An Oscar Wrap Up As Opposed To Write-Up.

Of course there are Oscar reviews all over the web. Some critique the fashion, like my friends over at styledash and ...even npr! , some the speeches and some, even the ads.

Now, in my personal opinion, there just isn't that much to write about. The show seems to get increasingly respectable, making it more boring every year. A year of brilliant films, there really weren't any shockers or big disappointments when it came to the winners.

See the list of nominees and winners here.

There were some truly sweet and sincerely shocked acceptance speeches, including one in Spanish by Javier Bardem (you know, the guy who had the Prince Valiant haircut in No Country For Old Men). But really, nothing to write home about. So, in lieu of writing about what may have been ignored or sadly passed over, let's talk briefly about the rest -you know, the shallow stuff.

The Host:
I still believe that Jon Stewart is nothing short (sorry about the choice of words.. .. Mr. Stewart is only 5' 6.5" tall) of brilliant.



The Music
The music? Ugh. Thankfully the 3 songs from Enchanted were passed over for the Oscar. Frankly, I'd be happy to never hear another Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz song again.

The Set Design
This is the 19th time that Roy Christopher has designed the Oscar set.
Guess what folks? Time for Roy Christopher to retire.


Above: Roy Christopher with his set design for the 2008 Oscars. He said he was going for "glamour"

I don't know why the giant Oscar Statuettes onstage were in enclosed frosted columns but it was so eighties sci-fi/ Coma-cum-cryogenic to me.

The Motion Graphics
I could not find who did the actual motion graphics for the categories and they ought to be thankful. What was with those motion graphics? They were soooo K-Tel, circa 1986.

The Dresses
Is our economy such that women can't afford enough fabric to make 2 sleeves?
It was a night of shoulder-baring fashion. Kind of a Farewell to Arm, if you will. Over 20 women sported the one-armed dress.


above left : The dress as it ought to have been worn; above right: Hilary Swank, having altered the original design to join the ubiquitous one shoulder trend.


above: Alien imposter and brilliant actress Tilda Swinton unconsciously reaching for her missing sleeve.

The Color Choices:
Way too much funereal black (Ellen Page, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Garner, Laura Linney in very dark navy, Hilary Swank, Penélope Cruz and Kristen Chenoweth).

And there was this odd kind of traffic light theme to me:

above left to right: Katherine Heigl as Stop, Kelly Preston as Slow and Amy Adams as Go.

Deep greens (Saoirse Ronan and Amy Adams, clearly inpired by Keira Knightley's green dress in Atonement). Blazing Reds (Katherine Heigl, Helen Mirren, Miley Cyrus, Ruby Dee, Anne Hathaway and Heidi Klum) and bright yellow (Kelly Preston ).

Most Blasé:

Above: Kerri Russell, Cameron Diaz and Renee Zellweger, all looked bizarrely washed out in their band-aid colored dresses.

Most Interesting Dress:

Above: The custom Jean Paul Gaultier (corrected for me by a reader, I initially credited John Galliano) fish scale gown donned by Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard

Most interesting dress on least interesting person:

Above: George Clooney's Vegas waitress girlfriend, Sara Larson.

The Men?
Hardly even worth talking about.
Looking appropriately arty? Daniel Day Lewis and Johnny Depp didn't disappoint. Looking more like Cary Grant every day, George Clooney still sets my heart palpitating.


But Viggo? Lose the beard...unless you're playing Moses. It adds an unnecessary 20 years to your face..

The Mess... I Mean, Hair:


above: I guess Cameron, Jennifer, Ellen and Renee's hair stylists took the night off.

Miscellaneous Observations
It's enough that hilarious and lovable Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill look like one another, but have you seen how much their dates look alike?

Now this is creepy:

Above: funnymen Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill clearly have the same taste in everything, including women.

An overly-botoxed Nicole Kidman whose upper lip hardly moved:


Get your fill of fabulous press shots by clicking here.

