The Oscars: 10 Best Backstage Moments
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. <br/>Feb. 28, 2011 — -- So we know who won the Oscars. But what about the rest of the night?
Backstage, Melissa Leo talked about her F-bomb drop. Colin Firth explained the matter that rushed him away from the mike. Natalie Portman declared the name she almost certainly will not give her baby.
Meanwhile, online, viewers made it known what they thought of the show. Some wondered if Anne Hathaway, who at 28-years-old is the youngest host in Oscar history, acted too perky. James Franco, critics ruled, seemed distant and dazed.
Others picked at the many musical numbers and montages. (Gwyneth Paltrow and Celine Dion?) A majority, as always, lamented the length of the show (more than 180 minutes, per usual).
Comedian Bill Maher poked fun at 94-year-old actor Kirk Douglas, who lingered on stage for a few extra minutes while presenting the best supporting actress award. "Oscars just announced, Kirk Douglas hosting show next year," Maher wrote on Twitter, adding later, "Everyone seems to be talking so slow. I know Kirk's excuse, what's everybody elses?"
Still, the juiciest comments of the night were made not on blogs or Facebook or Twitter (which experienced a huge spike in traffic throughout Oscar night, with more than 400,000 tweets dedicated to the awards) but in the press room behind the big show. Check out the 10 best quotes from backstage, below:
Melissa Leo (winner: best supporting actress, "The Fighter") on accidentally cursing during her acceptance speech: "I had no idea. Those words, I apologize to anyone that they offend. There's a great deal of the English language that's in my vernacular. I really don't mean to offend and it was probably a very inappropriate place to use that particular word in particular."
Natalie Portman (winner: best actress, "Black Swan") on whether or not she'll name her first child "Oscar:" "I think that's probably definitely out of the question."
Portman on how motherhood might change her career: "I really can't say what's going to happen. I have no idea what to expect. It's just accepting that I have no idea."
Colin Firth (winner: best actor, "The King's Speech") on what he'll do now that awards season is over: "I think I'm going to cook a lot. I'm not particularly good at it ... but it's a good way to decompress. I'll probably be the only one eating it."
Firth on the "impulse" that rushed him offstage after he accepted his Oscar: "I don't think that this is the appropriate forum to display that sort of thing and anyone who's seen 'Mamma Mia' will know what I'm talking about."
Firth on shouting expletives in "The King's Speech:" "I don't take this stuff lightly, but in the context of this film, it could not be more edifying, more appropriate. It's not vicious, it's not to do with insult. ... It's a bad man trying to free himself through the use of forbidden words."
Christian Bale (winner: best supporting actor, "The Fighter") on almost missing the Oscars because he went drinking before the show and arrived late: "They wouldn't let me in. I was literally banging on the door with Dickey [Ecklund, on whom 'The Fighter' is based] saying, 'Let us in!' ... Now I know in case I ever make it back here."
