Europeans Clean-Up at Oscars

Designers will be able to hang up their needles and threads, as last night saw the most prestigious award ceremony of the year.

It is the one that everyone has been waiting for. The one everyone wants to be invited too. The one where everyone wants to win.

Of course it is the Academy Awards…or the Oscars to you and me.

The red carpet was rolled out at the Kodak Theatre at Hollwood & Highland Center® for the 80th ceremony...having seen more Jimmy Choo’s or Valentino gowns, over its years, than a girl could dream of.

With such a huge lead-up, it is doubtful that anyone could have predicted the outcome….

With Europe cleaned up, winning all four of the highly prestigious acting awards.

Nick Plowman explained how rare it is.

“Not one acting award went to an American, with Javier Bardem (Spainish), Daniel Day-Lewis (British born), Tilda Swinton (British) and Mation Cotillard (French) taking them all - something only achieved once before, in 1964. The Oscars truly are International.”

British and Irish national, Daniel Day-Lewis won the Best Male Oscar for his outstanding performance in “There Will Be Blood”. This is the second Oscar he has after previously winning one for his role in “My Left Foor: The story of Christy Brown”.

Michelle Forbes thought the British born Actor was the only clear winner in his category.

“Daniel Day Lewis totally deserves the Oscar. No one else is even close. If he wasn't in the race I'd say it was between George Clooney and Viggo Mortensen. It must have been a slow year for men though because I'm not sure why the other two [Jonny Depp and Tommy Lee Jones] were nominated. They were good, but Oscar?”

Tilda Swinton was the second Brit of the night to walk away with one of the top four awards, after winning Best Supporting Actress for ‘Michael Clayton’. This role also won her a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress.

But despite never having a leading role, she has quite a fan base.

Rick, writing for his blog The Trifecta, couldn’t speak more highly of the actress.

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for this fascinating actress. She’s had lots of small roles that have really stuck with me in some of my top tier films. I loved her business exec in Adaptation, her struggling mother in Thumbsucker, and her conflicted litigator in Michael Clayton was certainly Oscar worthy. Hopefully we’ll get to see more Tilda Swinton now, perhaps in some starring roles”

This was echoed by MSN Life and Style Blogger, Imogen Lloyd Webber.

“The more I hear about Tilda, the more I think: only made in Britain, and God how cool is this woman? She doesn’t give a flying f**k what people make of her outlandish outfits, or her unusual domestic set-up – she and her partner bring up their children in Scotland while she has a toy boy painter amour for when she’s not there.”

But she is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Alex Billington is clearly not her number one fan after writing:

“Best Supporting Actress, Tilda Swinton did not deserve it, hands down. Literally a minute before they announced the winner, I was telling Peter [his brother] that almost all of them were fairly good nominees, except for Swinton. She didn't seem to fit in that list, but anyone else would have been a fine and acceptable winner. And mere seconds later she won! Come on, over Amy Ryan or Cate Blanchet, or even Ruby Dee?!”

The BAFTA’s, two weeks previous to the Academy Awards, proved to be a great predictor for things to come.

Causing controversy after beating British leading ladies Keira Knightly and Julie Christie to the hotly tipped award in London, French actress Marion Cotillard again walked away with the Best Actress award for the second time this month.

Surely that is proof, if any, that she is well deserving?

Other winners last night included Ratatouille (Best Animated Feature), Juno (Best Original Screenplay), Atonement (Best Music Score) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Best Art Direction).

The big winner of the night was No Country For Old Men walking away with 4 Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Joel and Ethan Coen), Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

That’s it for this year....All we have to do now is to think about the big winners for 2008.

Sex and the City, now that has Oscar written all over it!

You heard it here first…Watch this space!

The Best of British Talent?

It has been a busy weekend for British celebrities, with the BAFTA awards in London and the Grammy’s in America.

Dressed from head to toe in designer clobber, the stars graced the red carpet both here and Los Angeles to collect their awards.

Or in some cases, not.

At the awards in London in recognition of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the biggest shock of the evening came when the Best Actress award was announced.

A Press Release said:

"Marion Cotillard received the BAFTA for Leading Actress for La Vie en Rose for her portrayal of Edith Piaf. The film also won awards for Music, Make Up & Hair and costume. "

The triumph for the young French actress raised suggestions that Brit stars had been disregarded.

The Sun wrote:

"Brit stars Keira Knightley and Julie Christie were sensationally snubbed at the Baftas - in favour of an unknown actress from France.

In a night of shocks at the star studded bash, Marion Cotillard beat both our girls to pick up the Best Actress award."

The Times echoed this by saying:

"Two of the film industry’s most reclusive and revered stars were thrown under the spotlight last night at the Baftas…but only one went home with a prize.

But Julie Christie, 66, left empty-handed, even though it was assumed widely that her portrayal of an Alzheimer’s sufferer in Away From Her would earn her the Best Actress prize.

Instead, the award went to a 32-year-old French actress, Marion Cotillard, for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose."

They also suggested that the win was a shock.

"Few [critics] had predicted her win because Baftas, Oscars and Golden Globes tend to relegate foreign films to their own categories."