The 80th Annual Oscars Is Here. Some Inside Scoop. Yippee!

The Oscar Poster: Oscar® Glistens for His 80th

The official poster of the 80th Academy Awards® features the iconic Oscar glowing among bright lights against a black background.

Capturing the allure and excitement of the Oscars®, the design was originally conceived by legendary motion picture poster illustrator Drew Struzan and executed by his son, Christian.

Each 27 x 40-inch poster is printed on premium quality, Forest Stewardship Certified paper. The 80th Academy Awards poster is available for purchase for $25 (includes shipping within the U.S.).

Watch the Oscars live on ABC, Sunday, February 24 – 5PT/8ET.

To order by telephone, call 1-800-99-FILMS (option 5) during normal business hours or order online. For more information on prices, shipping and how to order, click here.


 
80 Years of Oscar® Celebrates All-Time Favorite Movies
The Academy proudly offers a new edition of its commemorative poster that celebrates all 80 of the films to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Printed on 27 x 40-inch premium recycled paper, the design by Alex Swart features the key art of every one of the films to win the Academy’s Best Picture award.


80 Years of Oscar won't be printed until the 80th Best Picture is announced on the Oscar telecast on February 24, but you can order one today for $25 (includes shipping and handling in the U.S.). International orders must add $15 for shipping and handling.

To pre-order by telephone, please call 1-800-99-FILMS (option 5) during normal business hours or order online. For more information on prices, shipping and how to order, click here.

Above: Jon Stewart, this year's host (and my schoolgirl crush) at rehearsal 

Above: this year's Architectural Digest green room was designed in Hollywood Glam Style by Carlton Varney.



OSCAR'S GREEN EFFORTS CONTINUING FOR 80TH ACADEMY AWARDS®

Building upon groundwork laid a year ago, Academy President Sid Ganis announced today that ecologically intelligent practices have been incorporated into the planning and execution of the upcoming 80th Annual Academy Awards presentation on Sunday and related events.

The Academy's green initiative, which includes several energy-saving strategies, is being carried out in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-partisan environmental and advocacy organization.

"Last year, in planning and producing the Oscar® show, we chose supplies, resources and services designed to reduce Oscar's ecological footprint," said Ganis. "This year, with the guidance and support of the NRDC, we've been able to do even more."

A few highlights of the Academy's green program include:

* With support from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 100% of the energy used for the telecast, the red-carpet arrivals show and the Governors Ball will be supplied by renewable windpower.
* All of the generators used for the production, for press support and the red carpet arrivals area are powered by a fuel mix that includes biodiesel.
* Among the vehicles made available by General Motors for use by production staff and presenters are zero-emission hydrogen-powered cars and hybrids.
* Nearly all food serviceware for events associated with the Awards Presentation is either reusable or biodegradable/compostable.
* The programs, invitations, RSVP cards, envelopes, parking passes and other printed materials include a minimum of 30% postconsumer recycled content.

For further details about this initiative visit the Environmental Achievements page.

It's been called "the Academy statuette," "the golden trophy" and "the statue of merit." The entertainment trade paper, Weekly Variety, even attempted to popularize "the iron man." Thankfully, the term never stuck.

Born in 1928, the Academy Award of Merit — which we know as simply "the Oscar" — depicts a knight holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel of film with five spokes, signifying the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers and Technicians.

Weighing 8.5 pounds and standing 13.5 inches tall, the statuette was designed by MGM's chief art director Cedric Gibbons. Frederic Hope, Gibbons' assistant, created the original Belgian black marble base; artist George Stanley sculpted the design; and the California Bronze Foundry hand cast the first statuette in bronze plated with 24-karat gold.

The Origin of the Oscar Name
A popular but unsubstantiated story has been that the moniker caught on after Academy librarian and eventual executive director Margaret Herrick said that the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar. Its first documented mention came after the sixth Awards Presentation in 1934 when Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used it in reference to Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress win. The Academy itself didn't use the nickname officially until 1939.

