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Oscar Ladies in Red

Molly Friedman — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:00:19 EST

Perhaps to inject the otherwise snoozy Oscars tonight (no parties! Stewart again! predictable winners!) with some pizazz, the actresses on the carpet went with red dresses in all shades: Katherine Heigl, sans Josh as far as we could tell, wore a fire engine red one-strap number; Miley Cyrus proved she's still a girl, but not yet a woman, in a tight bright red dress to show off her underage, yet budding, figure; Helen Mirren proved once again that being a slightly more "mature" actress in no way means you can't look sexy. Take a look at all the ladies who took red and made it work:

Anne Hathaway in Marchesa, Helen Mirren, and Heidi Klum in John Galliano.

Katherine Heigl, Miley Cyrus.

Ruby Dee and Julie Christie.

Winner Or Loser, All That Really Matters On Oscar Night Is Who Wore The Best Dress

Molly Friedman — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:14:53 EST

The question on the minds of the glossy mags isn't who will take home little gold men on Sunday night, but rather who'll make the biggest fashion faux-pas. And there's no shortage of mistakes made by this year's Best Actress nominees in the past. But we aren't hoping for new additions to the Fashion Police Hall of Fame; instead, we went digging through the archives to find the biggest mistake all five actresses tend to make in the style department, and our suggestions for which signature looks they should keep in mind to achieve sartorial success come Sunday.

Cate Blanchett: Blanchett always stands out (in a good way) when she takes risks and chooses a ballsy costume-y gown in a striking color. Like this voluminous dress she wore doing press for Elizabeth: The Golden Age, which could have come straight out of one of Christian's collections on this season's Project Runway, as opposed to her tendency to pick mannish silhouettes in dreary taupes that wash her out.

Laura Linney: Linney just doesn't look right all femme-d out. With her blonde hair and ginormous grin, it's too Kentucky Derby. What catches our eye is when she takes the femme fatale look up a notch, going for old Hollywood glamour.

Marion Cotillard: Heavy makeup and baggy dresses don't work to Cotillard's advantage; she should stick to that whole sexy French woman thing, and let the silky hair down.

Julie Christie: Like Diane Keaton, Christie is one of those rare actresses who's feminine enough to make a pair of trousers look sexy. When she dips into the girly pool, the effect is a little too Tina Simpson.

Ellen Page: Sure, Ellen's still growing into her style and hasn't quite figured out how to pose, but we can all agree that the Juno star could benefit from dressing up. Those jeans and flannels are straight out of the movie, and she's got a figure to show off in real life.

OSCARS [Offical Site]

Don't Forget, Alzheimer's Jokes Are Off-Limits At This Year's Oscars

nickm — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:22:47 EST

Is there anything that tickles the funny bone more than Alzheimer's disease? Of course not. It's undeniable comedy gold. But thanks to best actress nominee Julie Christie and her big British mouth, there probably won't be any Alzheimer's jokes on this Sunday's Academy Awards. Last month, Christie won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her portrayal of an Alzheimer's patient in the film Away From Her, and she's heavily favored to win the Oscar, too (despite the fact that we don't know a single person who's seen that movie). However, when Christie took the podium to make her victory speech back in January, she quipped:

And if I've forgotten anybody, well, it's just that I'm still in character."

Now Alzheimer's experts are up in arms and pleading with Oscar emcee Jon Stewart to avoid any humor about the disease during the telecast. So says Peter Braun from the California Southland chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, "People don't laugh about cancer; people don't laugh about AIDS. We call on the academy to use this moment for good, as it has done for so many other social causes." Way to suck all the fun out of everything, guys! And we were so looking forward to Jon's five-minute musical number dedicated to The Savages and Away From Her where he keeps forgetting the lyrics.

Well, since Jon Stewart won't be doing any Alzheimer's jokes, we guess the burden falls on us. Here's one to tell your friends on Sunday:

A guy walks into a doctor's office. The doctor says, "Sir, I'm afraid I have some bad news. #1) you have cancer and #2) you have Alzheimer's." The guy replies, "Alzheimer's, eh? Well, at least I don't have cancer!"

You've been a great crowd. Good night!

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

Cool it on the Alzheimer's jokes, group urges [LAT]