Join me at The Popculturedivas for O is for Oscar Night Party.
Showing posts with label Oscars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oscars. Show all posts
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Through the Opera Glasses - 74 - My Top Ten Oscar Gowns From the 2011 Red Carpet
Last weekend my very favorite night of the year - after Christmas Eve, of course - unfolded from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Continuing a three-year tradition here at A Piece of My Mind, here are my top ten gowns from the Oscar arrivals red carpet: 
1 - My favorite: Co-host Anne Hathaway's scarlet strapless Valentino gown with Victorian-style train, complete with rose detailing.
Anne made a previous appearance on my 2008 list. You can check previous Oscar gown posts by clicking on my Weekly Look at the Arts tab just below the blog header.
Photo by John Shearer
2 - Hilary Swank's feathery strapless Gucci Premiere gown dazzled.
Hilary previously appeared on my 2008 list.
Photo by Lucy Nicholson
3 - I really loved this ethereal Monique Lhuillier crystal-encrusted gown with an illusion neckline worn by Mandy Moore.
Photo by Steve Granitz
4 - This ruby-red stunner was worn by an unnamed guest of supporting actor nominee John Hawkes.
Photo by Jason Merritt
5 - Helen Mirren makes her third appearance on my Top Ten Oscar Gowns list with this sculpted Vivienne Westwood gown.
Photo by Matt Sayles
6 - John Hawkes' Winter's Bone co-star Dale Dickey shimmered in this sequined off-the-shoulder blue sheath dress.
Photo by Lucy Nicholson
7 - Jennifer Hudson rocked in this fitted tangerine Versace mermaid gown.
Photo by Jason Merritt
8 - The incredibly stunning Aishwarya Rai shone by going for understatement with a bronze sequined Armani Privet gown. 
9 - Michelle Williams was luminous in this short-sleeved beaded Chanel sheath dress.
Photo by Frazer Harrison
10 - Having made the Worst Dressed List for previous Oscars, Helena Bonham Carter's restraint with this custom-designed gown by Oscar-winner Colleen Atwood was a welcome surprise. I especially loved her fan-shaped clutch.
Photo by Jason Merritt
Monday, March 8, 2010
Through the Opera Glasses - 50 - My Top Ten Oscar Gowns From The 2010 Red Carpet
'It's a wonderful night for Oscar! Oscar, Oscar! Who will win...?'
Last night's Oscar broadcast, another red carpet. My second favorite night of the year, after Christmas Eve. Besides all the film industry celebration, of which I can never get enough, besides all the sacrifice suddenly being worth it for the artists and craftspeople who heft the statuette in their hands, the red carpet event at the Oscars is my favorite thing of all.
Here are my personal favorite gowns from the 2010 walk towards the 82nd Academy Awards.
1 - My favorite: Penelope Cruz took my breath away in this dramatic, deep red Donna Karan creation. 
2 - Sandra Bullock shimmered in this feminine velvet gown with exquisite lace, by Marchesa.
3 - Anna Kendrick glowed in this ultra-feminine frothy blush-pink gown by Elie Saab.
4 - Helen Mirren sparkled in this soft-gray Badgley Mishka gown.
5 - Luciana Pedraza, wife of Crazy Heart producer Robert Duval, impressed me with this understated blush-pink slip gown.
6 - Jane Seymour radiated joie de vivre in her brilliant red, sculpted-bodice, strapless sheath.
7 - Cameron Diaz gleams in golden Oscar de la Renta.
8 - Amanda Seyfried entranced me with her sweeping white Armani Privé gown. 
9 - Kate Winslet knocked me out with this elegant silver full-length sheath skirt and streamlined bodice from Yves Saint Laurent. 
10 - Kathy Ireland wore this stretch-sequined sheath with fearless poise.
CLICK HERE to see my favorite Oscar gowns from 2009.
CLICK HERE to see my favorite Oscar gowns from 2008.
Janet says You could work the fashion talk shows, Julia - you had a lot of the same picks as the big guys!
Debby says I believe your favs were mine as well.
Susan Helene Gottfried says I missed the Oscars, so am glad to see a good recap of the dresses. Which are of course more important than the awards. :D
Friday, April 17, 2009
My Bucket List
I've seen a few of these lists roaming around the blogosphere and on Facebook. It's always fascinating to see what my friends have been up to. One of my blog friends was able to check off Visited a Nazi concentration camp on her list, one had Saved someone’s life, and one had Ridden on an elephant.
I've decided to really personalize this list, as most of the things on the roaming ones wouldn't truly be on my Bucket List. There are 100 items on two of the lists I've seen, and about 70 on the other. So I'll average it out and put 85 items on mine. This is a list of things that would have been on my list if I hadn't already done them, plus all the things I long to do.
Things I've done will be in bold.
1 - Sit in an audience watching a film and see Written and Directed by Julia Smith appear onscreen. (my fourth year student film - 27 minutes long and my heart pounded the entire time)
2 - Watch a King Arthur film that makes me weep with joy because it's so perfect.
