8:30 p.m. Oscars starting!
8:31 p.m. Kind of stupid opening sequence.
8:33 p.m. Strike joke: “Welcome to the make-up sex.” Hey, Vanity Fair, how about inviting some writers to your party?
8:35 p.m. Stewart on the depressing topics of the Best Picture nominees: “Thank god for teen pregnancy.” Yeah, there’s some lighthearted fare.
8:38 p.m. On Diablo Cody, once an exotic dancer, now an Oscar-nominated writer: “I hope you’re enjoying the pay cut.”
8:42 p.m. Costume Design goes to Alexandra Byrne for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Ah, the historical epics always have an edge.
8:47 p.m. George Clooney introduces 80 years of Oscars.
8:51 p.m. Pretty good montage. They even worked in the infamous Rob Lowe musical number.
8:54 p.m. Ratatouille just won animated feature. Brad Bird thanked a guidance counselor for trying to discourage him.
8:57 p.m. La Vie en Rose (Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald) won for Best Makeup.
8:59 p.m. Amy Adams is terrific singing “Happy Working Song.” See previous comments on Enchanted here.
9:12 p.m. The Golden Compass and Sweeney Todd won some technical awards.
9:18 p.m. Well, there was no way Javier Bardem wasn’t going to win for Best Supporting Actor, but he still totally deserved it.
9:23 p.m. The salutes to Binoculars & Periscopes and Bad Dreams were pretty great. More montages please! (kidding)
9:27 p.m. I thought August Rush looked like a terrible movie. But the nominated song was really good!
9:30 p.m. I don’t remember there being so many international entries in the Live Animated Short category.
9:32 p.m. Same for animated shorts.
9:39 p.m. Tilda Swinton takes Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton. Not sure if she should have won, but she is great generally and was great in Clayton and gives a great acceptance speech. Batman & Robin joke — awesome!
9:48 p.m. The Coens take it for Best Adapted Screenplay. I called it. It was a great job. They say they’ve been selective, only choosing to adapt Homer (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) and Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men).
10:04 p.m. Jonah Hill and Seth Rogan present a Sound Editing award for The Bourne Ultimatum. They do a joke about pinch-hitting for Dame Judy Dench and Halle Berry, arguing about who is more Halle-like. Mildly amusing, but Seth is clearly Dame Judy.
10:14 p.m. Marion Cotillard wins for La Vie En Rose. How nice for her. She seems overwhelmed. “It’s true there are some angels in this city.” I need to see her movie.
10:22 p.m. The nominated song from Once was nice, but it doesn’t sound like the winner.
10:28 p.m. They showed a montage of the 79 previous Best Picture winners. Interesting the number of winners that (to me) didn’t deserve that honor. The Greatest Show on Earth, anyone?
10:43 p.m. The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher) just won for Foreign Language Film. I just read a review of this film and it sounded quite interesting.
10:51 p.m. And “Falling Slowly” from Once just won! Glen Hansard gave a great humble speech, urging the crowd, “Make art, make art.” Stewart’s quip: “That guy is so arrogant.”
10:57 p.m. After a commercial break, Stewart brings Hansard’s writing partner Marketa Irglova out so she can give a lovely little acceptance speech about daring to dream.
11:13 p.m. Tom Hanks introduces military personnel in Baghdad who read the nominees and winner for Documentary Short Subject. I doubt they’ll do documentary features.
11:17 p.m. Yep, Hanks does features, since two are about Iraq and one is about the War on Terror. Taxi to the Dark Side wins and director Alex Gibney expresses hope that the U.S. can “move back to the light.” His film looks at the torture practices of our country; I wonder if the military folks have seen it yet?
11:26 p.m. Diablo Cody wins Best Original Screenplay for Juno. She thanks her family for loving her exactly as she is and kind of breaks down in tears. Awesome tattoo on her right arm. Don’t see that kind of art often enough on the Oscars.
11:36 p.m. Daniel Day-Lewis takes Best Actor. I think this is the second award tonight for There Will Be Blood. He gives a simple and gracious speech. Man, the Brits really are better at winning these things.
11:43 p.m. Joel & Ethan Coen win Best Directors. Nice short, wacky speech: “Henry Kissinger: Man on the Go.”
11:46 p.m. No Country For Old Men makes it a sweep. Boy, have they recovered from The Ladykillers (2004).
Tags: Jon Stewart, Oscars, liveblogging