Free Republic

We can hope our favorite movie will come away with the big prize, but in the long run, some of the best pictures ever made did not receive Best Picture Oscars. A good example would be the AFI’s choice for number one movie of all time, Citizen Kane.

This is kind of odd, driven by a couple of movies I've seen and a book I've read in the last couple of weeks. No particular theme holding them together. Lions for Lambs. Ok, I knew this was an anti-war film (Robert Redford directed it, after all) and I didn't figure there would be much redeeming in it, but after being pleasantly surprised by "The Kingdom," I thought what the heck. Wow. Talk about pathetic. A two-hour sermon by Al Franken probably would have been less painful. The story is that Redford, as Prof. Steven Malley, is trying to talk...

Russian Oscars censored24/03/2008 13:13  - (SA)    Moscow - A series of jokes about President Vladimir Putin and president-elect Dmitry Medvedev were censored from the screening of Russia's equivalent of the Oscars film awards ceremony, newspapers reported on Monday. The jokes - mild by Western standards of satire - at Friday's "Nika" awards, were cut by private television station CTC in its broadcasting Saturday of the event, according to Moskovsky Komsomolets. "All the juicy stuff from the broadcast was edited out," the daily said. One of the comments axed, the newspaper said, was an allusion to uncertainty over whether Medvedev or his...

Actress Marion Cotillard sparked a political row yesterday after accusing America of fabricating the 9/11 attacks. The 32-year-old French actress, who received an Oscar last month for her performance as singer Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, openly questioned the truth behind the terrorist atrocity in an interview broadcast on a French website. "I think we're lied to about a number of things," Cotillard said, singling out the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center as an example of the US making up horror stories for political ends. Referring to the two passenger jets being flown into the Twin...

US television ratings for this year's Oscars sunk to an all-time low, preliminary figures showed Monday, as viewers turned their back on a ceremony dominated by dark, bleak films. According to figures from Nielsen Media Research, Sunday's three-hour-long ceremony at the Kodak Theatre averaged an audience of only 32 million viewers, the worst since records began in 1974.

This season continues to be no country for network award shows. Following the lowest-rated Emmys since 1990, the strike-hindered ratings performance of a severely truncated version of the Golden Globes and a nonstruck airing of the Grammys that nonetheless disappointed, Sunday night's presentation of the 80th Annual Academy Awards on ABC hit an all-time ratings low. According to overnight fast national ratings, the awards averaged a 10.7 rating among adults 18 to 49 and was seen by 32 million viewers. In the demo, that's down a sharp 24% from last year and the lowest on record. Among viewers, that's a...

LOS ANGELES — The Oscars were a ratings dud. More so than usual, even. Preliminary ratings for the 80th annual Academy Awards telecast were 14 percent lower than the least-watched ceremony ever, according to Nielsen Media Research. Nielsen said Monday that overnight ratings were also 21 percent lower than last year, when "The Departed" was named best picture. The least-watched Oscars ceremony ever was in 2003, when there were 33 million viewers. [Snip] Nielsen has no estimate yet on how many people watched Sunday night, but based on ratings from the nation's biggest markets, the Oscars will be hard-pressed to...

We have to work the dark side. So said Dick Cheney a few days after 9/11, discussing the war on terror. Is this what he meant? In December 2002, an Afghan named Dilawar had scraped together enough money to buy a taxi. He was fingered by a paid informant as a terrorist connected with a rocket attack. Taken to the American prison at Bagram, Afghanistan, he was tortured so violently that he died after five days. An autopsy showed that his legs were so badly mauled, they would have had to be amputated, had he lived. Later, the informant who...

Michael Moore: Bring Fidel to the Oscars By MARCELA ISAZA, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago "Sicko" director Michael Moore jokes that Fidel Castro would be a "ratings grabber" at Sunday night's Academy Awards show. Moore's Oscar-nominated documentary on the health-care industry concludes with a trip to Cuba, where he seeks care for a group of 9/11 responders who have experienced health problems. They are greeted with open arms at a Havana hospital and given what appears to be top-notch care that they could not get in the United States. Castro, who is 81 and in poor health, announced his...

George Clooney is already practicing his "it's an honor just to be nominated" speech, telling Time magazine in a new interview that he doesn't have a shot at beating out Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor at Sunday's Academy Awards. "For me, it's like being Hillary Clinton," says the Michael Clayton star. "If it weren’t for Barack Obama, it would have been a very good year." Adds Clooney: "I thought Daniel Day-Lewis had the best performance of the year."

