The 83rd Academy Awards telecast - LIVE!

By Adweek staff and guests on Feb 27 2011

1:37 PM ET From Marc Berman: The 2011 Oscars dominated Sunday night's ratings, obviously, but viewership was down from recent years.

11:52 PM ET From Tim Nudd: Wish we had better news to report. The hosts mostly underwhelmed this evening. The ads were largely forgettable. The acceptance speeches were uninspired. If you're still with us, thanks for reading. We'll check the ratings tomorrow. For now, we'll take our cue from the McDonald's commercial with the deaf teens doing sign language: The less said out loud, the better. Good night.

11:51 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: Not that you asked, Anne Hathaway, but if I were you, I'd go in search of those boxing gloves you had earlier in the Fighter sketch and pummel the living hell out of your "co-host" of this evening's failed Oscarcast. If he'd carried even a fraction of the weight, you would've have had to work so damn hard for such little reward. You did what you could. Now, jab, punch, hook, upper cut!

11:46 PM ET From Andrew McMains: Why upstage the kids at the end with the medal winners? It was a sweet moment, only to be soured by the adults. Didn't they get enough screen time already?

11:44 PM ET From Dan McQuade: I kept a tally of people thanked tonight. The notables: stutterers, NYU, lots of parents, lots of wives, "the great state of Delaware," unions (a few times), camera operators, a boyfriend and the U.K. Film Council. No one thanked Mark Zuckerberg or King George VI. Or, amazingly, God.

11:41 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: On the face of it, some people might think that The King's Speech is the highbrow choice for best picture. In fact, the movie, due to its overcoming-adversity theme, has drawn significant crowds in small cities and the heartland, not just at art houses on the coasts. So, even though it's a Harvey Weinstein product, it's no Merchant Ivory period piece, as far as box office receipts go. And tonight, it won four major Oscars. Huzzah!

11:40 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: Yay! It's over! I'm hungry and irritable.

11:36 PM ET • The Academy Award for best picture goes to The King's Speech.

11:34 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: This is perhaps the best insight I've seen all evening, from The Hollywood Reporter's TV critic Tim Goodman: "The people in the Academy who wanted Franco to host should cut off an arm to pay back viewers."

11:32 PM ET From David Griner: In a night that's been an often-embarrassing attempt to make Hollywood look younger and hipper, Jeff Bridges's customized messages for each best actress nominee were brilliantly delivered proof that voices of wisdom and experience will always win over audiences of any age. Unfortunately, he set the bar far too high for Sandra Bullock, who backslid into predictable jokes and pithy teleprompter banter.

11:30 PM ET Advertising break #12 included: • Hyundai Sonata hybrid spot. • Tylenon pain-relieving cream. Useful at this point of the evening. • Acuvue contact-lens spot. • Kill me now, JCPenney. • "Universally spoken" McDonald's spot with signing kids. • Another LivingSocial.com spot.

11:25 PM ET • The Academy Award for best actor goes to Colin Firth for The King's Speech.

11:24 PM ET From Dan McQuade: I know Michelle Williams didn't win best actress, but it got me thinking: The cast of Dawson's Creek sure has been successful! Michelle Williams is an Oscar nominee, Katie Holmes sired Tom Cruise's daughter, Joshua Jackson is on Fringe (he's doing OK!), and James Van Der Beek is James Van Der Beek. (He'll always have "I don't want your life" from Varsity Blues.) That terrible show I watched all the time in high school ended up having a bunch of successful people in it. Amazing! Was anyone on 90210 ever nominated for an Academy Award? Will anyone from Gossip Girl ever be?

11:23 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: Suggestions for future Oscar hosts: Sandra Bullock, Randy Newman, Ricky Gervais. Anyone but James Franco. (Anne Hathaway, at least you put some heart into it.)

11:23 PM ET From Elena Malykhina: So, this is how a pregnant ballerina looks. Natalie Portman really morphed into her character in Black Swan, so in my opinion, she deserved the Oscar. Her speech could have been shorter though. As my colleagues have mentioned already, naming everyone you know isn't really necessary.

11:19 PM ET RT @samgustin If they really wanted to appeal to young people they would have made the Oscars no longer than 30 minutes. (22 + ads).

11:18 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: Seeing Portman in Black Swan makes me wonder how bad a director George Lucas has to be to have made her look that appallingly wooden in Episode 1.

11:16 PM ET • The Academy Award for best actress goes to Natalie Portman for Black Swan.

