Not All Oscar Stars Look Great in HD

The proliferation of HDTV has meant that everyone from red carpet regulars to porn stars have had to rethink their on-camera skin-care and makeup strategies. Last night's Oscar broadcast in HD was no exception. I wasn't really thinking who looked great and who looked awful until award presenter Jennifer Lopez was introduced as someone who looks good enough for HD (or some such phrase).

Since I had the good fortune of watching last night's ceremony on the 56-inch 1080 JVC HD-56FN97 HD-ILA, I was able to carefully scrutinize J-Lo's face: Nary a blemish or wrinkle in site that was visible in HD. As far as I could see, most stars looked good in HD resolution—thanks no doubt to a new "high-def airbrush makeup," according to the New York Post's Cindy Adams—but a few did not. In HD, Cameron Diaz seemed a little tired around the eyes and possibly too much makeup on her cheeks, while Leo DiCaprio seemed a little less fresh-faced than in recent years (again, I've only seen him on smaller HD screens in the past). And Nicole Kidman's eyebrows were crazy in a drawn-on kind of way. Meanwhile, the too-smooth and puffed-out look of Botox is a little more obvious on HD (can you name the Botoxed stars besides Peter O'Toole?). But Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg looked fine without any makeup at all, which probably says more about society's differing attitudes when it comes to aging men and women (it seems, unfairly, that men are allowed to have wrinkles, while women aren't).

These are the sorts of things that just don't show up in standard-definition TV, as a quick flip to the non-HD broadcast version of the Oscars proved. Yes, the use of certain lenses, lighting, and makeup techniques can help with HD, but live broadcasts don't cater to each specific face to make sure everybody looks good the way a show like, say, Desperate Housewives does.

In other Oscar tech news, the Washington Post offers up a critique of the lame digital offerings on the official Oscar.com site, which consists mainly of a thank-you cam for award winners to bore Internet audiences with acceptance speech stuff they didn't get a chance to say on air. Meanwhile, where's the much-promised info on how exactly the Oscar broadcast went green, per Leo DiCaprio's comments when he was onstage with Al Gore. I didn't notice any unflattering-to-the-face-but-great-for-the-environment fluorescent lights on any stars last night.

Any impressions on which Oscar attendees looked good or bad under the high-definition lens last night?

Related links:

Adult Entertainment Goes HD-DVD