Most recent updates appear at the top. If you’re just joining us, read from the bottom up for a full run-down of events so far!

11:40 That’s all, folks! Thanks for watching with  me!

11:37 And BEST PICTURE goes to… The Artist! Congrats to everyone involved in that amazing film. I can’t wait to buy it on DVD. (And congrats to myself, as the final results in our winners pool are Lindsey 24, Dad 22)

11:33 Here we go… biggest award of the night! Which of the nine nominees will win?

11:30 Best actress goes to Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (Lindsey 20, Dad 19)

11:18 JEAN WINS FOR THE ARTIST! KING OF MY HEART! KING OF THE WORLD! KING OF EVERYTHING! (Lindsey 20, Dad 19)

11:14 I can never decide whether I like George Clooney. Yes, he’s suave and handsome, but I get the feeling that he’s so full of himself. He was pretty great in The Descendants though. But not as great as Jean “king of my heart” Dujardin.

11:06 Liz Taylor, WHY. (If I could insert a crying face on WordPress, it would appear here.) What a bummer. Let’s hope the  next few winners can pick my mood back up.

11:03 Even Billy Crystal is going to cry. Turning away. Nope. Can’t watch this.

11:00 Not looking forward to the In Memoriam tribute. Too sad. Tom Bosley made me cry… who’ll make me cry this year?

10:58 James Earl Jones is probably one of the coolest dudes alive.

10:53 And the award for directing goes to… The Artist! YAY. I was rooting for The Artist or Midnight in Paris. (Lindsey 18, Dad 18)

10:51 It’s time for the directing award… uh oh. High tension right now!

10:49 They should’ve thanked Buster, but I’m so glad that Flying Books won. Still quite happy with all of the results so far! Especially (and unsurprisingly) Midnight in Paris. GO WOODY!

10:45 The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore wins best animated short! (Lindsey 18, Dad 18)

10:42 Saving Face wins best documentary short (The tie has been broken. Lindsey 17, Dad 18)

10:40 Best live action short goes to The Shore (16-16)

10:30 More movie people talking about movies. Cool. (This is not sarcasm, I’m legitimately enjoying these segments.)

10:29 Best original screenplay goes to Midnight in Paris! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! (Lindsey 16, Dad 16)

10:27 The Descendants wins best adapted screenplay! (Lindsey 14, Dad 14)

10:19 BRET MCKENZIE JUST WON A FREAKIN’ OSCAR. YES. Best original song, The Muppets. (Lindsey 13, Dad 12)

10:14 Original score goes to The Artist! (Lindsey 13, Dad 9)

10:00 Christopher Plummer wins supporting actor for Beginners (Lindsey 11, Dad 7)

9:55 And the award for visual effects goes to… Hugo! (Predictably, but happily.) And I just gained three points for having faith in Marty & friends. We’re 10-7, in my favor!

9:48 I’m tiring of commercial breaks. TiVo has spoiled me. But I’m pretty pleased with the show so far. There’s still time for Midnight in Paris to win something (here’s hoping!) and all of the awards so far have been very well-deserved. No complaints here, aside from the Bieber debacle!

9:47 Best animated feature goes to Rango. (Dad and I are tied again! 7-7)

9:43 Best documentary feature goes to Undefeated (Winners pool: Dad 7, Lindsey 6)

9:41 They handled that mic problem pretty seamlessly. Good job, production crew. Too bad they couldn’t also save this Paltrow/RDJ skit.

9:35 I literally just yelled “CARY GRANT. CAR-YYYYYY GRANT” because I was so excited to see him on screen. Too much?

9:34 Is it just me or are the commercial breaks getting longer as we go? But we’re back to the show now! ….with puppets

9:28 Hugo wins again! Sound mixing. Dad: “I should have Hugo’d, straight up” (6-6)

9:25 Hugo gets another win, this time for sound editing (6-6)

9:24 Girl With the Dragon Tattoo wins for film editing (6-6)

9:18 Why don’t I ever get invited to test screenings?

9:12 Octavia wins for best supporting actress! She was amazing in The Help, and I’m ridiculously happy for her. (Dad 6, me 6)

9:07 Best foreign film goes to A Separation (Iran). Yay! (Dad 5, me 5)

9:00 Movie people talking about how they fell in love with movies. I can dig it.

8:58 The Iron Lady wins for makeup (and so does dad. 4-3)

8:54 The Artist wins for costume design! (And now I’m winning! 3-2)

8:50 And we’re back! Billy Crystal and his wife are cute. Time for an awesome montage of awesome movies from awesome past years.

8:47 Since it’s commercial time, I feel that I should explain the rules of our winners pool. We each pick two nominees in each category – a first choice and second. Two points if our first choice wins, one point if our second choice wins. The only exception is for Best Picture, in which we each chose four nominees and ranked them. Four points if our number one wins, three points if our number two wins, and so on. I’m making “educated” guesses, as an avid film-viewer and film blogger. My dad is basically making blind guesses, because the only nominated film he’s seen is The Descendants. Yes, we’re nerds for coming up with this system.

8:45 Hugo wins for art direction! (Correction: Dad’s winning 2-1)

8:43 Hugo wins for cinematography! (And in case you’re wondering… my dad and I are tied at zero in our winners pool)

8:42 THIS ADORABLE LITTLE 59-YEARS LOYAL SEAT FILLER. OH MY GOSH.

8:39 Marty Scorsese is too cute. His face has successfully lightened my mood after the Bieber debacle.

8:33 Did they just compare him to Sinatra? And does he even know who Hemingway is? Not a good start anymore. Noooo way.

8:32 Why ruin Midnight in Paris with Bieber? No thanks, Academy.

8:31 Billy Crystal is brilliantly spoofing all of the  nominees. Particularly loved The Artist bit, of course.

8:30 Here we go! Morgan Freeman just hit the stage. He’s talking about movies… obviously.

8:26 My dad just said that we were watching “the 87th annual Grammy awards.” We have a very competitive winners pool going and he doesn’t even know which awards program we’re watching. Who’s gonna win? My odds look good!

8:08 I don’t think I’ll ever get over my hatred for that Dior commercial and its wax-faced versions of a few great ladies.

8:01 I thought the show was starting at 8. Even running a film blog can’t keep me on track with these things. But 30 extra minutes of Tim Gunn is fine by me!

7:57 Penelope Cruz is officially added to my ‘best dressed’ list! Such a beautiful color, full of class. Lovely hair and makeup.

7:52 Eight minutes until showtime! I’m loving my dad’s fashion commentary. “That red dress is ATROCIOUS.”; “Oh, there’s Peter Pan.”

7:29 I was planning on starting the live blog at 8, but I’ve got a bottle of iced tea and my popcorn is ready, so let’s get started early. My ‘best dressed’ list: Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, and Missi Pyle… so far.

It’s Oscar night! While we’re waiting for the show, click over to my list of preferred winners and share yours as well!