11:15 PM ET From Dan McQuade: They brought back eight-time host Billy Crystal, and he did a great job with average material. They showed clips of Bob Hope, and he delivered some lame jokes pretty well. Isn't there anyone who can do that today? James Franco and Anne Hathaway have been awkward all night. Any game-show host could do better. Actually, can Alex Trebek host the Oscars?

11:14 PM ET From David Griner: Oh thank goodness. Another JCPenney ad. Fingers crossed for more Hyundai!

11:13 PM ET From Chip Bayers: Didn't realize the youthifying of the broadcast included turning the Thalberg Award from one of the big traditional set pieces of the night into a separate off-stage event.

11:13 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: M&M's hostage spot surprised me in a good way. Mmm, delicious hostages.

11:12 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: I really thought The Social Network had the goodwill and early momentum to split the vote on best director/film, with David Fincher taking the former prize. Guess not. (Aaron Sorkin's the sole torch bearer.) From here on out, it's all about The King's Speech.

11:10 PM ET Advertising break #11 included: • Orange flowers take over the world in AT&T spot. • JCPenney, this time with Cindy Crawford. • M&Ms hostage spot. • AmEx's small-business spot (again).

11:08 PM ET RT @SareyH You know, we could all go to bed at a decent hour if we cut the commercials and lined the stage with sponsor ads like baseball has.

11:04 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: Why is JPMorganChase's "The Way Forward" ad presented as a big book? Shouldn't it be a Kindle or something? What's so forward about a book?

11:03 PM ET • The Academy Award for best director goes to Tom Hooper for The King's Speech.

11:02 PM ET From Andrew McMains: "Heineken? Fuck that shit! Papst Blue Ribbon!" We miss you, Dennis. Best performance never recognized by the Oscars.

11:01 PM ET From Chip Bayers: Randy Newman just won the audition for hosting next year's Oscars.

11:01 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: One measly Charlie Sheen joke—doled out with disinterest by an in-drag James Franco—and two Hollywood hotshots making fun of their past transgressions (that would be Robert Downey Jr. and Christian Bale) do not an entertaining Oscar telecast make. And don't even get me started on that Auto-Tune nonsense. In fact, I laughed harder at the Academy Award-themed promo for Modern Family that just aired than at anything in the kudo-fest itself. Ricky Gervais? Where are you?

11:00 PM ET Advertising break #10 included: • JCPenney again! • Evo 4G again! • JPMorganChase again! We're running out of commercials. The Super Bowl would never let this happen.

10:58 PM ET From Dan McQuade: The good: Leslie Nielsen got the baseball scene (perhaps the best scene in film, ever) from Naked Gun for his "In Memoriam" clip. The bad: Dennis Hopper didn't get a clip of him as King Koopa in Super Mario Bros.

10:54 PM ET From David Griner: I really can't stand Randy Newman's music, and I don't understand why Hollywood animators want to put him in everything. But he is just so damn charming, funny and self-deprecating on stage, I can't help but feel good for him winning the Oscar for best song. Favorite acceptance speech of the night.

10:53 PM ET From Steve McClellan: Jennifer Hudson. Her being on stage tonight is probably the most effective brand integration of the year. And Weight Watchers didn't pay a nickel for it. They just made her skinny. No question the product worked!

10:52 PM ET Advertising break #9 included: • Hyundai Equus. • Jennifer Lopez for Gillette's Venus women's shaver. • Best Buy spot with Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne, supposedly with a new "crowdsourced" ending. Bonus point if you remember what the original ending was.

10:50 PM ET From Tim Nudd: Death montage coming up. This site should answer one of your questions: IsCharlieSheenDead.com.

10:48 PM ET From Andrew McMains: Let that Adrien Brody ad for Stella serve as a warning to all best actors: That may be as good as it gets. Hell, Marisa Tomei had to hand out the technical awards this year.

10:47 PM ET • The Academy Award for best original song goes to Randy Newman for Toy Story 3.

10:45 PM ET From David Griner: How does LivingSocial make so many ads without ever once mocking oppressed nations?

10:44 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: Back-to-back Dove Visible Care commercials, the last with a Dancing with the Stars tie-in, followed by another Dancing with the Stars commercial. I guess a lot of older women watch the Oscars and use Dove. And may soon try to dance again.

10:43 PM ET From Marc Berman: Billy Crystal … don't leave. Please take over the hosting duties! Loved seeing footage of Bob Hope. And it is interesting to see variety of different movies winning awards. Nothing is sweeping, but I do think The King's Speech will win best picture.

10:42 PM ET From Elena Malykhina: Like Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr. has been in trouble with a law a few times. It seems to be the theme of the night—actors poking fun at their unflattering pasts. In a speech about "attention to detail," Downey referenced a 2000 incident in which he was arrested and charged with possession of drugs in his hotel room at the Merv Griffin Resort in Palm Springs. But look at him now. He's Iron Man. Sheen could still straighten out if he tried. (Key word: if.)