In theory, if I correctly predicted every single Oscar race, nobody could outguess me, and by default, I would win the prize. Alas, that has never, ever happened, and it's unlikely again this year, because as usual I will allow my heart to outsmart my brain in one or two races, which is my annual downfall. In any event, for what they're worth, here are my Academy Award predictions in a year rich with wonderful films. PICTURE Prediction: My heart cries out "Juno! Juno! Juno!," but my brain dashes a pail of cold water and sternly corrects me: "No Country...

Well, the writers strike is over, the Oscars will go on and, by golly, we conservatives just can’t wait to watch Hollywood pat itself on the back for another year of anti-American, anti-military, anti-traditionalist filmmaking. And while red-carpet anticipation is giving me the shivers, I can’t help but imagine an alternative Oscar ceremony in a different kind of Hollywood with this list of exciting best-picture nominees: * “Oono.” Hilarity ensues when a 16-year-old girl finds herself pregnant and gives the baby away to a similarly unmarried neurotic so that the infant grows up to become a drug-addicted loser and dies...

Ever since this year's Oscar season got under way in January, the Hollywood writers strike has loomed fatefully above it: first threatening to cancel Oscar night entirely, then stoking much expectation that the last-minute settlement would result in an evening either grander or duller than usual.

Right after that, a documentary against the Iraq war and GITMO are announced in a second award category. Is this outrageous, or is it me? Having the military introduce a film on same sex issues given the don't ask don't tell policy, and then have it followed by anti Iraq war, anti WOT films is political and using the troops as pawns IMHO. Quote from the winner: Let's hope we move this country away from the dark side. . .

... Oscar is 80 this year, which makes him now automatically the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. You have to admit, this is a huge election. An historic election. So much excitement. For the first time in so many years we don’t have an incumbent president or an incumbent vice-president. The field is wide open. Have you all had a chance to examine all the candidates, study their positions and pick the Democrat you’ll vote for? Democrats do have an historic race going. Hillary Clinton vs Barack Obama. Normally, when you see a black man or a woman president an...

It's an Oscar Party!Warning: might contain snark and/or discussions about fashion.Best Picture:"Atonement""Juno""Michael Clayton""No Country for Old Men""There Will Be Blood" Best Actor:George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises" Best Actress:Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"Julie Christie, "Away From Her"Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"Laura Linney, "The Savages"Ellen Page, "Juno" Best Supporting Actor:Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"Tom Wilkinson,...

Well, the writers strike is over, the Oscars will go on and, by golly, we conservatives just can't wait to watch Hollywood pat itself on the back for another year of anti-American, anti-military, anti-traditionalist filmmaking. And while red-carpet anticipation is giving me the shivers, I can't help but imagine an alternative Oscar ceremony in a different kind of Hollywood with this list of exciting best picture nominees: "Oono." Hilarity ensues when a 16-year-old girl finds herself pregnant and gives the baby away to a similarly unmarried neurotic so that the infant grows up to become a drug-addicted loser and dies...

Complete list of 80th annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday: 1. Best Picture: "Atonement," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood." 2. Actor: George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"; Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"; Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"; Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises." 3. Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"; Julie Christie, "Away From Her"; Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"; Laura Linney, "The Savages"; Ellen Page, "Juno." 4. Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert...

Some years ago, I was a movie reviewer. I started out at UCLA, reviewing for the Daily Bruin, and then moved on to be the first critic for Los Angeles magazine. All told, I stuck it out for about a dozen years. What I didn’t realize at the time was that, all in all, I had had it pretty good. But it took seeing a rash of movies recently to drive that point home. At least back then, the inflated egos of the director and the star didn’t make it inevitable that every movie would run well over two hours....

With the Golden Globes’ collapse, writers have struck a $75-million blow in their labour dispute, and the Oscars might well be the next casualty. The scribes aren’t celebrating, though, because no one expects this to end soon HOLLYWOOD – As symbols go, there probably isn't a more accurate one for the current crisis in show biz. It's a picture of Oscars host Jon Stewart with his fingers crossed, sheepishly hoping all is well, that adorns the new visitor's brochure of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The brochure was likely printed before the Writers' Guild of America (WGA),...

The Hollywood writers' strike claimed its biggest casualty this past week when the threat of picket lines forced NBC to pare back the annual Golden Globes awards ceremony. The network will air an hour-long news conference Sunday night instead of the star-studded, hours-long dinner event that drew 20 million viewers last year. The upending of the awards season comes as more television shows air their remaining first-run episodes produced before the strike began on Nov. 5. Popular entertainers such as Jay Leno, meanwhile, have faced criticism for crossing picket lines and returning to work earlier this month after showing reruns...

