1) Best Actress winners snotting everywhere
Not exactly a “top moment” but certainly an inevitable one. Gwyneth Paltrow sobbed all over her pink Ralph Lauren gown in her seemingly endless 1999 speech, Halle Berry lost the plot when she was the first African American actress to win the gong in 2001, and Julia Roberts went the opposite way, laughing like a hyena while accepting her award for her performance in Erin Brockovich in 2000. Sally Field (nominated this year for Best Supporting Actress) took it to a whole other level with her simpering acceptance speech in 1984, saying how she never felt accepted in Hollywood before giving us the timeless quip: “You like me, right now, you like me!” Calm down, luv.
2) Anne Hathaway and James Franco presenting in 2011
Annie (AKA Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia) may be up for a gold statuette this year for her heartbreaking portrayal of Fantine in Les Miserables, but in one of the Oscars’ weirder moments, she had to host the darn thing alongside James Franco. Seeing Hathaway do her level best to make things work with absolutely no help from a disinterested, dazed Franco was excrutiating. In the worst part of the whole thing, Franco emerges dressed in a pink gown and diamonds a la Marilyn Monroe, clearly hating every second. Don’t worry Anne – you’re gonna get an Oscar, and now everyone sees James for the pretentious tool he is.
3) Heath Ledger’s posthumous win
After giving what was sadly the performance of his lifetime in The Dark Knight, the family of Heath Ledger took to the stage at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009 to accept the statuette for Best Supporting Actor on his behalf. Placed symbolically at the end of the list of nominees, Kevin Kline’s short speech about Ledger’s performance sent chills down the spine. “With this bravura performance…Heath Ledger has left us an original and enduring legacy,” he said somberly. Ledger’s award is currently being held in a trust fund for his daughter Matilda, who the Academy deemed the rightful owner of the trophy. Five years on and it still isn’t any easier. Excuse us while we shed bitter tears for eternity.
Leave a Reply