oscars

We'd like to have Ross Mathews' brain for a day, just to see what it's like to be so happy all the time. He was having a blast interviewing stars on the red carpet at the Oscars for 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on NBC).

And the stars didn't quite know what to think of him either, or maybe they were just trying to think of something equally witty to say. The look on Robert Downey, Jr.'s face when Matthews suggested he play him in a movie was priceless.

Watch the video after the jump.

Last night's Oscars may have been a comedy of technical errors, but the returns are nothing to laugh at.

The broadcast of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards scored over 41.3 million sets of eyeballs Sunday night, the highest audience for an Oscar ceremony in five years.

It's even more impressive when you consider that New York, one of the biggest TV viewing markets in the country, couldn't watch the first bits of it because of the ABC/Cablevision blackout.

It's so like the movies; everything turned out all right in the end.

Last night's Oscar commercials were "cloudy with a chance of the meatballs."

That obscure movie reference and a few others peppered up the 'Modern Family' promos that ran during ABC's Academy Awards broadcast. The promos featured the show's extended family playing charades during an Oscar party. How scene-stealer Gloria (Sofia Vergara) came up with 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' from Jay Pritchett's (Ed O'Neill) raised index finger is part of the wacky charm of the year's breakout comedy hit.

'Jimmy Kimmel Live' has a post-Oscars live show every year and last night he had a variety of guests, including Christoph Waltz, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Matt Damon, John Krasinksi, Ted Danson, Rob Lowe, Keith Urban, Sting, Matthew McConaughey, and many others. He also showed one award they didn't show on the Oscars, the one for "Best Actor in Real Life." I think the right guy won.

[Watch episodes of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' and other shows at SlashControl.]

There was a great industry joke lobbed at the Hollywood awards machine by the short-lived but loved TV cartoon 'The Critic.' The joke featured a Midwestern farmer and his boy spotting a plane headed to Hollywood.

"Yep, son," the wide-eyed farm says with a big pitchfork in his all-American paw, "on that plane are the people who fill our lives with blockbuster movies, moronic situation comedies, awards shows where awards shows win awards. Get my gun, boy."

If the 82nd Academy Awards takes home an Emmy or even a nomination for their television broadcast, just about every middle American farmer with a sidearm will land on a terror alert watch list and every first class flight from New York to Hollywood will have to divert over the Gulf of Mexico in order to avoid the inevitable strafe of gunfire from America's heartland.

Always the gracious movie star, George Clooney showed his fans some love by greeting them outside the 82nd Annual Academy Awards (Sun., 6PM ET on ABC) last night. And we're not talking just a few waves either. This was outside the event on the street, where fans were packed up against a fence.

You know what? Clooney is awesome. He knows the fans are what make or break a star, and not only that, he just seems like a really nice, down to earth guy. We love you, George!

Watch the video after the jump.

Christoph Waltz may have just won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his turn as Col. Hans "The Jew Hunter" Landa in 'Inglourious Basterds,' but that's not what he considers "the role of a lifetime."

Oh no, that would be 'Der Humpink,' which he previewed on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' (weeknights, 12:05AM ET on ABC). Suffice to say the role involves lamps, phones, ukuleles and sheep.

But none of that is as disturbing as the brown leisure suit he wears for the role. That might have even made Lt. Aldo Raine run for cover.

Watch the video after the jump.

"Whatever floats your boat" probably applies to Oscar winner Mo'nique, who told Barbara Walters on 'The Barbara Walters Special' (Sun., 7PM ET on ABC) a few tidbits about her personal life.

For one thing, she and husband Sydney Hicks have an open marriage. While she's never had sex outside of the marriage, she said it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

The other personal TMI tidbit we learned is that Mo'nique never shaves her legs -- and she showed us the legs to prove it.

Watch the video after the jump.

Kathryn Bigelow's time has come.