(lots of almosts - still waiting for bliss)
3 - See the Northern Lights.
4 - Find out where my ancestors came from. (the Poitou region of western France)
5 - Own a black Jaguar XJ6. (currently have a monthly bus pass)
6 - Get replicas made of my original engagement and wedding rings. (they were lost when I moved back to Nova Scotia.)
7 - See Mikhail Baryshnikov dance live onstage. (1994!)
8 - Travel to Saint Petersburg, Russia.
9 - See the Faberge eggs in the Kremlin Armoury.
10 - See The Police in concert. (1982, Pine Knob, Michigan! Ghost in the Machine tour!)
11 - Create a Food Bank cook book. (This is an idea I've had for awhile. I think I'll brainstorm it in a future post.)
12 - Live in a Big City. (Toronto! Woo hoo! 1986 - 1999!)
13 - Watch a meteor shower.
14 - Become a bride.
15 - Go to the Romance Writers of America national conference to meet all of my blog friends face to face.
16 - See the Narnia books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.
17 - Have employee of The National Ballet of Canada on my pay stub.
18 - Visit Portmeirion in Wales, the location for The Village in The Prisoner.
19 - Promote win/win conflict resolution.
20 - Get a university degree. (Bachelor of Applied Arts - yes, BAA!)
21 - Eat fish and chips at a restaurant overlooking the sea.
22 - Visit the British Museum.
23 - Get paid for writing. (narration script for a television documentary)
24 - Go to my own book signing.
25 - Sing in a concert hall.
26 - Grow an heirloom shrub from a cutting I started. (A quince and a rambler rose)
27 - See a pod of whales in the ocean.
28 - Get the box set of The Prisoner. (Christmas present to us from Santa a few years ago.)
29 - Use a transporter to get home.
30 - Stumble upon the perfect book for writing research.
31 - See the Amber books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.
32 - Go to Victorian Week in Cape May, New Jersey and stay in a bed and breakfast.
33 - Go Christmas carolling door-to-door.
34 - Attend the Chelsea Flower Show in London.
35 - See the Lipizzaner stallions perform. (They came on tour to Halifax!)
36 - See the Lipizzaner stallions perform at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
37 - Sail on a tall ship. (The Mar)
38 - See the can-can performed at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
39 - Have an incredibly intimate, emotionally uplifting relationship with my dog.
40 - Travel to Stockholm, Sweden.
41 - Watch the Musical Ride performed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (They came on tour to Halifax!)
42 - Watch a proper Dracula film that makes me weep with joy because it's so perfect.
43 - Go to Disneyworld. (Went with my family when I was 16. They were still building Epcot Center.)
44 - Go to a Broadway musical.
45 - Sing Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. (with my university choir)
46 - Travel to Copenhagen, Denmark.
47 - Discover new actors that inspire my muse. (Keeps happening! Thank heaven.)
48 - Dance naked in the rain.
49 - Own a sword.
50 - Go to a writers retreat.
51 - Identify the constellations.
52 - See a bluebird in nature.
53 - Hear someone say that something I wrote made them cry.
54 - Travel to Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Scottish Highlands.
55 - Go to mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
56 - Sing Mozart's Requiem. (with my university choir)
57 - Visit the Old City of Jerusalem during Holy Week.
58 - Realize the most handsome, intelligent, funny, talented, compassionate man you've ever met has fallen in love with you. (I keep pinching myself, but I'm still awake!)
59 - Become a published poet.
60 - See the Malloren books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.
61 - Travel through England. I'd especially like to see the Arthurian sites. A lot of those are in Wales, actually.
62 - Become a permanent employee with benefits. (Squeee!! 10 months since that glorious day!)
63 - Visit Ottawa during the Tulip Festival.
64 - See Kimba the White Lion again. (I had longed to see Kimba again, ever since I'd watched it on TV in the late 60's. Brad special ordered video copies for me as a surprise gift as soon as they were available for purchase - Kimba was mysteriously unavaiable in any format when Disney released The Lion King and for several years afterwards.)
65 - Walk along the beach at sunset.
66 - Visit Venice during Carnival.
67 - See a lady slipper in the woods. (behind our house)
68 - Attend a Victorian Ball re-enactment event.
69 - See The Rockettes. (They were on tour in Toronto when I was there for a visit a few years ago! They performed at my old theatre, and my friend Jacquie got me a comp ticket to the dress rehearsal! I'd still like to see them at Radio City Music Hall.)
70 - Get The Ballet Ball poster from the Ballet Boutique. (I'd always loved that poster best, which was sold among other posters to raise funds for the purchase of new choreography for the National Ballet of Canada. But it was expensive, and I never bought it. On my last day of work at the theatre where the ballet performed, the woman at the boutique told me to pick whichever poster I wanted as a parting gift. Then - my friend Jacquie, one of the usher captains, brought the poster backstage. When she brought it back out, it was signed by the whole company!!)
71 - Work downtown. (I've worked in downtown Toronto and now I work in downtown Halifax.)
72 - Attend the Cannes Film Festival.
73 - Get swept away by an intoxicating story idea. (It happens over and over, thank heaven!)