The Golden Globes are one thing, but what advertising executives are really worried about is the Oscars. The decision to truncate the Golden Globes from a full-blown awards show to a news conference is sending chills down Madison Avenue as it looks ahead to next month's Academy Awards broadcast, the second-biggest advertising night of the year after the Super Bowl. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the Oscars are still on schedule. But news that the Globes ceremony is being scratched left media buyers scrambling yesterday to come up with contingency plans in case the Oscars, too,...

Seriously Inconvenient Truth: Producers of Gore’s Film Asked to Return Oscars By Noel Sheppard | October 11, 2007 - 22:46 ET As media in America fall all over themselves with glee at the thought of the Global Warmingist-in-Chief winning a Nobel Peace Prize, Wednesday's findings by a British judge that Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" contained nine material falsehoods has prompted a request to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to strip the movie's producers of the Oscars they received in February for "Best Documentary." How delicious.As reported by The West Australian Friday:   A conservative...

It was about 6:30 p.m. when Helen Thomas, the first recognizable face of the evening, showed up to the red carpet for the premiere of Michael Moore’s new documentary, “SiCKO.” She looked stylish in a black pantsuit and a large double strand of pearls. Was she excited to attend? “I hope so,” she replied. “How do I get in?” She was understandably confused. The long line of photographers, reporters, TV crews and clumps of screaming, chanting protesters made it difficult for moviegoers like Thomas to figure out how to maneuver themselves into the Uptown Theater on Wednesday night in Cleveland...

This week's Pop Culture Update is all about Oscar 2007. We got fashion, we've got sarcasm, we've got gossip.

March 2007Edition Reel Test of the Month Reel Celebrity of the Month Alan Arkin was probably the biggest surprise on Oscar Night winning the Best Supporting Oscar for his portrayal of a cocaine using grandfather of the “Little Miss Sunshine” . He inconveniently dies as the very dysfunctional family is on the way to the big contest. The family is “running late” so just put him in the back … reminiscent of National Lampoons Vacation.. and they presses on to make the deadline in their clunker van. He at 73 has had a long & varied career with movies...

Also during the show, Jack Nicholson got stares when he stayed seated during the standing ovation for Al Gore and "An Inconvenient Truth."

Eddie Murphy did not like losing the Academy Award for best supporting actor to Alan Arkin last night. He split the show — exit stage left! — as soon Arkin’s name was announced. Murphy didn’t stay to see Jennifer Hudson win best supporting actress in "Dreamgirls" or his fellow castmates Hudson, Beyonce, Keith Robinson and Anoki Noni Rose perform the show’s nominated songs in a stellar staging by "Dreamgirls" director/writer Bill Condon, who wasn't an Oscar nominee. That may have been the problem with "Dreamgirls" all along, as I’ve suggested before: Much as the movie depends on a song called...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Al Gore is garnering wide praise following his documentary's win at last night's Academy Awards -- even from White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. Asked in a press briefing Monday what he thought about Al Gore's documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth," winning an Oscar, Snow said, "I'm happy for him," and mused, "It's good to have a second career."

ABC's telecast of "The 79th Annual Academy Awards" was up a tick from last year's performance, though it still ranks as one of the lower-rated broadcasts of the event. The Oscars earned a 14.0 rating among adults 18 to 49 (39.9 million viewers), according to ABC's fast national Nielsen ratings. Last year's show earned a 13.9. ABC noted the show was the most-watched entertainment broadcast of the season and that Oscar's 18-34 rating was its highest in five years. The telecast won the night for ABC, which also aired a Barbara Walters Oscar special, which earned a 6.0. The other...

CLINTON vs. GORE + GEFFEN: POST-OSCAR ANALYSIS(HAS HOLLYWOOD DUMPED HILLARY?)CLINTON-GEFFEN IMBROGLIO-PART TWO PART ONE:WHY THE GEFFEN IMBROGLIO SIGNALS CLINTON'S END 'HILLARY'S STRATEGY--NOBODY GETS TO CRITICIZE HER' -- CHRIS MATTHEWSwith a WARNING FOR DAVID GEFFEN by Mia T, 2.26.07 ot sure whose stage presence is more ridiculus, hillary's or Al's. But at least Al Gore doesn't try to sound human. To understand why this is such an advantage for Gore, simply consider missus clinton's recent 'conversation' (with herself). It was risible. Unintentional theater of the absurd: The villain a soulless, angry, arrogant scold oozing cloying, saccharine-coated evil, pulsating to the...