Marion, who is already a Golden Globe winner, is the first ever French winner of the Best Actress award at the ceremony.

Molly Flatt from the Guardian was pleased with the outcome.

"I am thrilled Marion Cotillard has won the best actress award at this weeks baftas. Now she really has a fighting chance to bag the Oscar. Surely."

Knightley herself was also supportive of the decision and is a fan of the French actress.

Contact Music reported the star as saying:

"Marion [Cotillard] is my hero at the moment. She's amazing in La Vie En Rose."

Hotly tipped British film, Atonement, was nominated for 14 of the English equivalent of the Oscars but only acquired two.

Comments on the BAFTA website reflect the disappointment, especially after Knightley’s ‘snub’.

"Wow. Keira Knightley's performance in Atonement hasn't been fully respected in yet another award show."

However the 22 year-old did win a best actress award elsewhere this week.

Hot Online News reported:

"Keira Knightley finally got the appreciation she deserves last night as she took home an award for best actress.

The 22-year-old missed out on a BAFTA and an Oscar this year but scooped the title at the Elle Style Awards in London."

Other winners of BAFTA awards included ‘This is England’ for Best British Film, ‘Ratatouille’ for Best Animated Film and Daniel Day Lewis won Leading Actor for his role in There will be Blood.

Over the pond, the British were triumphant at the Grammy’s with Amy Winehouse winning five out of the six awards she was nominated for.

The star preformed at the event via video link after being refused a visa to be in LA because she is currently in rehab addressing a drug addiction.

There has been a lot of criticism over the awards, especially from Natalie Cole.

The singer doesn’t think Winehouse deserves her Grammys.

"We have to stop rewarding bad behaviour…I think it sends a bad message to our young people who are trying to get into this business.

It’s a slap in the face to artists who work very hard that they give it to someone who really obviously doesn’t have a grasp of what she has."

This has reiterated comments made by Antonio Costa, head of the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime, last November.

He suggested that the soul singer [and other celebs such as Kate Moss] is glamorizing drugs which could be the reason for the amount of young people in the UK using cocaine doubling over the last ten years.

Costa said:

"Rock stars, like Amy Winehouse, become popular by singing: 'I ain't going to rehab,' even though she badly needed and eventually sought treatment."

However, it is not just the awards than critics are hung up about.

John Lundberg from The Hiffington Post was not impressed by the stars performance of “Rehab” and “You know I’m no Good”.

"The rail thin, strange and sultry singer fight for coherency in front of millions was breathtaking. She spoke like there were pieces missing, like the embodiment of the last few moments of a game of Jenga. God bless her for holding it together."

However, he does go on to praise her musical abilities.

That's not to say I don't like her music, I like it a lot. Her voice is kind of delicious, and you have to admire how she's brought Motown and 50's jazz club sounds to a new audience.

Despite the criticism, an online poll conducted by PopSugar has revealed that 58% of voters loved Amy Winehouse’s performance this week. [Results taken Feb 20th 2008]

This was echoed by others, who believe that Winehouse was most deserving of the highly acclaimed music awards.

The Daily Swarm published an article which stated that:

"She’s a great example of art and commerce achieving a perfect balance. Seeing an artist like Winehouse break and get award recognition is a gratifying reminder of the major label system at its best."

This was mirrored by a blog titled ‘MomPopSon’ who said:

"Amy Winehouse is a good singer and performer, and unlike in the Olympics, drug-taking is not a problem for someone to win a Grammy. She proved to everyone that she deserved them by performing live via satellite…Congratulations!"

Another big winner on the night was Kanye West who won awards for Best Rap Solo Performance (for ''Stronger''), Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (''Southside,'' with Common), Best Rap Song (for ''Good Life''), and Best Rap Album (for Graduation).

Other Grammy winners included Herbie Hancock receiving Album of the Year for “River: The Joni Letter” and “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” winning Foo Fighters Best Rock Album.

In terms of the controversy surrounding the British stars at the awards ceremonies it is strongly suggested that Amy Winehouse is as deserving as any other artist to receive her five Grammy awards.

Her addiction does not make her any better or worse of a singer.

She has been talented from her very first album, Frank in 2003 which was nominated for an Ivor Novello Awaerd, and continues to be one of the best British singers to date.

Comments by Natalie Cole, can also be taken with a pinch of salt after the Grammy award winner herself has been reportedly mixed up in drugs in the past.

In her biography “Angel on My Shoulder” it describes incidents when:

"Cole continued to spiral out of control - including one incident where she refused to evacuate a burning building, and another where her young son Robert nearly drowned in the family swimming pool while she and her first husband, the late Reverend Marvin Yancy, were on a drug binge."

As for the BAFTA awards, it is a shame to see British talent such as that of Keira Knightely not being awarded for their talents.

However it is clear that there is a lot of respect for Marion Cotillard in the film industry and therefore her talents must also be recognised.

It is prehaps unfair to say that she should not have been named “Best Actress” just because she is French and therefore should have stuck to her category.

If she is in fact best actress, which she was awarded, then isn’t only right that she is given the title?