The video presentation is nice, showing us illustrations of each nominee, accompanied with a bit of the film’s score. The Aviator wins, while the losers are stuck standing on the stage, clapping amidst their sadness. The camera cuts to some Aviator folks, alongside Gisele Bündchen. She was dating DiCaprio at the time, but sadly something terrible was about to happen: in July of 2005, Gisele Bündchen turned 25.
Once the winners’ speech is done, Rock introduces the next presenter, Renée Zellweger. Does he make a joke about her putting on weight to play Bridget Jones? Yes, but in a clever way. (“Next year she’s putting on 80 pounds to play Deacon Jones.”)
Zellweger won supporting actress the previous year, so it’s her duty to present supporting actor. She reads the nominees and in so doing, reminds me that Jamie Foxx was a double nominee that night! He of course was nominated in lead for Ray, but he also got a supporting nod for Collateral, which is a lead performance, but whatever. Category fraud is eternal. Zellweger opens the envelope and says Morgan Freeman’s name. His fellow nominees—Foxx, Alan Alda, Clive Owen (Closer), and Thomas Haden Church (Sideways)—don’t look too disappointed. Foxx especially, probably because he knew he had a good chance of getting on stage later in the evening.
