Oscars Live Blog 2011

11:44 Chris: Final tally on my predictions: I got 12 out of 22 right. Would've been 13 out of 23, but I neglected to include my pick for Visual Effects for some boneheaded reason. Restricting myself to only the "major" awards, though, I went 8 for 8. Not too shabby.

What a great night! Thanks to everyone for tuning in.

11:37 Chris: The King's Speech wins. Didn't make my top 10 list, but a fine film. A safe film. A safe choice by the Academy.

11:36 Joe: The King's Speech for Best Picture. No surprise, but "Social Network was better. Thanks everyone! Leave your comments on the broadcast below!

11:32 Joe: Great touch by Spielberg.

11:25 Joe: Still wanted to see Eisenberg win. Okay, I officially love Colin Firth after the "when I was a mere child sensation" line.

11:25 Chris: Colin Firth wins, the least surprising prize of the night. I still say James Franco moved me like no other performer last year.

11:18 Chris: Congrats to Natalie Portman. I didn't like "Black Swan," but I can't deny she was amazing in it.

11:18 Joe: Darren Aronofsky is rockin' one mean porn 'stache.

11:16 Joe: Natalie!

11:12 Joe: Let me say in the clip they chose for Nicole Kidman's snippet Kidman delivered at best the second-best performance in that scene. And let me say again Jennifer Lawrence's dress is smokin'.

11:09 Chris: Blech. No live speeches from the Lifetime Achievement winners. Just feels like a cop-out. They couldn't spare five minutes for these greats?

11:03 Chris: Director goes to: Tom Hooper! King's Speech pulls it out for the bigguns. Looks like they're really spreading them around this year.

11:03 Joe: Ah, crap.

10:58 Chris: Pacing seems good this year. I think four awards left and more than 30 minutes to go.

10:55 Joe: Also, live singing over the in memoriam is the pits. Stop it, especially with Celine Dion.

Chris: I think they did that to avoid the embarrassment of some people getting more applause than others. There's always a moment of dead silence where people are saying, "Who the hell was that guy?"

10:52 Joe: Two commercial notes while (ugh) Celine Dion classes the joint up: I can imagine J-Lo saying "I'm GONNA be on the Oscars this year, dammit," and Modern Family is an awesome show.

10:46 Chris: Wow. I'd say Gwyneth Paltrow's singing is Studio Good rather than Live Good. As Randy Jackson would say, "Dawg, that was pitchy."

10:44 Joe: While Gwyneth is singing let me say I have this strange fascination with the Cee-Lo song she sings. It's full of unintentional comedic moments, but for some reason I have to listen to it when I catch it on the radio.

10:42 Chris: Definitely a major momentum shift happening. By my count it's Inception with 4, Social Network with 3, Fighter with 2 and King's Speech with 1. Alice in Wonderland has more than King.

10:37 Joe: Another one for The Social Network. Yes, they're on a roll.

10:28 Chris: Hey, Billy Crystal, nice to have you back. Where ya been? Not making movies...

Sorry about the hiccup there, looks like we're back up and running now. Hopefully it's because of so much traffic!

10:20 Chris: Luke Matheny wins live action short. Hey, I interviewed that guy! Gimme a whoop-whoop for my fellow NYU alumnus!

10:07 Chris: Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi nail it. Great song, great performance. Wish "Tangled" had gotten a better box office reception. Better than "Toy Story 3." Really.

9:55 Chris: It occurs to me that the huge costume/makeup change Franco did into the Marilyn Monroe get-up was paid off with one cheap Charlie Sheen joke. The effort-to-laughs ratio just isn't there.

9:47 Chris: I'd say The Social Network's win for best musical score represents a huge surprise. Momentum shifting again? I still say "Inception" and "Dragon" were better, though.

9:44 Joe: Four words for Nicole Kidman: that's what she said.

9:35 Chris: Christian Bale just erased any lingering bad mojo from his infamous onset tirade with that great, classy, emotional acceptance speech.

9:33 Joe: No one is letting Melissa Leo live that f-bomb down. Also, within about 30 seconds, Christian Bale won an Oscar, then kissed his super-hot wife, Amy Adams, and Reese Witherspoon. That's a good 30 seconds.

Also, that "Makes it official, then" line from Geoffrey Rush again made me LOL.

9:24 Chris: Great acceptance speech by David Siedler of King's Speech. Let's heart it for oldsters!

9:18 Joe: Dude totally nailed that speech too. They dared cut him off, and he was like, "fine, I'm including the part about my daughter's guinea pig."

9:15 Chris: Aaron Sorkin wins adapted screenplay, in one of the few contests that was never in doubt. Well deserved.

9:11 Chris: I'm 2-for-5 now on my predictions. Hey, this is what happens when you don't just stick to the major categories like a coward.

8:59 Joe: WHOA! Melissa Leo let the f-bomb slip. Awesome Oscar moment. Kirk Douglas absolutely owned it.

8:58 Chris: Looks like those much-maligned consideration awards didn't hamper Melissa Leo after all. As well they shouldn't have. A little cleavage never hurts anything.