Oscar has changed his look on occasion. From the 1930s through the 50's, juvenile players received miniature replicas of the statuette; ventriloquist Edgar Bergen was presented with a wooden statuette with a movable mouth; and Walt Disney was honored with one full-size and seven miniature statuettes on behalf of his animated feature SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. In support of the World War II effort between 1942 and 1944, Oscars were made of plaster, to be traded in for golden statuettes after the war. Additionally, the base was raised and changed from marble to metal in 1945. And in 1949, Academy Award statuettes began to be numbered, starting with No. 501.

Wanna see how Oscar is made? Check out my last year's post here.

Beauty in Real Life: Slob Evolution

Nothing like a well done spoof to put a smile on your face. Thought I'd share this one that Cubano posted on NOTCOT with you.

The original:


credits:
Ogilvy spot created by Tim Piper.
Directed by Tim Piper (treatment/post effects) and Y Staav (live action).
Soho - post production
Rogue - editing
Vapor music - sound and mixing
Gabor Jurina - photography
Make-up - Diana Carreiro
Music - Flashbulb and Vapor.
Agency creative team: T Piper & M Kirkland

The spoof:


Credits:
Director - Simon Willows
Producer - Claire Jones
Production Company - Blink Productions

Lousy Holiday Sales, High Energy Costs & Housing Slumps Hitting Retailers Hard

Cash registers at some of America's best-known merchants will also be thermometers in the coming week.

As some key retailers trot out their quarterly results, analysts say they're interested in watching for signals about how much consumer spending could cool in the months ahead.

Merchants including Lowe's, Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), Macy's, Nordstrom (JWN, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500) are slated to report earnings next week.

This cross-section of sellers should provide good insight into whether or not consumer spending is holding up in the home improvement, department store, apparel and discounting sectors.

Given that consumer spending fuels two-third of the economy, a healthy economy depends, in a big way, on the ability and inclination of Americans to keep shopping.

Here's what we already know: After a very poor holiday shopping season, most of these retailers are expected to log profit and sales for the quarter that will be softer than a year earlier. And sluggish gift card redemptions and more price cuts did nothing to spur sales in January as cash-strapped households buckled under the burden of steep winter energy bills, gas prices, and ongoing pressures from housing and credit market problems.

"Over the last couple of months the topline growth [revenue for retailers] just hasn't been there," said Stephen Hoch, director of Wharton Business School's Jay H. Baker division of retailing.

"Consumers have retrenched, but I think it's been much more than retailers are telling us," Hoch said.

Even if companies aren't telling the whole story, their actions speak volumes.

Macy's, Home Depot, Sears, J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) and others recently announced they were consolidating operations and cutting jobs to curb costs to offset weakening sales.

What's more, Hoch and others are betting on more tell-tale signs from companies in the days ahead that will show just how tapped out American consumers really are.

Here's what they're looking for.

Turmoil at home.

The home improvement market has taken it on the chin over the past year as both Home Depot's and Lowe's business has been badly hurt by the housing slump.

Moreover, the weakening economy has dented demand for new appliances, which typically are a higher-margin category for both retailers.

Home Depot is expected to report a 13% drop in fourth-quarter profit and an 11% sales decline for the period. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial also expect Lowe's profit to tumble 37% with just a marginal 2% rise in quarterly revenue.

Stevan Buxbaum, with the Buxbaum Group consulting firm, said he's watching for weakness in both retailers' contracting business. "This will show if people are afraid to commit dollars in the spring and summer months," he said.

Two other factors - slowing store traffic and a drop in average amount of money shoppers spent - would signal further sales contraction ahead.

One analyst feels differently, however.

Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, is forecasting a rebound for the sector. He said much higher home heating bills stumped consumers over the winter and further eroded household budgets.

"As it gets warmer, we could get a decent rebound in home-related purchases even though it won't turn things overnight for the sector," Johnson said.

