Gawker: defamer, oscars 08

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.

While it remains to be seen whether or not...

Molly Friedman — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:24:35 EST

While it remains to be seen whether or not Diablo Cody will be joining the likes of Cameron Crowe and Woody Allen on the list of Oscar-winning writers, one thing is certain: she'll be wearing Million Dollar Shoes to the Academy Awards on Sunday. Tacky tastemaker Stuart Weitzman's infamous Kwiat diamond-encrusted shoes will adorn the Juno scriptess's feet as she walks the carpet. We are proud to report that this news marks Brook's official jump from Former Stripper to Rental Footwear Prostitute. [SF Gate]

The Best Actor Nominees Are Some Of The Worst Dressers In Town

Molly Friedman — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:53:01 EST

Except for (maybe) George Clooney, the nominees for Best Actor at this year's Oscars aren't known for playing it safe on the red carpet. From Daniel Day-Lewis's preference for tiny suits to Viggo Mortensen's disdain for anything bland, we're not accustomed to seeing plain penguin tuxes from this group. But judging from their track records, they all have ways of showing their true colors without actually wearing them all at once. So we reviewed their greatest hits and greatest misses to figure out which way they should swing on Sunday.

Johnny Depp: Putting aside the joy he takes in dressing like a homeless Keith Richards impersonator during Pirates press blitzes, Depp has gone through a few style revolutions since the early 90s. But our least favorite was his 50s mobster look, complete with greasy mustache and oversized pinstripe suits. Depp looks best when he puts his own bad boy spin on a standard black suit by, say, popping the collar or skipping the tie.

George Clooney: It's hard to imagine George looking anything but dapper (annoying!), but when he starts messing around with those lapel colors, that tan looks like it came from a spray machine, not the Italian sun we know he loves. If George needs a dose of deep color, he should keep it on his tie.

Daniel Day-Lewis: DDL, like Johnny, likes flair when it comes to dressing up. But that flair should never, ever come in the form of too-tight velvet suits again. Since the plain black tux would look boring on such an exciting actor, DDL looks properly moody in charcoal grey.

Viggo Mortensen: Oh dear. That red shiny suit he wore on Letterman last year nearly broke our TV sets. See how simple it is to keep the same cut on the suit, and just add a dose of color using the shirt and tie? C'mon Viggo!

Tommy Lee Jones: We wouldn't dare advise Mr. Jones how to dress, but instead we'll let this side-by-side do the talking for us.

OSCARS 08 [Official Site]

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]

Paris Hilton Didn't Want To Come To Your Stupid Party-less Oscars Anyway

Molly Friedman — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:25:32 EST

Paris Hilton spent millions of dollars on a dress for the Academy Awards and was totally looking forward to ~~sleeping~~ networking with industry players come Sunday night. However, according to England's (not entirely reputable) Daily Star, Paris has been banned from the awards this year. She allegedly cried "hot salty tears" when she got the news, but we think that has less to do with missing out on the experience of seeing Jon Stewart read G-rated jokes off a teleprompter and more about not being able to cavort around the Governor's Ball with whoever's currently playing the Shirtless Young Poolboy on Desperate Housewives these days. However, with a little luck and the help of her infamous brown wig, she might just be able to crash the party after all.

The same source who actually uttered the phrase "hot, salty tears" also claims that Hilton is planning sneak attacks to try and get into several private affairs. "She's tempted to go to the parties afterwards, but might wear her trademark brunette wig to save her dignity." Questions abound! What is her alias while wearing the librarian mop? London Marriott? Hilton Head Holiday Inn? And do all her STDs magically fly off into Bimbo Summit Heaven once she goes brown Most urgent of all, who in their right mind puts the word "dignity" in the same sentence as "Paris Hilton"?

PARIS HILTON BANNED FROM OSCARS [Digital Spy]

Oscars Chasing Tween Tail By Enlisting Miley Cyrus As A Presenter?

Molly Friedman — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:16:11 EST

As we read over the list of Oscar presenters released this morning, one sparkly name took all our attention away from the otherwise predictable lot — Miss Miley Cyrus. Just last week, producers of the Grammy Awards dissed the Tween Queen by not asking the biggest star in the recording industry to either perform or present during their flatlining ceremony. However, now Miley is riding high after being scooped up by the typically snobby Oscars. So what gives? Looks to us like quirky duck Gil Cates has his eye squarely trained on the Nielsen numbers.

It's no secret that Oscar ratings have been underwhelming the last few years. Even with a pre-Iggygate Ellen Degeneres hosting the show last year, ratings only managed to climb 2% from the previous year's ceremony (which had dropped 10% from the `06 show). So with Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert setting the B.O. ablaze, it might make sense to train a few tween eyeballs on the ceremony by having Miley present one of the evening's early awards. But if you're wondering why The Rock is on the list of presenters, we're right there with you. We don't have a clue, either.

The "nearly complete" list of presenters includes:
Amy Adams, Jessica Alba, Cate Blanchett, Josh Brolin, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Miley Cyrus, Patrick Dempsey, Cameron Diaz, Colin Farrell, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Garner, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway, Katherine Heigl, Jonah Hill, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Nicole Kidman, James McAvoy, Queen Latifah, Seth Rogen, Martin Scorsese, Hilary Swank, John Travolta, Denzel Washington, Renee Zellweger, Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, Alan Arkin and Jennifer Hudson

FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR OSCARS TELECAST [THR]

Rumors Of Heavily Anticipated Jolie/Aniston Showdown Overshadow Buzzless Oscar Ceremony

Molly Friedman — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:20:48 EST

Whether or not Gil Cates is able to pull any tricks from his rumpled sleeves to make this year's Oscar ceremony watchable, there'll be at least one event next weekend guaranteed to get the town buzzing. Us Weekly is reporting that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will be attending a pre-Oscar bash that sworn enemy Jennifer Aniston has also RSVP'd to. You know what this means, people. We're talking catfights, Hills-like confrontations and revenge tattoos galore. At least that's what we're hoping for.

Considering the two ladies in question aren't scared of a little girl-on-girl action now and then, might their inevitable run-in include a bit of "kiss and make up"? Unfortunately for everyone out there with both X and Y chromosomes, probably not. More realistically, we'll have a peaceful reunion. An Aniston insider tells Us that Jen thinks that "avoiding Brad and Angelina is more painful than seeing them" (Ed. Note - Do stories about Jennifer Aniston ever exclude the word "pain"?). Adding even more plausibility that Aniston and Jolie will unite happily, Us says Pitt may not even show up. Leaving your ex-wife alone with your current baby mama? Takes balls. Enough to make enough for recent motorcycle-induced hissy fits, even.

JENNIFER ANISTON TO FACE ANGELINA JOLIE AT OSCARS [Usmagazine.com]