Now that I've seen Hugh Jackman give Barbara Walters a lapdance.....

I will begin my live-blogging of the Oscars. Seriously, I just turned on the very end of the Barbara Walters special and was treated to Hugh giving Barbara a provocative lap dance. I hope this does not continue as he hosts the show....

I will provide periodic updates throughout our evening.

8:00 pm

Already, Kate Winslet looks great rocking the one-sleeve dress.

8:10 pm

Yes, Mickey Rourke has pins of his dead dog Loki on..... poignant.

Yes, Zach Efron just said Dev Patel was a "great kid." I guess when you are 21, that makes an 18-year-old a kid.

Viola Davis is so great and classy. And she's willing to have snot running down her nose in her big scene in Doubt. I'd be happy to see her win tonight.

8:29

Meryl looked frumpy, Sarah Jessica Parker too poofy, and Anne Hathaway and Penelope Cruz looked great.

8:38

Pretty funny opening Hugh. Not great, but acceptable. And I had no idea Anne Hathaway could sing.

8:42

Ahhh, so having lots of former winners is the "format change" they were talking about. Interesting. Its actually very moving seeing the actresses so moved by the kind words

Winner- Penelope Cruz! I'm 1/1 so far. I slightly preferred Viola Davis, but Cruz was amazing as well. Good for her.

8:57

Original Screenplay. The only major category where I've seen all the films. Wall-E was my favorite screenplay, but way to go for Milk.

And of course...... Tina Fey and Steve Martin. SO funny.

9:19

I think this is a cool idea-going through the process of making movies. It also seems to be moving quicker than usual.

9:47

If you read my last post, you know I saw all these live-action shorts yesterday. Spielzeuguld was not the best (by any means) but its about the Holocaust and involves children, so I figured it would win.

10:00

OK, that musical number was semi-entertaining, but do we REALLY need a tribute to the stars of Mamma Mia! and High School Musical 3??

10:03

Cuba Godding Jr.?? He was picked as one of the 5 best supporting actors to present?

Also, I predict that the standing ovation for Heath will be at least 30 seconds.

10:15
Documentary: Man on Wire

Damn, I REALLY wanted Trouble the Water to win this one. I just saw it and it was astonishing (look for my review very soon).

10:45

Well, at least Jerry Lewis kept it VERY short. Surely there was someone else who deserved an honorary Oscar more than him....

10:53

Some good scores this year. I especially like Wall-E and Slumdog.

11:00

I like all three of these songs, but WHY wasn't Springsteen's "The Wrestler" nominated. Amazing song.

11:16

I always forget that some of these people have died. Interesting fact: Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack were the producers of The Reader and they both died this year. We all miss Paul Newman. What an actor and what a star.

11:21

As expected, Danny Boyle. It was a big jump from Trainspotting to Slumdog Millionaire (although they both have scenes where the lead character jumps in a toilet).

11:35
I didn't even think this was the best female performance of the year (I preferred Anne Hathaway and Sally Hawkins) but I LOVE Winslet and am so happy she now has an Oscar. The moment where her dad whistled was priceless.

11:44
Sean Penn: "I know how hard I make it to appreciate me, often" (LOL). I'm really glad he won. I thought Rourke was terrific, but the Rourke cult had been getting a bit much these past few weeks.

11:53
Slumdog, as everyone and their grandmother expected. Not the best choice the Academy has ever made, but certainly not the worst. Good for them. It's a good story of a small movie making it really big.