10:41 PM ET From Andrew McMains: Billy Crystal. At 47, looking scarily like Jackie Mason, right down to the frog-like neck. The Bob Hope halogram rivaled Kirk Douglas's line to Anne as creepiest, most cringe-worthy moment of the night. "Howww about that!"

10:39 PM ET Advertising break #8 included: • Sprint spot, which AdFreak reviewed here. • American Express spot about small businesses. • Jenny Garth, also for Dove, announcing a social-media campaign in which the winner gets to dance in a Dove ad that will air during a break on Dancing with the Stars.

10:35 PM ET • The Academy Award for best film editing goes to The Social Network.

10:35 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: The Internet tells me many people feel Billy Crystal was the greatest host in Oscar history. I feel like I'm missing something, having not watched those old Oscars. Guess I'll have to check YouTube.

10:34 PM ET • The Academy Award for best visual effects goes to Inception. The film's fourth award tonight.

10:33 PM ET From Tim Nudd: A standing-O for Billy Crystal, and he's embarrassed (on behalf of tonight's hosts). And he delivers, as usual. I don't think ABC was wrong to go with Franco and Hathaway, but they certainly look like kids all of sudden. I think it helps to have a trained comedian hosting.

10:28 PM ET From Andrew McMains: With all the "whoooooo"-ing from Anne as presenters walk out, it seems like she's taking her cues from Cheri Oteri's cheerleader on SNL. Where is Will Ferrell (and his beat box) when you need him?

10:27 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: Yes, Luke Matheny pulled out that dreaded piece o' paper when he just won best short film for God of Love, but he couldn't have been more adorable and engaging. Maybe the research (about people tuning out when winners pull out a piece of paper) will turn out to be wrong in just this one case?

10:26 PM ET Advertising break #7 included: • Hyundai's kaleidoscopic spot, this one with a Jeff Bridges voiceover. Does that mean the best-actor award is still more than an hour away? • AT&T ski-lift spot. • Coke scholars ad. • JCPenney/Liz Clairborne tie-in.

10:23 PM ET From Steve McClellan: JCPenney trying climb on the style wagon. "You make it all look good." Right, models look good in anything. No good can come of this campaign. Just huge disappointment when you try on the actual JCP garb. You get what you pay for.

10:21 PM ET • The Academy Award for best documentary goes to Inside Job.

10:20 PM ET From Alex Koppelman: Let me be the first (of many) to say it: God, that Autotune the Oscars thing was just terrible. And people who are young and hip were sick of that trend a long time ago.

10:20 PM ET From Marc Berman: Thank you, Jake Gyllenhaal, for suggesting we all see short films. But where the hell do you see them?

10:19 PM ET From Elena Malykhina: "Are we conditioned from childhood to be crammed into compact cars?" asks an ad from Hyundai. A cramped car is better than no car, which is what most of the world's population grows up with. But I'll give it to you Hyundai. I really hope you have improved your vehicles, because as a former Hyundai owner, I felt pretty crammed in my Elantra.

10:18 PM ET From Tim Nudd: JCPenney is definitely try to appear newly hip tonight. In its last commercial, you may have noticed the coffee cup the guy was holding—the famed "We are happy to serve you" New York City/Greek coffee cup. We knew there was a reason why JCPenney opened that store in Manhattan in 2009—so it can image-check NYC in its ads.

10:15 PM ET • The Academy Award for best live-action short film goes to God of Love.

10:13 PM ET • The Academy Award for best documentary short subject goes to Strangers No More.

10:13 PM ET From Chip Bayers: The main thing I'm getting from the Penney ads is how much the art director loves Helvetica.

10:12 PM ET From Hillary Frey: I've seen this Adrien Brody/Stella Artois commercial before. And I wondered then as I do now: Did he make this for some other country, thinking it would never be seen here?

10:12 PM ET From Marc Berman: Uh oh … Oprah is coming up.  She is liable to be on stage for an hour talking about her "Wow" moments!  Seriously, she recently spoke at the Winter Press Tour and would not get off stage.

10:11 PM ET From Andrew McMains: Wow, barely recognized Trent Reznor. Cleans up nice. Looks like he could be doing my taxes. At least he knows he has a (soundtrack) career to fall back on.

10:10 PM ET Advertising break #6 included: • JCPenney again. • A LivingSocial.com spot. It's a Groupon competitor. Its scene changing was Old Spice-ish, but intentionally low-tech. Nothing mentioned about Tibet. • Hyundai childhood spot and Stella Artois spot that both aired during the Super Bowl.

