■ Mizrahi keeps his hands to himself
Isaac Mizrahi kept his hands to himself on the red-carpet celebrity stroll for the Academy Awards. The flamboyant fashion designer created a stir at January's Golden Globes when he groped Scarlett Johansson's breast, asked Eva Longoria about her pubic hair and peeked down Teri Hatcher's dress as he conducted interviews for the E! cable channel. Mizrahi said last month to expect more of the same at the Oscars, but on Sunday night he had changed his tune. He quickly put a nervous looking Sandra Bullock at ease with a series of innocuous questions. He ignored Dolly Parton's ample cleavage as he asked about her hair and earrings.
■ Smooth George Clooney takes it easy
George Clooney, on his first trip to the Academy Awards, was a winner with the Oscar for best supporting actor for the film Syriana. But he didn't sound hopeful about his chances later in the evening for his nominations as best director and best original screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck. ``All right, so I'm not winning director,'' he quipped as he accepted his acting award. Surprisingly, Clooney said he wasn't nervous when he arrived on the red carpet. ``That worries me more than anything,'' he said of his lack of butterflies. Someone who has been there plenty of times, and who was nervous, was two-time Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg, nominated this year for Munich. ``Every time I come to one of these things, I feel like a first-timer,'' he said with a smile.
■ What a drag for Steve Carrell
He'd already been through a body wax for his role in The 40 Year-Old Virgin, so donning false eyelashes and pancake makeup to present the Oscar for makeup probably wasn't a big deal for Steve Carell. ``What are you wearing?'' asked Carell's co-presenter, Will Ferrell, also plastered in orange makeup. ``It's called pineapple bliss,'' the actor joked. Coming in a close second in the unusual attire category were co-directors Nick Park and Steve Box, who were wearing big striped bow ties when they walked on stage to accept their animated-feature Oscars for Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. They must have been counting on winning because they brought along smaller bow ties, which they quickly dressed their Oscar statuettes with. Not to be outdone, the makers of the Antarctic nature tale March of the Penguins, came on stage carrying stuffed penguins -- matching their tuxedos -- when they accepted their Oscars for best documentary. ``I sleep with him,'' said director Luc Jacquet as he arrived on the red carpet with his stuffed penguin.
■ Rachel Weisz blames it on the baby
Rachel Weisz is eating for two these days. And both of them were celebrating her best supporting actress award at the Oscars. ``The baby was going crazy. Poor baby. I think it was from the adrenaline,'' said the actress, who is seven months pregnant. If her acceptance speech wasn't coherent, Weisz, who won for her role in The Constant Gardener, said to blame it on the baby. ``I couldn't hardly have told you my name,'' she said backstage.
■ What a loser!
Veteran sound mixer Kevin O'Connell lost his bid for an Oscar, but he can still lay claim to another Academy Award landmark -- having the most nominations without a win. O'Connell's work on Memoirs of a Geisha earned him his 18th Oscar nomination in 24 years. But he lost to the team behind King Kong. The sound mixer was philosophical about his Oscar streak when he was nominated earlier this year. ``There's 300 to 400 films every year. Five of them get that phone call, and I've gotten it 18 times,'' he said.
RSS