A few things we learned attending the National Board of Review Awards in New York City last night:
-- In the battle of the Hollywood tall guys, Tim Robbins beats Clint Eastwood by about half a head. And Alec Baldwin's head is bigger than a prize-winning pumpkin.
-- Several decades ago, Josh Brolin was acting in a theater production in Rochester, New York. A woman approached him after the show and said, "My son is moving to New York to try to be an actor, too." The son turned out to be Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
-- Julian Schnabel is not an ideal awards presenter. Schnabel's introduction of Brolin, who won Best Supporting Actor for Milk, was about 75% incomprehensible and the stuff that did make sense was mostly about Slumdog Milllionaire and Danny Boyle, not Milk. When Brolin accepted the award, he said, "Thanks Julian. Now I feel like I was in Slumdog Millionaire."
-- Meryl Streep is apparently famous for making martinis for her castmates, which are referred to as "Meryl Martinis."
-- Whoopi Goldberg has a hard time feigning enthusiasm for duties she does not enjoy, hosting awards shows apparently being one of them. She made more than one comment to the effect of "Is it me, or is this night going by reaaaalllly slowly?"
