show time. Am I one of the few people on the planet who doesn’t find Jessica Biel attractive? What happened to the Jennifer Aniston/Angelina Jolie catfight? That would have made for great red carpet excitement.

4:45p PT
Judge Melissa Hansen, “Amy Adams has very yellow teeth. Why is Bridget Fonda wearing a grandma dress? Could the Slumdog kids look any cuter? Why is Melissa George there?”

4:40p PT
Anne Hathaway is one of the most beautiful women on the carpet tonight.

4:35p PT
Mickey Rourke is rapidly taking over for Jack Nicholson as the enigma that no one bothers to try and figure out. Marisa Tomei’s dress looks like Origami gone horribly wrong. Is there an awards show or major event that Beyonce doesn’t attend? That girl must have an army of clones.

4:30p PT
I don’t think Robert Downey Jr. ever gives a bad interview. He and his wife Susan should have their own TV series.

4:25p PT
Mrs. Judd Apatow, aka Leslie Mann, is dressed like a disco ball. Natalie Portman is stunning in simple, elegant pink.

4:20p PT
SJP: “It’s nice to be a part of something that obviously means a lot to a lot of people.” Profound.

4:15p PT
Twilight’s Robert Pattinson and his magic hair have arrived. Amazingly, he doesn’t appear stoned. Diane Lane trying to say nice things about husband Josh Brolin, but not very convincingly.

4:10p PT
Sarah Jessica Parker borrowed her dress from Mattel’s Holiday Barbie circa 1986. Designer Randolph Duke… “This is push-up princess and she’s got a little too much luggage on top.” Judge Melissa Hansen, “Anthony Hopkins is looking like an old Malcolm McDowell.”

4:05p PT
Frost/Nixon’s Michael Sheen is sporting the Danny Zucco pompadour. Why? Who knows.

3:47p PT
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the second most nominated film in Oscar history. Could it possibly go away empty handed in the major categories?

3:45p PT
Slumdog Millionaire is the first Indian film to ever be nominated for Best Picture.

3:35p PT
You’ll see many people wearing white ribbons, which symbolize the fight for marriage equality.

3:30p PT
Zac Efron looks like he forgot to dry his hair. Vanessa Hudgens is sporting the gothic dead mermaid look. Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates are a classy couple.

3:25p PT
It’s a cool, overcast day here in Los Angeles, but the rain is holding off.

3:15p PT
We sometimes forget this is an ABC event, meaning the House of Mouse is putting their people and properties front and center, with Disney’s El Capitan Theatre featured prominently in the background. First up arrivals: Miley Cyrus (nasty dress), GMA’s Robin Roberts (the first of many women wearing red tonight).

3:05p PT
Producers Bill Condon and Lawrence Mark are keeping the evening’s activities completely under wraps. KABC’s coverage team is doing their best to get celebrities to slip, but those involved in the stage presentations are skipping the red carpet walk and being ushered in the back entrance of the theatre.

3:00p PT
Today we celebrate Cinema Verdict’s first birthday with our 2nd annual live coverage of the Academy Awards and all of the insanity that comes along with it. Our local news here in Los Angeles has been covering the preparations non-stop for several weeks. In fact, they put Oscar updates ahead of stories on the economic crisis, murder, political scandal, and even car chases, so you know it’s a big deal. Yeah…

For those who don’t know the big red carpet entrance is actually part of the Hollywood & Highland shopping mall, with red draping covering the various shops and eateries. And nowhere will you see the seedy, belligerent superhero and animated costumed characters who normally occupy this real estate.