74 - See the Saint Germain books get made into films that make me weep with joy because it's so perfect.
75 - Walk the red carpet on my way to the Oscars ceremony.
76 - Dance the night away.
77 - See all the great ballet companies perform in their home theatre venues all around the world.
78 - Raise money for child-centered organizations.
79 - Do the sword dance.
80 - Walk in the woods at night. (I don't find this spooky - I find it energizing and beautiful.)
81 - Get a second university degree.
82 - Swim in the sea.
83 - Attend a gallery showing of my mom's work. (Twice!)
84 - Visit the most beautiful rose gardens in the world.
85 - Have my heart filled every day with joy because my love loves me.
Nicholas says You're going to be doing a lot of weeping in cinemas!
Travis says I need to get my list down on paper.
VaBookworm says Let me know when you achieve #2... I'd like to know which film is worth watching lol
Monday, February 23, 2009
Through the Opera Glasses - 5 - My Top Ten Oscar Gowns From the 2009 Red Carpet
The Oscars is my second-favorite night of the year, after Christmas Eve. I'm still feeling the buzz!
Not only does it celebrate one of my favorite art forms - film - but I love the marriage between the film industry and the fashion industry: The Red Carpet.
For someone who doesn't bother much about what I look like day-to-day, I am someone who loves to dress up for special occasions. And I love haute couture. Oscar Night sends me into paroxysms of glee.
For today's Through the Opera Glasses, here are my personal favorites among the gowns that appeared on the Red Carpet Sunday night. 
1 - My favorite: Evan Rachel Wood is stunning in this sculpted cream-colored Elie Saab gown.
2 - Natalie Portman is radiant in her pink strapless gown by Rodarte.
3 - Nancy O'Dell in a graceful white grecian gown by Pamela Rolland.
4 - Virginia Madsen in a dramatic red Kevan Hall strapless gown. 
5 - Daniela Barbosa de Carneiro, Lady Kingsley with her husband Sir Ben Kingsley. She wears a frothy orange grecian gown whose designer I couldn't identify.
6 - Alicia Keyes in a beautifully-draped lavender Armani Prive gown.
7 - Diane Lane with her husband Josh Brolin. So elegant in a black strapless Dolce and Gabbana gown. 
8 - Producer Susan Levin with her husband, Robert Downey Jr. She wears an artfully-draped red strapless Blumarine gown with a rhinestone belt detail. 
9 - Taraji P. Henson glows in this white tiered Roberto Cavalli gown.
10 - Amy Adams is bold in a classic red strapless gown by Carolina Herrera.
Both Diane Lane and Amy Adams made my list last year. You can check out my 2008 picks HERE.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Thursday Thirteen - 74 - 13 Things I Long To Do
Last week I listed 13 things I'll always take a pass on. But what do I long to do?
1 - Go to the home venues of all the great ballet companies of the world to see these elite artists perform.
Which ones? Oh, let's start with the Mariinsky Ballet Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Originally the Imperial Russian Ballet, and afterwards known as the Kirov Ballet, it's now been restored to its proper theatre-based name.
A Mariinsky production of Swan Lake.
Other companies I long to see:
The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, London, England
American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House
Paris Opera Ballet at the Palais Garnier
Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, Denmark
La Scala Ballet in Milan, Italy
The Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House
2 - Walk the red carpet as an Oscar nominee.
3 - Attend the Cannes Film Festival as a filmmaker.
4 - Direct my favorite actors and actresses in my films.
Gerard Butler
Richard Armitage
Ewan McGregor
Hugh Jackman
Scarlett Johansson
Natalie Portman
Shirley Henderson
Emma Thompson
5 - Learn to stage-fight with swords.
6 - Go to a Romance Writers of America national convention as a published author and meet up with all my blog buddies.
These are two writers from my RWA Atlantic chapter at this year's San Francisco convention - my cousin Julianne MacLean and Stella MacLean.
7 - Drop into a book store and see all my books on the shelf. In the meantime I do that now with many friends' books.
Like this one by my chapter mate Cathryn Fox.
Or this one by my cousin, Julianne MacLean. That's my friend Lisa as my partner in crime.
Look at Julianne's shelf of books! Sweet.
8 - Have my engagement and wedding rings remade. If you put these two rings together, you'd get a close approximation of what they looked like. Losing them ranks up there with one of the worst things that has ever happened to me. I lost them when we moved from Toronto to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
I wasn't wearing them at the time because I'd lost a diamond out of the wedding ring and had them in a container, packed in a box of all my most precious things (including my diaries. I know.) Needless to say, this box did not get put on the truck.
At the moment I'm wearing a simple gold chevron ring with a small diamond which I bought on my trip to Toronto last October, with money my gram gave me. (Gram: "Come here, you. Take this, now. Don't spend it all in one place.")
9 - Drive a black Jag XJ6.
10 - Live in a restored Victorian mansion.
11 - Attend a reenactment Victorian all-night ball.
12 - Visit historic gardens with exceptional rose displays.
13 - Go to Scotland.
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