10:07 PM ET From Steve McClellan: Ah, the technical awards. Their 15 second s of fame. Kind of like the old pitch days when the media guys got five minues at the end of the presentation, before they broke for lunch!

10:06 PM ET From Elena Malykhina: If Barack Obama says "As Times Goes By" is the best song of all time, it must be so. He's the president of the United States. He knows a thing or two about being cool and hip.

10:03 PM ET From Andrew McMains: Glossy sameness to most of the ads thus far, and a narrow band of categories (gadgets, cars, clothes, movies, Diet Coke). Seems like Diet Coke tried the hardest to stand out, but do a natal nurse and a politician really have anything in common? JCPenney's new campaign feels like a series of quintessential Maybelline ads: quick cuts, beautiful women, pounding music, female voiceover. Best plug came during the show: Christian Bale's shoutout for dickeklund.com.

10:02 PM ET From David Griner: Since when is it an award-winning skill to make Benicio Del Toro look like a wolfman?

10:01 PM ET • The Academy Award for best costume design goes to Alice in Wonderland.

9:59 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: Nice to see The Martin Agency's campaign for the American Cancer Society as the "Official Sponsor of Birthdays" is still going strong. You can now send a birthday greeting from Celine Dion. Shouldn't she be sponsoring the Canadian Cancer Society, though?

9:58 PM ET • The Academy Award for best makeup goes to The Wolfman.

9:57 PM ET From Marc Berman: Well, I do have good news about tonight's Oscars … it can cure your insomnia. And I think the ratings will reflect it tomorrow. Without the benefit of a blockbuster movie, I do think they will be below average in terms of ratings. Clearly dominant, yes, but  I think lower than usual. Stay tuned.

9:55 PM ET From Chip Bayers: Oscar broadcasts in recent decades always have to have a contemporary political issue as a recurring theme, and we've finally arrived at this year's, although it might be the most understated and roundabout attempt at one that I can remember: The Inception sound mixer just became the second winner to pointedly mention the union crew who worked on the film. Can we start the countdown to the first explicit reference to events in Wisconsin now?

9:54 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: There is a piece of advice that the Academy Awards honchos give every single year without fail to the nominees: Do not pull out a piece of paper and read your acceptance speech. (It's been proven with research that ratings immediately drop when this happens.) I'd like to add my own suggestion: Do not name all your children, your spouse, each parent and grandparent, every household pet and potted plant. We know who they are. Please, stop torturing us with information that's meaningful only to you, already-decorated Hollywood A-lister.

9:54 PM ET Advertising break #5 included: • Diet Coke once again. Staying unextraordinary. • JCPenney again. Penney is using the telecast to introduce a new logo, look, identity and tagline: "We make it affordable, you make it yours," in a campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi. • American Cancer Society, "Happy birthday to you." Wishing people many more birthdays without cancer. Would have been more effective if the "Happy Birthday" song hadn't been used earlier in a local President's Day auto spot.

9:51 PM ET From Tim Nudd: So, Oscars are given out for both sound editing and sound mixing. Possibly there should be awards for best actress, blonde, and best actress, brunette.

9:50 PM ET • The Academy Award for best sound editing goes to Inception.

9:49 PM ET From Dan McQuade: I can't believe they used time on this broadcast to let us know the Academy Awards will be on ABC for another nine years. Great! I'll be sure to remember to tune in to the 2020 Oscars! Also: My 11-year-old self is incredibly happy that Trent Reznor (and Atticus Ross) won the Oscar for best original score. Or maybe the 1994 me thinks Reznor is a sellout for working with Hollywood and is incredibly disappointed that he got this meaningless recognition. It's hard to remember what I thought back then. Incidentally, my 28-year-old self really wants Trent Reznor to EGOT. He has an Oscar and a Grammy!

9:48 PM ET • The Academy Award for best sound mixing goes to Inception.

9:47 PM ET From Steve McClellan: Was it me or did Christian Bale forget his wife's name at the end of his acceptance speech? Well deserved award, though. He was awesome in The Fighter. Probably the meatiest role he was ever hande,d and he knocked it out of the park. If I forgot my wife's name she'd kick my ass.

9:46 PM ET From Elena Malykhina: Why are allergy medicine commercials always the same? The Zyrtec ad that aired during the last break showed a mom in a bright Polo shirt enjoying a day of golf with her daughter (also in a Polo shirt, I guess indicating their status) thanks to her allergy medicine. How many mothers do you see golfing with their tween daughters? I guess the makers of this ad didn't want to use the usual image of a woman running through a field of flowers or man playing ball outside with his son.

