Voyager I

I happened by chance on this very nice tribute to one of only 2 man-made objects to ever leave the solar system: the Voyager spacecrafts.

Enjoy:

New York City - 1911

I'm not sure how I feel about this restoration. At first I found the glow around people to be off-putting and weird. Then I guess I kind of got used to it, but I still found the beta colorization process to be seriously distracting.

And when they show you the comparison at the end, frankly, I don't know how much the restoration was needed. I think it's a fascinating video for what it shows, not the enhanced quality of the images.

Judge for yourselves:

Glue

I can't decide if I like more the song, the choreography, the message, or the models... :

I'm Gay

Eugene Lee Young is a new artist to me but I found this video he wrote, choreographed, and directed about his coming out absolutely stunning:

Memory

Jennifer Hudson blesses us with her wonderful rendition of "Memory" from the musical Cats:

Spotlight on: Luke Evans

I only knew Luke Evans as an actor, but apparently he's a very good singer as well:

I Rise

I came upon this very powerful version of Madonna's "I Rise" and figured I'd share:

The 92ns Academy Awards - The Winners

The Oscars ceremony just ended and I'm super excited because even though there were few surprises, those few were outstanding.

Here are my stream-of-thought comments from notes I took during the night:

• Janelle Monae's opening act, with support from the great Billy Porter, was literally ELECTRIFYING
• Steve Martin and Chris Rock skit, although a bit stiff, was funny enough to make one wonder, Why aren't they hosting the ceremony outright? I even hoped against hope that the Academy hired them in secret. Alas, no, the skit was it.
• Brad Pitt's win, although announced, was earned, not only in this one movie, but in a long career during which this handsome man has more than proven his acting skills. And his speech showed how he's a gentleman who might just be turning into a statesman of the industry.
• The Best Animated Film went to a very nice movie that unfortunately was a sequel. I'd have preferred to see win something original (Missing Link is just as good and J'ai Perdu Mon Corps is probably better -- looking forward to watching it)
• On that note, I wish I could see all the Animated Shorts. From the clips they all looked amazing.
• I really enjoyed the performance for "Into the Unknown" from Frozen II by Idina Menzel, who was joined onstage by several singers from around the world who are their countries' voices for Elsa. It was really cool to hear their renditions all mixed in together.
• The first surprise of the night came with Parasite's win for Best Original Screenplay, which I thought Tarantino would have won for sure (sort of like his consolation prize).
• That was followed by an even bigger surprise when the funny and adorable Taika Waititi won his first Oscar for Adapted Screenplay (and gave a funny speech... of course).
• Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig showed us once again how hysterical and talented they are. I wish they presented the Oscars...
• Chrissy Metz, star of Breakthrough (and This Is Us), presented "I'm Standing with You" and boy can the lady sing! Even Diane Warren teared up...
• Loved the montage introducing the Best Documentary Feature. Here's a category that deserves all the help it can get.
• Laura Dern's win was not a shock to anyone but it's again well earned, not just for this year's movie, but for an entire career of outstanding portrayals. Always loved her and she's always at the top of her game.
• The montage honoring the many original songs that always remind us of our favorite movies was fantastic. Wish I could say the same for Eminem's performance (love that song), but the seemingly endless technical issues turned it into a mini-mess.
• Did anyone else notice Martin Scorsese trying really hard and failing to keep his eyes open during Eminem's song? How does one sleep through that?!?
• I believe the next performer was Randy Newman, presenting his nominated song from Toy Story 4, but I'm not sure what language he was singing in because I didn't understand a word, he wasn't introduced, and as soon as he was done they cut to commercials (which were more interesting than his song -- sorry).
• We came back from the break to a (to me) unknown artist (rapper?) who proceeded to summarize the ceremony up to that point for all the minorities out there. Huh?? This was, by far, the most unnecessary and superfluous moment of the entire night. Next.
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus showed the audience she's the undisputed funny lady of her time. Period.
• If 1917 hadn't won the Oscar for Best Cinematography they should have had a riot.
• The gorgeous and super-talented Cynthia Erivo dazzled us with a heartfelt rendition of her "Stand Up" from Harriet. I personally think this song should have won the Best Song category.
• 1917 winning Best Visual Effects made me think that the blockbusters likely split the vote. Still that movie deserves all the accolades it gets.
• While I feared James Corden and Rebel Wilson's skit in their Cats costumes was going to bomb, it turned out to be quite funny (better than the movie!! ha-ha) and they certainly deserve kudos for poking fun at themselves.
• Very happy the Best Makeup went to Bombshell, a very good movie with incredible visual transformations.
• Loved the introduction to the newly renamed category for Best International Feature Film, and super happy for Parasite's win. Such a great movie.
• Elton John presented "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" from Rocketman and eventually took home the Best Song prize. I'm happy for him since it's a career affirming moment, but I'm not in love with the song per se.
• Very happy the nominated Best Original Scores got their own little presentation, and glad for Hildur Guðnadóttir's win. I believe it's the first time a female composer takes home the Oscar in this category (but I might be wrong). She also gave a very sweet and touching speech highlighting the importance of gender equality.
• And then came the loudest bombshell so far, with Bong Joon Ho's win for Best Director over Sam Mendes. I would have honestly been happy for either of them because they both did amazing work, but obviously Bong's win carries more weight on a historical level. He also gave a very nice speech, very from the heart.
• The In Memoriam segment featured a heavily promoted performance by the super talented Billie Eilish, who sang "Yesterday" and honestly brought tears to my eyes. I love her.
• Joaquin Phoenix's win was a given and his speech quite long, but it felt sincere and I honestly think that what he said deserved the attention it got. While he seemed to be rambling at the Golden Globes, he was focused and on point tonight.
• Renée Zellweger's win was also no surprise and she also spoke at length, but she clearly was speaking from the heart.
• And finally came time for the last and loudest bang of the night, when Jane Fonda paused a second (likely a bit speechless) before announcing that Parasite had won Best Picture, the first movie ever to win not in English and not produced by a Hollywood studio or at least an American one. It certainly felt historic, and I'm glad I witnessed the moment. The movie, by the way, is really, really good, so go see it!