In a historic Oscar moment, the 'Hurt Locker' helmer became the first woman ever to win the Academy Award for Best Director. She did so amidst tough competition from Quentin Tarantino ('Inglourious Basterds'), Jason Reitman ('Up in the Air') and ex-husband James Cameron ('Avatar').

"There's no other way to describe it. It's the moment of a lifetime," she said.

'The Hurt Locker' took home five additional awards, including Best Picture.

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced last year that they would be expanding the Best Picture field to 10 films for their 82nd annual awards, the reaction was immediate, as pundits and cinephiles debated whether the move would dilute the importance of the awards. Slipping through the cracks, though, was how the change would affect the broadcast and the ceremony itself.

Well, now we know, because the ramifications were seen early and often throughout the show, which aired last night on ABC. While producer Adam Shankman wisely used the change as an excuse to emphasize the films and the performances themselves -- something viewers were clued into from the first moments, when this year's crop of Best Actor and Best Actress nominees gathered on the stage to kick off the ceremony -- the inclusion of extended clip packages for nominees and testimonials from fellow actors led not only to one of the longest broadcasts in recent awards show memory but also to the removal of several Oscar staples, including the Best Song performances.

The folks at our sister site, Cinematical, are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:

• I would have an open bar and eliminate all montages other than the "In Memoriam." What would you do if you produced the Oscars?
• Not only is Cinematical live-blogging the ceremony, but they give you everything you need for Oscar night.
• Sandra Bullock is awesome. Not only did she show up to accept her Razzie award for 'All About Steve,' but she gave a hilarious speech and gifted the entire audience with DVDs of the film.
• I don't think I've ever seen 'St. Elmo's Fire,' but here's how you can watch it for free.
• Cinematical wants to know what films have inspired you to take a trip?

Zach Galifianakis is super hot right now, and he supplied some comedy relief as host of 'Saturday Night Live' this week. He's ridiculously funny, just by showing up. In fact, some of his funniest bits on the show involved hanging out in the background of various TV shows like 'Law & Order,' '30 Rock,' and 'The Dr. Oz Show.'

The kissing family also made an appearance (at a funeral, no less), and one of our favorite talk shows, 'What Up With That?,' was back with actor Paul Rudd, as well as the always ignored Lindsey Buckingham.

Watch the clips after the jump.

Good news for Cablevision subscribers: According to the NY Times, the cable provider has reached a deal with ABC, ending a heated dispute that temporarily took WABC off the airwaves.

"We are happy to report that WABC Channel 7 has returned to Cablevision's 3 million New York area homes. We are very grateful to our customers for their support and pleased to welcome ABC back," said Cablevision executive vice president Charles Schueler in a statement, according to the NY Times.

'Oscars' (Sun., 8:30PM, ABC)
Producers are trying to make this year's show, the 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony, more exciting: a pair of hosts, more Best Picture nominees, fewer Best Song nominee performances. And though the bigger pool of nominees means popular flicks like James Cameron's 'Avatar' and Sandra Bullock's 'The Blind Side' are competing with smaller movies like 'The Hurt Locker' (which is tied with 'Avatar' for the most nominations -- nine each) and 'An Education,' we're most excited about the evening's hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Martin, who has worked with Baldwin as a '30 Rock' guest star, was nominated for an Emmy for hosting the 72nd Oscars, and Baldwin has become a hosting fave with his 14 gigs hosting 'Saturday Night Live,' so let the good times roll as these two funny guys steer viewers through the three-hour kudosfest.

Sometimes Oscar bits work, and sometimes, they end up like the one on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' (weekdays, syndicated), in which Josh Groban and Ellen DeGeneres sang an ode to the Best Picture nominees.

Good effort, guys, and we appreciate the attention to detail, like dressing Groban up like a Na'vi from 'Avatar' and having him croon to characters from the Best Picture noms.

Still, you'd better keep your day jobs. Years from now, you'll look back on this as one of those "what was I thinking?" moments.

Watch the video after the jump.