Discount distress.

Although both Wal-Mart and Target operate in the same discount space, Wal-Mart's sales have outperformed its rival's over the past few months.

That's because Wal-Mart's prices are cheaper than Target's, and Wal-Mart sells more of everyday consumables such as milk and groceries. Target is expected to log a 5% drop in quarterly profit and a 2% increase in sales.

Morningstar analyst Joseph Beaulieu will be watching for announcements from Target about price cuts and changes in the product mix to include more consumables.

"Target typically doesn't announce big price cuts the way Wal-Mart does," he said. "If they do, it will mark a major strategy change for the company in a difficult environment."

Bigger the box, bigger the problem.

Macy's is already in crisis mode, according to Wharton's Hoch. "It's hard to look good to consumers or investors when you're closing stores and laying off people," he said.

Macy's is expected to report a 4% profit decline and a 6% drop in its fourth-quarter sales. Macy's problems are three-fold. First, sales at anchor stores such as Macy's are suffering from overall declining mall traffic as shoppers increasingly opt to shop closer to home.

Second, spending on clothing, shoes, jewelry and home-related goods - all discretionary items that fill up department stores - typically gets slashed first when consumers rein in their spending.

Third, Hoch said Macy's just has too much retail space chasing fewer shoppers.

Johnson said Macy's has no choice but to resort to its old strategy of weekly promotions. The retailer has tried to scale back on coupons and discounts, only to see its customer counts drop.

Luxury isn't immune to a downturn.

This is especially true of the "aspirational" luxury brands - such as Coach, Tiffany and Nordstrom - whose clientele comprise of a mix of mid and high-income shoppers.

Nordstrom's profit is forecast to dip 1% amid a 4% decline in quarterly sales.

Hoch expects margins at Nordstrom to decline, especially after the retailer was forced to cut prices in order to clear inventory over the holiday shopping season.

"Nordstrom still has a strong balance sheet. Its business is holding steady for now," Hoch said.

Still, given that its business evolves around discretionary purchases, Hoch said he's keen to hear what the retailer says about its inventory heading into spring and customer traffic trends.

Nordstrom's biggest challenge is in the top three U.S. luxury markets of New York, Florida and California, where the housing slump and energy costs have stymied retail spending, Johnson said."Aspirational customers aren't super-rich. These are consumers who've been badly hurt by declining equity in their homes, higher heating bills and gas prices," he said.

source: NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Has A Luxury Safe To Match - And Other Bugatti Goodies.

If you thought Bugatti just made luxury vehicles, like the stunning Veyron 16.4 shown above, let me enlighten you. In addition to their own collection of luxury goodies, Bugatti, in conjunction with German luxury safe manufacturer, Stockinger, has come out with a limited edition (only 50 will be made) safe available in the same colors as the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. After all, one's safe ought to match one's luxury vehicle, right?



The Bugatti Safe by Stockinger is made of an armored material which protects is against almost any threat including a diamond cored drill normally used to break into safes.



The safe is heat and water resistant and includes special alarms to tell if the safe has been moved or damaged, the Bugatti safe also comes with a GPS sensor which allows it to be tracked anywhere in the world.


Above: the Bugatti Veyron 16.4

The safe is available in all the same colors as the Bugatti Veyron:


as well as interior materials and leathers. The interior is totally customizable in terms of the quantity of shelves and drawers. Only 50 Bugatti Safes will be made.

Now .......what does one keep in a Bugatti Safe? How about some Bugatti items?

Let's start with Bugatti Bling.... Bugatti Diamonds, designed by Dieter Sieger:


How about a Bugatti pen by Ferrari Da Varese?



The Bugatti 370 Watch by luxury horologist Parmigiani Fleurier is worth a post all its own.







Or a sterling silver and rock crystal Bugatti Treasure box:


Okay, well that ought to be enough items for you to spend your disposable income upon.