9:46 PM ET From Hillary Frey: Whoever is cutting the clips for The Social Network has a serious thing for Andrew Garfield. He's in almost every one—way more than Eisenberg.

9:45 PM ET • The Academy Award for best original score goes to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network.

9:43 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: Another reason to love Christian Bale: It's somewhat expected that winners will be self-deprecating, but he took it a step further by dredging up his own sordid past. (If you didn't hear his on-set rant from Terminator: Salvation or the musical mash-ups that followed, scroll down for the link.) It's funny because I've never walked into his shot while he's working.

9:41 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: That one F-bomb that Melissa Leo dropped is getting so much attention. Both David Seidler and Christian Bale had to mention it in their acceptance speeches. You'd think no one had never heard it uttered at an award show before. Fortunately, she's already apologized.

9:40 PM ET From Alex Koppelman: The audience is probably dropping away by the minute, but for now, there are a whole lot of people watching the Oscars. How do I know? After Christian Bale mentioned the Web site run by the guy he played in The Fighter, dickeklund.com, the site went down, presumably from all the traffic.

9:39 PM ET From Dylan Byers: I give Bale best speech of the evening, not least because he referenced his own rant. Seriously: very honorable speech.

9:39 PM ET From Marc Berman: Touching speech from David Seidler focused on all stutterers around the world. And, finally, a Charlie Sheen joke! But so far the whole show is just plain dull. Sadly, Melissa Leo dropping the F-bomb is the standout so far.

9:38 PM ET Advertising break #4 included: • Animated JPMorganChase spot about helping homeowners. Should the message here be reinforced by what essentially look like houses of cards? • Trailer for Super 8. • AT&T spot with the iPhone and a guy who forgets his anniversary. • Zyrtec spot.

9:35 PM ET From Tim Nudd: Christian Bale's infamous outburst, for those who want to relive it.

9:34 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: "The weird part is, I just got a text message from Charlie Sheen." I'm so glad Franco went there, particularly after Sheen's recent hilarious rant on TMZ. Missed it? Check it. It's worth a listen even if all us losers may fail to understand this odyssey that refuses to quit calling itself Charlie Sheen.

9:32 PM ET • The Academy Award for best supporting actor goes to Christian Bale in The Fighter.

9:30 PM ET From Chip Bayers: Can't believe it took nearly an hour for our first Charlie Sheen crack.

9:28 PM ET • The Academy Award for best foreign-language film goes to In a Better World.

9:28 PM ET From Alex Koppelman: Not a problem with the ad per se, but anyone remember the Uncanny Valley from when Tracy Jordan overcame it on 30 Rock? Mars Needs Moms is going to have a real problem with that—the animated kid who's the main character scares the hell out of me. And speaking of the Uncanny Valley, James Franco as Marilyn Monroe is just wrong.

9:26 PM ET From Chip Bayers: I'm one of those current and, in my case, former Silicon Valley people who watched The Social Network with a personal interest—in my case, because I knew Sean Parker a little bit several years ago, when he was a broke, shallow party boy. Now, I gather he's a rich one. Boy, did Sorkin and Fincher make him much smarter and more interesting than he was when he spent an evening in my living room on Russian Hill trying to convince me to write a book with him about Napster (and the character isn't even that smart and interesting!).

9:25 PM ET From Elena Malykhina: I think James Franco looks better in the wild ... wearing a T-shirt, a cap and carrying a backpack through the canyons, as seen in a clip for 127 Hours during best adapted screenplay nominations. He seems out of place in a tuxedo. Now, Javier Bardem is a different story. He looks the part on the Oscars stage.

9:25 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: Despite its stated purpose with co-hosts Franco and Hathaway and the tweets and apps and all, here are ways in which this year's Oscar telecast is not appealing to the kids: Trotting out Kirk Douglas within the first half hour. Recalling the earliest days of the Academy Awards, complete with nostalgic music. The millennials don't recognize any reference pre-1985, remember?

9:23 PM ET Advertising break #3 included: • Diet Coke, "Stay extraordinary." If you want to blow something up, have a Diet Coke first. • Trailer for the animated movie Mars Needs Moms. • Evo 4G spot from Sprint with the green forklift-driving aliens. • Another Hyundai spot, this time for the Genesis, with Jason Bateman.

