That's How You Wear a White Suit

It's Oscar week, and I realized the other day that this year is a bit of an anomaly, as I've actually seen 4 of the 5 films nominated for Best Picture (sorry, Atonement). With that in mind, I'm toying with the idea of the first ever BIBJ live blog of the telecast this Sunday night. (Is the proper format of a live blog to put the most recent posts at the top or bottom of a post? I don't think the AP has weighed in on this in it's most recent stylebook update). Regardless, the sure-to-be-over-four-hour telecast should give me plenty time to decree all that is right with the Coen brothers, confront my inner conflict on Diablo Cody's writing, as well as wonder why Paul Anderson insists on derailing an otherwise great film with an abysmal final 20 minutes. But more on that later...

I also realized that this year's ceremony will mark the 10th anniversary of my personal pick for the greatest moment in Oscars history. In March, 1998 worlds collided in the best song category. Trisha Yearwood was there to witness it firsthand, but you can scroll past the first 2:45 to witness the glory that is the most fantastic back-to-back pairing in live performance history.



The reunion of the 3 singers in the final 10 seconds for the curtain call is truly outstanding as well. I remember watching this from my sophomore dorm and thinking "I really can't believe what I'm seeing." Naturally Celine Dion won the Oscar (Madonna announced the result with a snarky "What a shock!") And afterward, Elliott was there to offer up what to this day is the best example of a backhanded compliment I've ever seen:

"She was really sweet, which has made it impossible for me to dislike Celine Dion anymore. Even though I can’t stand the music that she makes -- with all due respect I don’t like it much at all -- but she herself was very, very nice. She asked me if I was nervous and I said, ‘Yeah.’ And she was like, ‘That’s good because you get your adrenaline going, and it’ll make your song better. It’s a beautiful song.’ Then she gave me a big hug. It was too much. It was too human to be dismissed simply because I find her music trite."

That's an amazing quote. When I read it, I'm 100% positive of 2 things. 1) Celine Dion might be one of the nicest women alive, and 2) Anyone who owns one of her albums (or knows someone who does) should still be embarrassed. Bottom line - the man could craft an impromptu quote the same way he wrote a song. Flawlessly.

By the way, of the nominees in the Best Song category this year, 3(!) of them are from the same Disney film. So enjoy that. And let's hope Glen Hansard can pull the upset. See you Sunday.