More bold face names at the Oscars
February 14, 2007 | 1:17
pm
The latest additions to the roster of presenters at the Oscarcast on Feb.25 includes three Oscar winners - two-timer and Academy governor Tom Hanks, last year's best supporting actress Rachel Weisz, and 2004 best supporting actress and current nominee Cate Blanchett - as well as another of this year's nominees, Penelope Cruz, and Steve Carrell, co-star of one of the best picture nominees, "Little Miss Sunshine."
Add the following to the growing list of stars who will be opening envelopes and presenting film clips on Oscar night - Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck, Kirsten Dunst, and nominee Kate Winslet.
With three of the four 2005 acting winners now on board (as I figured, Philip Seymour Hoffman is the last-minute holdout a la Sean Penn), it now appears Laura Ziskin isn't tinkering with the tradition that last year's Best Actor presents Best Actress and vice versa, and last year's Best Supporting Actor presents Best Supporting Actress and vice versa.
That means George Clooney is getting payback for name-checking Hattie McDaniel last year by getting to present Jennifer Hudson with her Oscar. And I'm not talking size either; in addition to the OTHER obvious connection (funny how the Kodak Theater has been very good to actors of color so far), I pointed out over in the forums the other day the similarities between Hudson's role and how "Gone With The Wind" won Best Picture. "GWTW" delivered as promised (and more) in the face of incredible hype and pressure, so as to beat other films that would have won Best Picture in any year but 1939. The same is true of Hudson, who had to face her own "American Idol" past, scene-stealing costars, and most importantly, the legend of Jennifer Holliday.
Posted by: RBBrittain | February 17, 2007 at 03:53 PM