9:21 PM ET From Steve McClellan: I thought the pre-show did a good job of capturing the hoopla surrounding the whole event. Let's face it, it's all about the glam, and that's what Tim Gunn focused on in the recap, all the stunning designer dresses. With all the nasty shit going on in the world, yeah, viewers are looking for a little escapism.   They said it was the first time the hosts had agreed to do interviews on the red-carpet show. Probably the last, given how uncomfortable James Franco was. Guess he had a lot on his mind, what with having hosting duties as well as his own nomination to think about.   Tom Hanks was hilarious with his bit letting the viewers know that Robin Roberts wasn't exactly improvising in her wrap up comments.

9:20 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: Roommates came by to check out what I was watching, saw it was the Oscars and refused to stay for this "boring" show. Something tells me the ratings won't be too high for this one.

9:19 PM ET • The Academy Award for best original screenplay goes to David Seidler for The King's Speech.

9:17 PM ET From Tim Nudd: Many of the commercials airing tonight are local ads, not national ones. This is in contrast to the Super Bowl, where almost everything is national. The Twitter hordes are upset about this. @HESherman writes: "With tens of millions of viewers for #Oscars, we're getting Fancy Feast commercials? Why does the Super Bowl get all the good ads?" Cat lovers aside, it may be a long night for ad viewers.

9:14 PM ET • The Academy Award for best adapted screenplay goes to Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network.

9:13 PM ET From Andrew McMains: I think Kirk Duglas needed subtitles. And how creepy was his come-on to Anne? Too bad his cane couldn't double as a hook for Melissa Leo. Love her work, but her reaction was so over the top and long, even for this event. Oh, and congratulations for the first F-bomb of the night.

9:12 PM ET From Chip Bayers: Melissa Leo's rambling, self-indulgent speech only served to reinforce the negative reputation she was gaining from those self-serving ads in the trades.

9:12 PM ET Advertising break #2 included: • Listerine spot takes a stand against biofilm. Is there an award for best biofilm tonight? • Hyundai Elantra spot. Voiced by Jason Bateman instead of the usual Jeff Bridges. Because Academy rules prohibit a nominated actor's appearance in commercials within an hour of his or her category's award, Bridges will be replaced by Bateman in some of Hyundai's ads tonight. • An insipid Amazon Kindle spot, which AdFreak reviewed here.

9:08 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: Just watched Justin and Mila try to make the show even hipper by takin' bout apps on call phones. I wish there WAS an app to change/influence the Oscar background screen. That actually would make it hip.

9:07 PM ET From Elena Malykhina: Going with the "young and hip" theme, Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake joined the hosts on stage for animated film nominations. Timberlake even used the opportunity to plug the iPhone and its many apps. Ok Justin, we get it. You're cool.

9:06 PM ET • The Academy Award for best animated feature goes to Toy Story 3.

9:05 PM ET From Marc Berman: Well, finally … an Oscar acceptance speech that might make us forget about Sally Field's "You like me!" crowing in 1984. Melissa Leo drops the F-bomb. Even Kurt Douglas was speechless. Good barb by Anne Hathaway, though James Franco needs to loosen up.

9:04 PM ET • The Academy Award for best animated short goes to The Lost Thing.

9:03 PM ET RT @BorowitzReport: Yay Melissa Leo! You should take out some ads tomorrow to celebrate.

8:59 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: Roger Deakins got robbed, again. This was his ninth nomination for cinematographer—no wins so far. And par for the course tonight. I believe the Coen brothers' True Grit will not get its due.

8:59 PM ET From Hillary Frey: I think the sisters from The Fighter should have hosted the Oscars. After my first few chuckles, I'm not laughing with Franco and Hathaway.

8:58 PM ET • The Academy Award for best supporting actress goes to Melissa Leo. Apparently her self-promotional ads leading up to the show didn't hurt her.

8:57 PM ET From Dan McQuade: The Oscars are made even more glamourous by the "Presented by J.C. Penney" tag at the start of commercial breaks.

8:56 PM ET From Alex Koppelman: It really is amazing to see how young the Oscars are trying to skew here, and not just with their choice of hosts—and the hosts' mother and grandmother, of course. (Kirk Douglas aside, that is.) One good example: Franco's live-tweeting the whole thing (@jamesfranco). Another: Even by Franco's standards, he looks pretty stoned right now.

8:55 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: That JCPenney spot skewed young. I wonder if all these spots will help them recover from the search spanking that Google gave them after JCP cheated with some black hat SEO.

8:51 PM ET Advertising break #1: • MNG by Mango for JCPenney. • Happy Meal spot for McDonald's. Find hope inside your Happy Meal. (Along with lots of non-meat product.) • Hyundai Sonata spot. Good genes. Jeff Bridges voiceover (for now). • Samsung Galaxy Tab spot. Feel free to do just about anything.

