I didn't know or remember the other nominees for Best Song. They kind of bored me. But my other friends (who normally can't stand Eminem either) were happy that he won. I detest pretty much everything the guy stands for, but this song was basically an inspiring "stand up and take your chance" song. And it was kind of catchy. So I could see why it won. (That, and the fact that Hollywood people often confuse controversy with art.)
I'm more disgusted with the fact that the Academy keeps coming up with newer, dumber rules to exclude even more great songs from winning Oscars. I don't care if the songs in Moulin Rouge weren't written for the film; the PRESENTATION of them was entirely new, and Ewan MacGregor's "Your Song" has it all over Elton John's. (And at any rate, the centerpiece of the movie--"Come What May"--was completely original. Why was it excluded?) Now "Chicago" didn't get any nominations for the thing it's known the most for--its songs. But songs like U2's borefest, which only appeared over the end credits and wasn't integrated into the movie at all, DOES get nominated! What sense does that make??
It gets worse. For next year, they want to exclude sequels from getting nominated, because they're not "original" themes. Never mind the fact that a LOT of new material is written even for sequels, and some of the best work is in those films (most of the themes we associate with "Star Wars" actually make their first appearance in "The Empire Strikes Back," including Darth Vader's theme). Why all these ridiculous, arbitrary rules?
Whew. OK, done with my rant for now.
I SO loved seeing Kermit and Piggy! I wanted to see the rest of the clip after that brief snippet was over. I wonder if they've got that one at the Museum of TV.
I thought Mickey looked fine. I didn't even realize he was CGI when he first walked out (it was more noticeable when he was standing straight on). The awards show presenters can never come up with good material for the cartoon characters, though.
Did anyone catch how he read the names? Usually they cut away or do some other trick to prevent a problem with the mouth movement. One year Bugs Bunny read the name while holding the paper in front of his mouth. Another time, the caterpillar from Bug's Life ran under the envelope to read the name. (Tricks like this became common after one year when Snow White came to a grinding "halt" as the tape was abruptly stopped as they tried to cue the right winner's name!) But so far as my memory goes, Mickey just kept on talking. Can anyone else refresh my memory on how they did this last night?
To answer your questions, Zack: yes, the audience had to look at the monitors in order to see Mickey. And the others are right; indedepent animation festivals (which usually only come to big cities) are pretty much the only place to see animated shorts these days. It's a shame, really. When the category was created, EVERYONE used to be watching the shorts that were produced, the Bugs Bunnys and the Mickey Mouses. The Oscars telecast includes these shows even though, ironically, it was TV that killed animated shorts before movies.
I just got a copy of the "Roger Rabbit" script, and I like the first line of description: "This movie starts the way all movies should: with a cartoon."
Steve Martin's comments about Mickey being a "black actor," while not intentionally offensive, were definitely...odd. I guess he didn't realize there has been a great deal of controversy over Mickey's "skin pigment." It was Steve's one major miss in a night when he hit nearly every other gag out of the park.
I totally agree about Micheal Moore. He shouldn't have won for documentary anyway. One moment he's excusing his manipulation of the facts in his films by saying he's just making entertainment; the next, he's getting up on stage accepting a documentary award and saying "we work in non-fiction." That's before launching into a tirade of falsifications and ugly, unwarranted comments. As Jamie said, you have to be a pretty big jerk to make liberal comments in liberal Hollywood and get booed off the stage. The thing that baffles me is this: the Academy gave him the award; they gave him a standing ovation when he went to the podium. What did they THINK he was going to say when he got up there?
Whoo. I'm done for now, I guess.
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yes Johnny Carson! i knew who it was i just couldn't think of his name! i was at school going what's his name! how could i forget his name! only i''ll just write "some guy"
yes my mom was very happy for him! 
Made me feel kinda bad for the people connected to those in the montage. 
Actually, I was happy about the "Spirited Away" award, though I don't know why, 'cause I haven't seen the movie. It's supposed to be very artistic, though, and it was a labor of love for the Disney people to adapt it. Then after spending all that money on it, Disney unceremoniously dumps the film into a few theaters without any fanfare. (Umm...ignoring the obvious potential Disney-Henson parallels here.) Shrek should have won last year, because it was the best, and it just happened to be the most popular. But if Lilo & Stitch had won, it would be like "What's the point of this award anyway? L & S already have the accolades." Treasure Planet, a critical and financial flop, shouldn't have even been on the list, nor the distrastrous Spirit film (which thankfully didn't win just because it plays to PC mores). (I don't remember the fourth nominee.) So I'm glad "Spirited Away" got some recognition. Then again, maybe I'll change my mind after I see the film. 