And that's a wrap for me! Good night!

Here are this year's esteemed winners:

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Gisaengchung

1917
Ford v Ferrari
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
The Irishman

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Antonio Banderas, Dolor y gloria
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Renée Zellweger, Judy

Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood

Al Pacino, The Irishman
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Florence Pugh, Little Women
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit

Best Achievement in Directing

Bong Joon Ho, Gisaengchung

Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
Sam Mendes, 1917
Todd Phillips, Joker

Best Original Screenplay

Bong Joon Ho, Jin Won Han, Gisaengchung

Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns, 1917
Rian Johnson, Knives Out
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood

Best Adapted Screenplay

Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit

Todd Phillips, Scott Silver, Joker
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Steven Zaillian, The Irishman
Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)

Hildur Guðnadóttir, Joker

Thomas Newman, 1917
Alexandre Desplat, Little Women
Randy Newman, Marriage Story
John Williams, Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

Best Animated Feature Film

Toy Story 4

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
J'ai perdu mon corps
Klaus
Missing Link

Best International Feature Film

Gisaengchung

Boze Cialo
Dolor y gloria
Honeyland
Les misérables

Best Documentary Feature

American Factory

For Sama
Honeyland
The Cave
The Edge of Democracy

Best Achievement in Cinematography

1917

Joker
Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
The Irishman
The Lighthouse

Best Achievement in Film Editing

Ford v Ferrari

Joker
Gisaengchung
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit

Best Achievement in Production Design

Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood

1917
Gisaengchung
Jojo Rabbit
The Irishman

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Little Women

Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
The Irishman

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

Bombshell

1917
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

1917

Ad Astra
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Ford v Ferrari

1917
Joker
Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

1917

Avengers: Endgame
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
The Irishman
The Lion King

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)

Elton John, Bernie Taupin, "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" Rocketman

Diane Warren, "I'm Standing With You" Breakthrough
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, "Into the Unknown" Frozen II
Cynthia Erivo, Joshuah Brian Campbell, "Stand Up" Harriet
Randy Newman, "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" Toy Story 4

Best Documentary Short Subject

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)

In the Absence
Life Overtakes Me
St. Louis Superman
Walk Run Cha-Cha

Best Animated Short Film

Hair Love

Dcera
Kitbull
Mémorable
Sister

Best Live Action Short Film

The Neighbors' Window

Brotherhood
Nefta Football Club
Saria
Une soeur

In Memoriam

Kirk Douglas (Dec 09, 1916 - Feb 05, 2020)

News spread fast last night of the passing of famed Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, who reached the venerable age of 103!

With 95 acting credits to his name, he reached the apex of his success in the postwar boom of the '50s and '60s, garnering 3 Oscar nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Lust for Life, The Bad and the Beautiful, and Champion.

He was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1996.