8:48 PM ET From Marc Berman: Okay, okay … I need to be patient. It is still early yet. But I thought the opening filmed pieces with Anne Hathaway and James Franco were not funny, and their live presence in the monologue was short and juvenile. We need someone more seasoned liked a Billy Crystal to bring everything together. This felt more like a high school production. Big shock, though, Alice in Wonderland winning the first award.

8:47 PM ET From Chip Bayers: I guess no one in rehearsals told James Franco that he should stop looking at the cue cards and look into the camera to deliver his lines.

8:47 PM ET • The Academy Award for best cinematography goes to Inception.

8:45 PM ET From David Griner: I was a bit surprised to see Back to the Future get so much play in the intro sketch to tonight's Oscars. But a quick Google check shows that, yes, Back to the Future did actually win at the 1986 Oscars. Well, one Oscar. For sound effects editing.

8:45 PM ET • The Academy Award for best art direction goes to Alice in Wonderland.

8:42 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: Two minutes seconds in, and I can already tell that these two aren't going to be nearly as fun as Ricky Gervais was at the Golden Globes this year.

8:41 PM ET From Tim Nudd: "You look very appealing to a younger demographic as well," Anne says to James. Kids and their self-referential humor! Of course, it's the older demographic who will determine the awards tonight. The average age of Academy members is 57.

8:39 PM ET From Hillary Frey: Franco and Hathaway may or may not succeed in drawing younger viewers to this awards show. But they've already made me laugh, heartily, a number of times with their opening montage. Also glad Inception played a pivotal role in the montage. That movie is not getting enough attention among the nominees.

8:35 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: Tim Gunn loved Scarlet's lace dress, but Perez Hilton is trashing it. I feel this will be one of the more divisive issues of the night. Also: "Tough the ball" is your slogan, ING Direct? I can see how that represents your awesome 10-year mortgage (not), but it just made the 10-year-old inside of me giggle.

8:32 PM ET From Chip Bayers: I sure hope the start of the actual Oscars show mean no more ads for CSI: Dana Delaney.

8:31 PM ET From Tim Nudd: And the show opens with clips from the 10 nominated Best Picture films. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see all the full trailers.

8:27 PM ET From Rebecca Cullers: According to AT&T on the ABC pre-show, covering the world in hideous orange flowers is a beautiful thing. To me, the destruction of our urban landscape by creeping, neon-orange vines says post apocalyptic nightmare. Also: Cindy Crawford for JCPenney? That's an interesting branding combination. I guess she hasn't done anything worthwhile in longer than I thought.

8:25 PM ET From Marc Berman: Twenty-four awards will be handed out tonight, and it will take three and a half hours! Also, I am no fashion expert, but Halle Berry … woo hoo!!! If she gave me her dress to sell, I could pay off my mortgage.

8:22 PM ET From Hillary Frey: Jennifer Lopez, first with the L'Oreal hair color, and now Venus razors? The Back-Up Plan must have done even worse at the box office than I thought.

8:19 PM ET From T.L. Stanley: How disappointed am I that not one of the ABC "reporters" covering the red carpet has had the stones to throw in a Charlie Sheen question? Not even to Robert Downey Jr.? Hey, it couldn't be more topical. But amid the gushing about designer duds and preternatural beauty, alas, there appears to be no room for talk about drug addiction and scuttled episodes. Sheen, displaying a rare sense of decorum during the past week, said during one of his many public tirades that he wouldn't make an appearance himself at the Oscars. Too distracting. Yet he'll still loom large. ABC intends to heavily promote its upcoming 20/20 interview with the wayward sitcom star. (Bits of Sheen's chat with Andrea Canning will also be parceled out on Good Morning America.) Just in case you hadn't already had enough of this train wreck.

8:18 PM ET From Elena Malykhina: Did you catch Jesse Eisenberg of The Social Network on the red carpet tonight? He sounds exactly like the guy in the movie—just as socially awkward. And guess what? He's not on Facebook. He cracked a joke (with a serious face) that he probably should have signed up this morning. Isn't that the same as endorsing a product having never tried it? Still, celebs do that all the time. Do you think Eminem really drinks Lipton Brisk? Eisenberg doesn't have a TV, either. He prefers watching people in person. He said so himself.

8:15 PM ET From Marc Berman: So, I have been watching the red-carpet entrants on E! Why is Kelly Osbourne a fashion expert? I know she is on Fashion Police, but Joan RIvers … we miss you!