Al Gore insists he isn’t running. He insists rather frequently. People pay great amounts of attention to these proclamations; so much attention that they almost feel staged. A lot of the experts claim that Barack Oprahbama has stolen Gore’s slot. The Democrats no longer need a fresh face. They have John Edwards and Barack. When you’ve got the audacity of hope (whatever that is) going for you, who needs to be bored with the inconvenient truth. Al doesn’t seem to be buying. At least he doesn’t act that way. Last night he was on stage getting an Oscar. What were...

LOS ANGELES - Former vice president Al Gore used the success of his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" to expand his efforts to educate people about global warming — and to tell a few jokes. ADVERTISEMENT The film turned Gore's road show about climate change into a film that won Academy Awards for best documentary and best song. Gore also teased a bit Sunday night about his plans to possibly make another presidential run, although backstage, he said he was not a candidate. The win was a triumph for Gore, who has kept a sense of humor about the 2000 election,...

AL GORE, THE OSCAR, THE NOBEL, THE CLINTONS + DAVID GEFFEN Gore is taking the outside route but definitely is seeking to run. He can ride his environmental hobby horse to the endearment of all the idiots out there, and avoid all the internecine slashing and burning in the process. Gore remembers Nixon after his 1960 and 1962 defeats, coming back in 1968 to take it all. After hillary and obama beat each other up some more, Gore will look like water in the desert to exasperated 'rats.--hinckley buzzard   by Mia T, 2.25.07 delicious scenario, although Al Gore...

XXX LIVE SUNDAY NIGHTS XXX9:30 PM TO 1:00 AM EASTERN WABC AM 770, New York -- 9:30 PM Net Simulcast: Quick Click -- For best results, right-click and open in new browser windowLISTEN ONLINEWINDOWS/MAC MISC PROPRIETARY WABC...New York, NYWFLA...Tampa, FLKPRC...Houston, TXWJNO...West Palm Beach, FLKFI...Los Angeles, CAWIOD...Miami, FLWGST...Atlanta, GAKOA...Denver, COKOGO...San Diego, CAWHAS...Louisville, KYKFYI...Phoenix, AZWNTK...New London, NH Drudge on the Dial -- Affiliate ListingNighttime Power Station MapFrappr MapCALL IN: 1-866-4-DRUDGE...XM: Channel 165 (10 p.m. Eastern)AIM: mdrudgePlease notify lainie of ping list preferencesComment on what you hear here!

Post any information about who gets awards so we don't have to watch the Oscars on ABC and drive their ratings up.

Odds are that when this weekend's 79th Annual Academy Awards show fades to black, Jennifer Hudson will be hugging an Oscar. The Chicago South Sider's meteoric rise from an ''American Idol'' wannabe to a ''Dreamgirl'' to a Golden Globe Award winner is the stuff of ''A Star is Born'' script. And Hudson won't be the only African American going home with the gold. Chances are the names of Forest Whitaker and Eddie Murphy will be spoken after ''and the winner is'' gets read. Let's celebrate the moment, but not forget the past. From ''The Birth of a Nation'' to ''Gone...

**WARNING: GRAPHICS INTENSIVE THREAD** You love them, you hate them, you love to hate them. Hollyweirdos, those wacky leftists who gather together for the annual group hug known as the Oscars. And how fun it is to heckle and razz them as they parade down the red carpet posing for the cameras, granting vapid interviews to equally vapid interviewers, too serious about making their political statements and social commentaries to realize the joke's on them. No one watches their movies. Just look at box office receipts. The money makers are the family films - the ones take it easy on...

The Queen Peter Morgan's "The Queen" is nominated for six Academy Awards, including one for best picture. The Departed Under Martin Scorsese's directing, "The Departed" is nominated for five Oscars. Babel "Babel" is nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture and director. Letters From Iwo Jima "Letters" is nominated for four Academy Awards, including best director and best picture. Little Miss Sunshine "Sunshine" is nominated for four Academy Awards, including best picture Leonardo DiCaprio Nominated for his role in "Blood Diamond," this is Dicaprio's third nomination. Ryan Gosling Nominated for "Half Nelson," this is Gosling's first Oscar nod. Peter...

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- One may prove an anomaly, while two could be a run of bad luck. But three just might translate into a dubious trend when it comes to ratings on Academy Awards broadcasts. If the past two years is any indication, it won't be good for Oscar viewership and may cut into future revenue. For 2005 and 2006, household share for the Academy Awards has fallen below the critical 40% level and has been under that threshold for three of the last four years. In years past, Oscar ratings traditionally have captured more than 40% of all...

