A Brief Oscar Wrap-up

As predicted, it was Slumdog Millionaire's night. The only big surprise was that Sean Penn beat out Mickey Rourke for his vivid portrayal of Harvey Milk. I love both actors, and even though I was routing for Micky I think Sean Penn deserved the accolade. Sean gave the better performance (even from what little of Milk I've seen - previvews, clips) while Mickey had the best backstory, coming from career self-imolation to a podium-topping awards season, (Golden Globe, Screen Actor's Guild Award, Independent Spirit Award...).

Two other standout moments were when Heath Ledger won posthumously, and when Penelope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Vicky Christina Barcelona, the best Woody Allen movie in recent years.

The best acceptance speech of the night, in my humble opinion, came from writer Dustin Lance Black, who adapted Milk from his own stage play. In my ignorance I always assume that the issue of gay equality is pretty much a battle won. But when you discover that there were pickets protesting Milk outside Kodak Theater last night, you realize that just isn't the case.

And regardless what you think about the Oscars, they are about movies, and movies matter. Not all movies, but some. They matter to guys like thirty-five-year-old Dustin Lance Black. And to the people he wrote Milk for. From his acceptance speech:

"But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he'd want me to say to all the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures who have value. And that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you."