8:13 PM ET From Chip Bayers: The most painful part of the Oscars red-carpet pre-show on ABC is Disney's hamhanded use of it to promote its own shows in lieu of actual red-carpet views—if you actually want to see the outfits, you find yourself constantly flipping back to E! (a phrase I'd have never expected myself to write). Worst example was using the kid who plays Rico on Modern Family to do an extended sketch that purported to be a preview of the Governors Ball, with writing so pathetic it set a new low, even by the very low standards of award shows.

8:11 PM ET From Tim Nudd: Just saw our first Hyundai commercial of the evening. There are expected to be nine (!) overall. This one had the familiar Jeff Bridges voiceover, but not all of them will. Because Academy rules prohibit a nominated actor's appearance in commercials within an hour of his or her category's award, Bridges will be replaced in at least some of Hyundai's ads tonight—reportedly by Jason Bateman.

8:10 PM ET From Tim Nudd: Most memorable Oscar moments from The Onion. 1972: Marlon Brando damages Oscar statue while "trying to get at chocolate inside."

8:07 PM ET From Hillary Frey: James Franco loves to talk about school. He is not so happy to talk about the brand of his tux. Unlike Justin Timberlake: Tom Ford tailored those giant lapels.

8:05 PM ET From Tim Nudd: Natalie Portman, who wore a $50 H&M dress to the Vanity Fair party on Friday night, has brought a bit more high fashion to the show itself. A violet silk chiffon draped gown from Rodarte. Price tag = more than you can afford.

8:01 PM ET From Dan McQuade: ABC should run the "I am on a drug; it's called Charlie Sheen!" ad as often as possible. The Oscars will be so much better if we get to hear that soundbite all night.

7:50 PM ET From Tim Nudd: Melissa Leo, a nominee for best supporting actress for The Fighter, took out some odd "Consider Melissa" ads in the Hollywood trades in recent weeks, angling for votes from the Academy. They were considered pretty tacky, and some believe Leo—formerly (and possibly still) a front-runner for the award—may have ruined her chances with the ads. Tonight, Leo has lowered expectations, telling ABC: "I have come with a light and happy heart today hoping that they will call some other girl's name and I can applaud and enjoy their speech and one thing and another." Her competition: Amy Adams (The Fighter), Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) and Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom).

7:35 PM ET From Tim Nudd: The stars are arriving on the red carpet in their million-dollar dresses from the world's top fashion designers. But the big fashion winner so far this weekend is H&M. Natalie Portman wore a white cotton frock from the retailer's new eco-friendly Conscious Collection to Vanity Fair's pre-Oscars party on Friday night, causing something of a scandal. It has long lace sleeves and a babydoll silhouette. It retails for $49.95.

6:37 PM ET From David Griner: Trailers for all 10 Best Picture nominees of 2011 Black Swan The Fighter Inception The Kids Are All Right The King's Speech 127 Hours The Social Network Toy Story 3 True Grit Winter's Bone

12:07 PM ET PREAMBLE • Welcome to our live blog of the Academy Awards, one of the world's showcase media events. After 8 p.m., Adweek writers and special guests will be analyzing the show and the advertising surrounding it, with a range of voices weighing in on everything from branding and marketing to fashion, celebrity culture and the art of performance. I'm Tim Nudd, and I'll be hosting. A list of tonight's participants is in the sidebar.   In terms of the awards themselves, The King’s Speech led all films with 12 nominations this year, followed by True Grit with 10, Inception and The Social Network with eight, and The Fighter, 127 Hours, Black Swan and Toy Story 3 with at least a handful each.   Expected advertisers for tonight's broadcast include Amazon.com, the American Cancer Society, Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Best Buy, Cars.com, Coke, Hyundai, JCPenney, LivingSocial.com, McDonald's, Nokia, Procter & Gamble, Sprint and Unilever. Last year, for the first time, movie studios were allowed to advertise on the Oscars, and you'll see lots of trailers this evening—from studios including Paramount, Summit, Universal and Disney.   Hyundai and JCPenney will be particularly noticeable tonight. The former is expected to air nine commercials—a mix of new and old, including some that aired during the Super Bowl. Like last year (when he won best actor), Hyundai's voice artist, Jeff Bridges, is nominated tonight. Because Academy rules prohibit a nominated actor's appearance in commercials within an hour of his or her category's award, Bridges will be replaced in at least some (though perhaps not all) of Hyundai's ads tonight—reportedly by Jason Bateman.   Meanwhile, JCPenney is using the telecast to introduce a new logo, look, identity and tagline: "We make it affordable, you make it yours," in a campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi. And Best Buy is reprising its Super Bowl spot with Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne, but with a new ending that was chosen after an online public vote.   ABC is getting about $1.7 million per 30-second spot.   We'll have much more after 8 p.m., so join us then.