Here’s comes the third and final part of my Oscar lists for the week. Check in on my Oscar predictions for Sunday.
THE 10 BIGGEST UPSETS ON OSCAR NIGHT
1. Shakespeare In Love wins Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan.
2. Newcomer Adrien Brody (Best Actor) and legendary Roman Polanski (Best Director) win for The Pianist. Only one was allowed to be at the ceremony.
3. Crash wins Best Picture over Brokeback Mountain.
4. Living legend Lauren Bacall loses Best Supporting Actress to Juliet Binoche.
5. Marcia Gay Harden beats favorite Kate Hudson for Best Supporting Actress.
6. Marissa Tomei comes out of nowhere to win Best Supporting Actress for My Cousin Vinny.
7. Eddie Murphy loses Best Supporting Actor to Alan Arkin after winning the Globes and SAGs.
8. Unknown actor Daniel Day-Lewis beats favorites Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman for Best Supporting Actor.
9. Clint Eastwood (already with one Oscar for Best Director) beats long time suffering Oscar loser Martin Scorsese. Marty would finally win for The Departed.
10. How Green Was My Valley wins Best Picture over Citizen Kane (a film considered one of the best of all time.)
THE WEIRDEST OSCAR MOMENTS
The streaker (1974): Just as host David Niven was about to introduce Elizabeth Taylor, a naked man came running across the stage behind him, flashing a peace sign. (It was the ’70s.) The whole place naturally went wild with laughter, but Niven, being the epitome of British class and cool, didn’t miss a beat. He deadpanned: “Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was almost bound to happen. But isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?”
Marlon Brando sends Sacheen Littlefeather on stage (1973): Brando won best actor for his iconic portrayal of Don Corleone in “The Godfather.” But he refused to accept the award, and instead sent a woman who said she was an Apache named Sacheen Littlefeather to speak on his behalf. Brando was protesting what he believed to be stereotypical treatment of Native Americans in the film industry. Littlefeather’s speech drew a mixture of applause and boos, as well as questions about whether she was truly a Native American herself.
Rob Lowe‘s duet with Snow White (1989): Allan Carr injected an element of high camp when he took over as producer of the Academy Awards. He was, after all, the man behind such splashy movie musicals as “Grease” and “Can’t Stop the Music,” and he won a Tony for the Broadway hit “La Cage aux Folles.” But his Oscar ceremony is considered one of the biggest flops in the show’s history. It included a 20-minute opening dance number with a squeaky-voiced Snow White-lookalike singing “Proud Mary” with Lowe, who was just getting over a sex-tape scandal. Just try and watch it without cringing.
Bjork’s swan dress (2001): Being notoriously daring and different as she is, Bjork dazzled and bedeviled everyone when she showed up at the planet’s most-watched red carpet in a white, fluffy gown with a swan’s head draped around her neck. (The Icelandic singer and actress was nominated for best original song for “I’ve Seen It All” from Lars von Trier’s “Dancer in the Dark.”) It is arguably the most famous outfit ever worn to the Oscars. It inspired many a Halloween costume.
Jack Palance’s one-armed push-ups (1992): Palance already had been nominated for an Oscar twice before, both for best supporting actor, for 1952′s “Sudden Fear” and 1953′s “Shane.” Four decades later, when he finally won the award for the comedy “City Slickers,” he proved he was just as virile as ever at 72. In the middle of a raunchy acceptance speech, in which he was explaining how reluctant producers can be to cast older actors, Palance stepped away from the podium, dropped to the stage and did a series of one-armed push-ups. Who wouldn’t hire him?
Robert Benigni’s seat climbing (1999): Speaking of acrobatics, there’s Benigni. Ever the clown, the Italian actor and director couldn’t just walk up on stage and give humble, teary-eyed thanks when his “Life Is Beautiful” won the Oscar for best foreign-language film. Instead, he leaped from one seat back to another, whipping the audience into a frenzy, before hopping up the steps and giving presenter Sophia Loren a long, tight bear hug. (“Life Is Beautiful” also earned a best-actor Oscar for Benigni and one for its original score.)
You like Sally Field (1985): “Places in the Heart” earned Field her second best-actress Oscar — the first came for 1979′s “Norma Rae” — but this one meant more to her, she said in her acceptance speech as she clutched the golden statue, giddy and beaming. This time, she said she finally felt the respect of her peers: “I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!” It’s a line that would be endlessly parodied — and misquoted.