Peter O'Toole paid a rare visit to L.A. from his London home recently, receiving a standing ovation at the Academy Award nominees luncheon Monday and proving, during an interview the following day, that rumors he's unwell are wildly exaggerated. His handshake like an iron clamp and pale blue eyes flickering with mischief, the 74-year-old Irish actor was full of laughs, droll banter and energetic enthusiasm as he looked back on his career and talked about his latest film, Venus, which has earned him his eighth best-actor Oscar nomination. The others were for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Becket (1964), The Lion...

CHICAGO (AP) - For Oscar nominee Jennifer Hudson, there was no question where she'd celebrate her success in the week leading up to the Academy Awards - at her family's church. "I don't do clubs. I don't drink. I don't smoke," Hudson told a boisterous crowd at Progressive Baptist Church on the city's South Side Monday night. "I'm not having no club party; I better have a praise party." Hudson headlined a gospel concert named in her honor, "An Evening of Praise with Jennifer Hudson," accompanied by the acclaimed Soul Children of Chicago. After winning a Golden Globe last month,...

Complete list of the 79th Annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif.: 1. Best Picture: "Babel," "The Departed," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Queen." 2. Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"; Peter O'Toole, "Venus"; Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland." 3. Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children." 4. Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jackie Earle...

 Tuesday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly (AP) -- Hills, Calif.: 1. Best Picture: "Babel," "The Departed," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Queen." 2. Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"; Peter O'Toole, "Venus"; Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland." 3. Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children." 4. Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"; Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"; Eddie...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- The musical "Dreamgirls" led Academy Awards contenders Tuesday with eight nominations, but surprisingly was shut out in the best picture category after being considered a potential front-runner. The sweeping ensemble drama "Babel" was close behind with seven, including best picture and acting honors for two newcomers to U.S. audiences, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi. Other best-picture nominees were the bloody crime saga "The Departed," the World War II spectacle "Letters From Iwo Jima," the road-trip comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" and the monarchy-in-crisis chronicle "The Queen." Going into nominations day, the best-picture competition looked unusually wide...

Ellen Makes a Date with OscarThu Sep 07, 9:32 PM ET The Academy is once again looking to the small screen to lead the silver screen into the spotlight. Ellen DeGeneres has been tapped to host the 79th Academy Awards next year, marking the third year in a row that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has gone with a celebrity whose contribution to the tube has so far outweighed his or her impact on celluloid. The ceremony will be held Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. "When [telecast producer] Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled,"...

Ellen DeGeneres has been tapped to host next year's Oscars, the Academy of Motions Pictures Arts and Sciences said Thursday. It will be the comedian and TV talker's first time hosting the Oscars show and first appearance on the award show. She has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast twice and co-hosted it once, and hosted the Grammys twice. "Ellen DeGeneres was born to host the Academy Awards," said producer Laura Ziskin in a statement. "I can already tell she is going to set the bar very high for herself and therefore for all of us involved in putting on...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has changed the way it chooses nominees for best foreign-language film and eliminated a rule requiring entries to be in the official language of the submitting country. The academy’s governors approved a new process in judging foreign-language films, allowing New York-area academy members to participate in the selection for the first time, according to a statement issued last week. A shortlist of films from nine countries will be chosen by the same Los Angeles screening committee that has traditionally viewed the approximately 60 submissions. That shortlist will...

Philip Seymour Hoffman has finally made it. Yeah yeah, the Academy Award for best actor. Whatever. I’m talking about his new supervillain status in “Mission: Impossible III.” Starting out, Hoffman was never the villain but the friend of the villain. In his first (small) screen role, in a 1990 episode of “Law & Order,” he wasn’t the rapist but the guy who held down the girl for the rapist. In “My Boyfriend’s Back” he wasn’t the villainous BMOC but the villainous BMOC’s toady, all sneer and backwards baseball cap and catch phrase: “What’re you lookin’ at, dirtbag?” There’s a great...

Keira Knightley's Oscar dress a winner for charity 1 hour, 12 minutes ago LONDON (AFP) - The stunning off-the-shoulder dress worn by British film star Keira Knightley at this year's Academy Awards was auctioned on the Internet to help drought victims in East Africa. A bidder from Chicago won the deep-claret Vera Wang taffeta silk gown with a bid of 4,301 pounds (7,860 dollars, 6,230 euros). Knightley, 21, wore the dress at the glitzy Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles in March. She was nominated for best actress for her starring role in "Pride and Prejudice". "It's brilliant that this dress...