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| Tilda Swinton accepts the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the 2008 Academy Awards ceremony. |
The 80th Academy Awards
Ceremony date: February 24, 2008
Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country
for Old Men
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be
Blood
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose
By the second year of college, I had moved off campus into a
house with some friends. For the final three years of school, the house would
remain the same, though the roommates would sometimes change. This year, we
watched the show in one of my friend’s rooms on a cable connection stolen from
our neighbors in the duplex. If you can believe, I never had a television in my
room in college, and I have never, save for one month that will be covered
later in this series, paid for cable.
Under these conditions, I witnessed three of my favorite
Oscars moments ever in this single show. First among those three was the Best
Supporting Actress prize. The betting favorite was Amy Ryan for Gone Baby
Gone. The sentimental favorite was Ruby Dee for American Gangster.
Maybe they split the vote, or maybe the Academy’s love for Michael Clayton
carried the day. Or, perhaps voters just saw what I saw: Tilda Swinton giving one
of the best supporting performances of the decade. Swinton won, and I was
downright giddy.
A little over seven years later, I got the chance to tell
her that. For my 27th birthday, as a present to myself, I bought my wife and I
tickets to the premiere of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, starring Amy
Schumer, Bill Hader, and Swinton. After the screening at the Lincoln Center, it
was off to Tavern on the Green for the afterparty and a chance to mingle with
the celebs. We met everyone, talked to a few folks, danced, drank, and ate.
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| Tilda Swinton and some drunken fan in 2015. |
The highlight: Tilda. A few drinks deep at the open bar and
feeling just a hint of liquid courage, we approached Swinton, who could not
have been kinder, cooler, or more gracious. My partner told her of my joy at
her Supporting Actress victory, and I waxed on about my love for Michael
Clayton. She said it was a shame I had not approached earlier because
writer-director Tony Gilroy had been wandering around and she would have
introduced us. Oh, well, who can really ask for more? We snapped a picture and
left her to enjoy her well-deserved hosannas.
Next, among the great moments at the 80th Academy Awards,
was Best Original Song. Readers of this site will recognize this as a category
I loathe. But even a broken clock, etc. Off-kilter Disney musical Enchanted,
which is a fine movie, was thrice-nominated in 2008, alongside “Raise It Up”
from August Rush and “Falling Slowly” from the superb Once. For
those unaware, before it was a massive, Tony-winning Broadway hit, Once
was a little Irish indie by writer-director John Carney. It is a delicate,
beautiful little film, and one hopes the success of the musical caused more
people to seek it out.
The producers of the show had already bungled the
performance of “Falling Slowly” by cutting away from stars/performers Glen
Hansard and Markéta Irglová at the song’s climax and instead
focusing on the orchestra conductor. Then, when the little indie that could won
the award, topping the Disney pic three times over, Hansard gave his speech
then tried to give the microphone to Irglová, who was played off by the
same orchestra conductor. He had stolen her moment twice, likely through no
fault of his own and certainly with no malice. Just the same, Irglová’s
moment in the sun seemed shaded.
Enter the evening’s host: Jon Stewart. Sensing an
opportunity for a special moment coming out of the commercial break, Stewart
called an audible and brought Irglová back on stage to give the speech she
had not been allowed to deliver. She paid tribute to the independent musicians
and artists striving to put great work into the world and drove home a message
of hope. It was a lovely moment and remains one of the best things I have
witnessed on the show in nearly 20 years of watching.
Finally, toward the end of the show, there was Best Actress.
Julie Christie was the favorite for her stirring performance in the little-seen
but rightly heralded Sarah Polley drama Away from Her. Ellen Page had
supporters for her breakout turn in surprise hit Juno. But like Swinton
in the supporting category, Marion Cotillard could not be denied. She truly is
stunning in La Vie en Rose, the Édith Piaf biopic directed by Olivier
Dahan. It is riveting work.
Remember, in 2008, Cotillard was not really a name in the United
States, though already a star in France. Until a rewatch a couple months ago, I
had forgotten her supporting turn in Tim Burton’s Big Fish. She also
appeared in the little-loved Ridley Scott-Russell Crowe collaboration A Good
Year. For her to win this award, though, becoming just the fifth person to
win for a foreign-language performance, the Academy had to know it was seeing
someone special. Watch the film again, and there is little doubt.
After Cotillard’s victory, Joel and Ethan Coen were named Best
Directors, and their No Country for Old Men took home the top award. The
Coens had been in the business 20 years by this point, rightly claiming in
their speech that they had always been in their own part of the sandbox. This
triumph was the Academy recognizing the brilliant work they had been doing over
in their own world. They beat out another modern masterpiece, Paul Thomas
Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, which has only grown in esteem in the
ensuing years. Of course, Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor. Even fellow nominee
George Clooney said he voted for Day-Lewis.
In all, 2007 was one of the best years for film of the new
century. Every film mentioned above is tremendous, and I have not even
mentioned what I called the best film of the year: Julian Schnabel’s The
Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The stunning French feature was nominated
for four awards (Director, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, and Cinematography).
Had I been a voter, I would have voted for it in all those categories. Alas, it
is hard to argue with the wonderful night we got.
Quick notes: On this day, Last Cinema Standing was
born. Apart from a small intro to the site, the first post to appear on Last
Cinema Standing was a reaction to these very awards. It is hard to believe it
has been 12 years. I have had so much fun, and I thank anyone who has been on this
journey with me for all or part of those dozen years.
Next time: Slumdog Millionaire triumphs in a year
that precipitated major changes for the Academy.
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