83rd Annual Academy Awards

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by vega2K

That's a very valid point, but I wonder if it seemed that way just because the character was so much more memorable/visible/interesting, compared to the Wahlberg character. I do tend to agree with you though. Although, if Bale was nominated for Best actor, it seems he probably would have lost to Firth (I've yet to watch Kings Speech).

I can't wait to hear what Franco has to say about the backlash his hosting perfomance is getting! I wonder if this will bite him in the @$$. I feel sorry for him because even before the Oscars (during the Red Carpet Event), he just seemed to be totally against hosting the show. Almost as if he just did not want to do it. I don't think he was impaired, but I do wonder whether he was pissed, or nervous or he just plain sucks as a host?? I think he just sucks as a host and need to focus on acting.

I have no doubt that he was impaired. On what, I have no idea. I have known people who have taken a mild dose of Valium to reduce anxiety at a funeral, only to have it hit them too hard and they were toast. Franco may have taken something legit to take the edge off of stage jitters, or he may have been baked. Whatever it was, he wasnt even there. His eye lids were drooping and his eyes were rolling around. He wouldnt/couldnt even respond to Anne. Most telling though was the fact that they parked/hid him back stage for the final hour. Did you notice he disappeared? That was the producers trying to save the show, and IMO they chose wisely. At the end when he spoke he was slurring. He was toast. I'm not judging him because it may well have been an accident, but he was hammered.

There were are few other indications that something was terribly wrong as Pop Eater is reporting that the Oscars executives became concerned after watching the live interview on Sunday night just before the performance began.

"This was a disaster," one TV executive tells me. "Before the show began something was wrong with James. His live interview on ABC backstage should have been a warning sign. He was awkward and looked as if he knew what a terrible evening was ahead for all of us."