8:51 Joe: The first Oscar of the night goes to "Inception"! No, I didn't miss anything, I just refuse to acknowledge "Alice in Wonderland" as an Oscar winner. Nope, didn't happen.

8:44 Joe: The obligatory mention of "Titanic," just in case we forgot it was made.

8:43 Chris: Anne Hathaway's a natural in front of the crowd. James Franco's chewing his lines a little bit.

8:40 Joe: My favorites from the opener: "I loved you in 'Tron'" and "the guy from 'General Hospital'!"

8:38 Chris: The hilarious "Brown Duck" spoof of Black Swan is what I think of the actual movie.

8:24 Chris: Oh, Hugh Jackman ... et tu? Half-beards don't have scruffy charm, they just look lazy. Maybe Gillette should sponsor next year's show.

8:15 Chris: Christian Bale shows all these half-shaven twits how to commit: Now THAT's a beard!

8:09 Joe: Jen arrives on the Shearer household's red carpet, and amidst the throngs of "OVER THE SHOULDER" and "LOOK OVER HERE, JENNA!" I was able to sneak in "Who's your pick for Best Animated Feature?" Her response: "Rapunzel. Or Tinker Bell." When I told her neither of those movies were nominated, she said, "How about Toy Story?" There you have it.

7:57 Joe: Time for the children's predictions for Best Animated Feature. Riley goes safe with "Toy Story 3," and Mason predicts "How to Train Your Dragon." Jenna is out with her mother at the moment and is unavailable for comment. We'll get her prediction later.

7:56 Chris: Seeing Robert Downey Jr. on top of the world after all his troubles makes me think, Can Charlie Sheen come back from his death spiral? I'd like to think so, but I think the talent levels are not on par.

7:53 Chris: Wow, Geoffrey Rush is really not good speaking extemporaneously. Brilliant actors are not always brilliant without a script.

7:50 Joe: Well, Mark Wahlberg used the world's dullest razor by the looks of things.

7:45 Chris: Sort of depressing that Warren Beatty now resembles everyone's befuddled great uncle. "Huh? Where's my keys? Where's my car? Who's my wife?"

7:42 Chris: Hey, McConaughey ... it's the Oscars! You couldn't find five minutes to shave?!?

7:36 Joe: That's her husband, Keith Urban. Maybe she's a gigantor or something. And hey, there's Tronzy Osbourne, wearing the Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl costumes to the Oscars. Or maybe that's just a commercial.

7:35 Chris: Is Nicole Kidman contractually obligated to only date men much shorter than her?

7:30 Joe: You're right, Chris. Barbara Walters at least made things bearable. And speaking of unbearable, remember Mo'Nique's explosive self-importance last year?

7:22 Chris: Good Lord. Ninety minutes of this red carpet pap. I may switch over to the Simpsons reruns until the real stuff begins.

7:17 Chris: A lot of people made fun of it, including me, but now that it's gone I really, really miss the Barbara Walters Oscar special. Say what you will, Babs always got great responses out of the stars beyond the pat stuff they say in every interview.

Joe: I think Jennifer Lawrence was dressing down a touch in "Winter's Bone." Whoa.

Joe: I'm no fashionista, but Mila Kunis...wowie.

Joe: 7:00 pm. Red Carpet begins. Robin Roberts hosting. Who's going to have the first fashion faux pas?

Joe: Question: If "Exit Through the Gift Shop" wins Best Documentary, will Banksy reveal himself to the world? My prediction: he's sending a ringer. What do you think?

Joe: Welcome to our live Oscar blog! Be sure you keep hitting the refresh button for more throughout the day leading up to the Oscars telecast. Leading up to the show you'll find Oscars factoids, nominees, trivia and more!

To start, check out Chris' Oscars Picks and Predictions and listen to the podcast, where Chris and I Prognosticate the Oscars

Check out all the Oscar nominees!

Also check out a little history with last year's Live Oscar Blog!

Some Oscars fun facts:

If either Jesse Eisenberg (at 27 years) or Jennifer Lawrence (20 years) win, they'll be the youngest actors win their respective categories. Currently Adrien Brody (who was 29 when he won for "The Pianist" in 2002) and Marlee Matlin (21 when she won for "Children of a Lesser God" in 1986) are current record holders.

Composer Randy Newman is enjoying his 20th Oscar nomination for his original song "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3."

Speaking of "Toy Story 3," it's only the third animated film ever nominated for "Best Picture." The other two were "Beauty and the Beast" in 1991 and "Up" last year.

41.5 million people watched the Oscars telecast last year.

There are more than 5,700 voting members of the Academy.

A winner's speech is limited to 45 seconds as of 2010.

248 films were eligible for Best Picture nomination this year, having met all of the criteria: having opened by December 31, 2010, ran for over 7 consecutive days, and had a run time longer than 40 minutes.

It's time for the Oscars live blog 2011!

Be sure to come back early and often to get all the skinny on the Oscars, the winners and the losers, the triumphs and the injustices!