Academy Awards 2009
Academy Awards News
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John Mayer's Solution for Red-Carpet Nerves: Jen Aniston
Originally posted 02/25/2009 01:05PM
John Mayer may have had Jennifer Aniston as his Oscar date – but that didn't make the night less nerve-wracking.
"You can go from a Grammy winner to a water boy when you walk into the Kodak Theatre on Oscar night," Mayer said during an interview on Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM radio show Wednesday morning. "That's just, like, a whole different level."
Once he got over his nerves, the singer admits, "it was really, really fun."
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It's a Small World for Slumdog Kids at Disneyland
Originally posted 02/24/2009 01:00PM
Hey, kids from Slumdog Millionaire: you traveled all the way from India to Los Angeles and celebrated on stage at the Oscars as your film won Best Picture ... what are you going to do next? Go to Disneyland, of course!
The day after the Oscars, the young cast from the film – above, counter-clockwise from Mickey: Madhur Mittal (older Salim), Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar (middle Latika), Azhar Mohammed Ismail (young Salim), Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (young Jamal), Rubina Ali (young Latika), Tanay Hemant Chheda (middle Jamal) and Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala (middle Salim) – visited Disneyland for a little face time with Mickey Mouse. They also took a ride on – what else? – It's a Small World (photo after the jump!).
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Caught in the Act: The Oscar Edition
Originally posted 02/24/2009 06:00AM
• Michelle Williams and boyfriend Spike Jonze, eating breakfast at Barney Greengrass at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills. Sitting in the corner, the two tried to go incognito, but an onlooker took notice. "They were super cute," the source says, "really adorable and enjoying each other." After eating, the couple dropped into the men's department for a little shopping.
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LISTEN: Pussycat Dolls Get Claws into Slumdog Song
Originally posted 02/23/2009 06:10PM
"Jai Ho" meets meow.
The Pussycat Dolls are releasing their take on the Oscar-winning song from Slumdog Millionaire. Super-producer Ron Fair (who's worked with Fergie and Christina Aguilera) produced the lead vocals by Dolls frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger, whose voice blends with that of composer A.R. Rahman.
For a sample of the song click here
Next up for the Pussycat Dolls: an opening slot on Britney Spears's Circus tour kicking on March 3 in New Orleans.
– Jessica Herndon
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POLL: Who Was the Oscars' 'It' Couple?
Originally posted 02/23/2009 03:10PM
From color-coordinated outfits to matching Oscar nominations, star couples shined at Sunday's Oscars.
Zac Efron and HSM sweetheart Vanessa Hudgens were two of the first stars to hit the red carpet, and an elegant Hudgens, dressed in a floor-length Marchesa gown, gushed, "I feel like a young Audrey Hepburn." Efron pulled double-duty at the awards, presenting and performing in a musical number with Hudgens, host Hugh Jackman and Béyonce.
(Photo Special: See the Night's Cutest Kisses!)
Jennifer Aniston, a surprise presenter, skipped the red carpet, but wowed viewers in a shimmering Valentino Haute Couture gown while announcing the animation awards with Jack Black. The Marley & Me star cozied up to beau John Mayer during the ceremony, about a dozen rows behind Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Best Supporting Actor nominee Josh Brolin and wife Diane Lane kept their Oscar outfits classic in coordinating black. The Milk star and Lane, dressed in Dolce & Gabbana, later snuggled and stole kisses at the Vanity Fair bash.
Super-couple Pitt and Jolie, both nominated for leading roles in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Changeling respectively, stunned on the red carpet, and joked with PEOPLE about it being date night. Pitt looked dapper in a Tom Ford tuxedo, while Jolie dazzled in an Elie Saab couture gown and 180 carats of emeralds.
Tell us: Which Oscar couple stole the spotlight?
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Anne Hathaway Had No Time to Be Nervous
Originally posted 02/23/2009 09:10AM
During the Oscar show, Prince Charming – in the guise of host Hugh Jackman – swept Anne Hathaway into his arms. And, afterwards, she went to the ball.
The Academy's Governors Ball, that is, immediately following the Sunday night ceremony in the Kodak Theatre. The evening was so rich that the Rachel Getting Married Best Actress nominee, 26, told PEOPLE she had a hard time singling out a favorite moment.
"There's so many," she said before quickly amending her answer to, "I'd have to say being in Hugh Jackman's arms and him carrying me on stage!"
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Pinki Sonkar: From School Outcast to an Oscar-Winning Film
Originally posted 02/22/2009 06:25PM
In the poor rural village of Mirzapur, India, a 6-year-old girl spent her days sitting in the corner of her house ashamed because of her mouth.
"People stared and teased all the time," she told PEOPLE in her native Indian dialect through a translator. "They would call me 'hothkati' – meaning cut lip or the girl with the cut lip. I was never known by my real name," she said. But her name was Pinki Sonkar.
Pinki, now 8, is the unlikely star of Smile Pinki, a 39-minute documentary that chronicles her story from being hopelessly unhappy to being helped by plastic surgeon Dr. Subodh Kumar Singh and The Smile Train, who transformed Pinki's life. It was one of four films nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Short Documentary category, and Sunday night, the film's director Megan Mylan took home the Oscar.
Born with a cleft in her upper lip due to a birth defect, Pinki's life was bleak. At school she was shunned by the children and stopped attending. "I felt hurt and very angry," says Pinki. "I always wanted to know why I was different from others." At home she was also outcast by the villagers and her impoverished family could not afford the money for corrective surgery.
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Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston Share Oscar Spotlight
Originally posted 02/22/2009 11:55PM
While Slumdog Millionaire piled up the Oscars Sunday night, Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston defied expectations and piled on the smiles – as their dual appearance at Hollywood's night of nights was as smooth as the silk gowns that filled the Kodak Theatre.
Jolie, of course, attended with her partner and fellow nominee, Brad Pitt, while his ex-wife, Aniston, was accompanied by her boyfriend, John Mayer.
Pitt and Jolie told PEOPLE that their six kids were home "throwing spaghetti against the wall," while the two of them were enjoying a date night.
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Slumdog Millionaire Sweeps Oscar Awards
Originally posted 02/22/2009 09:10PM
An underdog movie about a little guy overcoming life's enormous obstacles swept the Oscars Sunday night, as Slumdog Millionaire racked up eight Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture and for its Director, Danny Boyle.
But it was not underdog Mickey Rourke (for The Wrestler) who took the Best Actor Oscar. That honor went to Sean Penn, for Milk, in which he played 1970s gay activist Harvey Milk.
"I did not expect this, and I know how hard I make it to appreciate me, often," Penn said in his impassioned acceptance speech – in which he also acknowledged his fellow nominee, whose career had faded away in the '90s. "Mickey Rourke rises again," said Penn, "and he is my brother."
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Heath Ledger Wins an Oscar
Originally posted 02/22/2009 10:25PM
In an emotional moment at Sunday's Academy Awards, Heath Ledger's family accepted the actor's posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as the Joker in The Dark Knight.
"Tonight we are choosing to celebrate and be happy for what he has achieved," said his mother Sally Bell, who stood alongside Heath's father, Kim Ledger, and sister, Kate, on the stage of Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
Added Kate, in reference to Heath's 3-year-old daughter, who will inherit his Oscar when she turns 18, "We proudly accept this award on behalf of your beautiful Matilda."
And the Winner Is ...
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