In her wonderfully gracious acceptance speech at last night's Oscars, Best Actress winner Helen Mirren gave a sincere and playful shout-out to Queen Elizabeth II, who she portrays in The Queen, saying "For 50 years and more, Elizabeth WIndsor has maintained her dignity, her sense of duty, and her hairstyle."

It seems Her Majesty may have been paying attention: Variety is now reporting that Helen Mirren may actually be having tea with Queen Elizabeth II. According to a palace spokesman:

"The Oscar winner — along with director Stephen Frears and screenwriter Peter Morgan — are in discussions to have a sitdown with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in the near future."

To watch Mirren's very lovely acceptance speech, read more

I've been so focused on the Oscars today that I haven't even gotten to talk about this weekend's very special episode of "Saturday Night Live" with Rainn Wilson hosting and Arcade Fire as the musical guest. I thought Wilson did a great job, proving how very versatile he is with some brilliant straight-man moments and some utterly bizarre sketches. And though Arcade Fire looked slightly uncomfortable performing in the sterile TV studio, the new songs totally rocked.

Wilson's opening monologue parody of "The Office" was pretty awesome — including one dead-on Jim Halpert eye-roll. But for my money, the best thing to come out of this episode is the digital short that parodies a corporate board meeting. Wilson's in charge, the Arcade Fire is in attendance, and a talking turkey sub still steals the scene. To watch the clip — plus another really hilarious video — read more

• Ryan Gosling bet his friends he wouldn't win an Oscar, Starpulse reports, so at least he won something.
• Variety is reporting that the early ratings for ABC's Oscar broadcast are slightly higher than last year's but lower than 2005.
• The Washington Post thinks the Oscars were long and boring, while USA Today calls Ellen's hosting a bright spot.
• A Reuters story about a historian's objection to The Lives of Others includes this quote from Oscar-winning director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck: "I'm delighted to have this wonderful golden phallus in my possession at last."
• Hollywood Reporter has lots of quotes from Oscar winners, including Alan Arkin's comment that he won because he's 72: "Everyone thinks I'm going to keel over in a few years."
• According to the LA Times, The Departed proves that not trying to win an Oscar might actually help win one.
• And Variety points out that The Departed's DVD sales are going to go through the roof.
• As Jennifer Hudson rules the Oscars, Fantasia Barrino heads to Broadway, reports Variety.
• Somehow, Ghost Rider tops the box office during a weekend of honoring really good movies, reports USA Today.

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Well, before, during and after the Oscars I told you what I thought - who I predicted to win, my snap judgments during the ceremony, and my post-show musings. But enough about me! What did you think about this year's awards? Let me know by casting your vote in these Oscar polls.

• The Show's Opening
• The Best Oscar Moments
• Best Supporting Actress Jennifer Hudson
• Best Supporting Actor Alan Arkin
• Best Actress Helen Mirren
• Best Actor Forest Whitaker
• Best Director Martin Scorsese
• Best Picture: The Departed
• Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine
• Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed

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There were so many great moments at last night's Oscars that it's tough to choose a favorite. But after watching Martin Scorsese's acceptance speech again, I have to say, it's definitely one of the high points of the ceremony. He strikes such a perfect balance between self-deprecating humor and genuine excitement over his victory that it makes me even happier that he finally won. To watch the clip from his speech, read more

I'm just going to say this up front: NBC's "The Black Donnellys" is a little like "The Sopranos," if all of Tony Soprano's associates were incredibly attractive young men. Between the good-looking cast and the cinematic, almost epic look of the pilot, "The Black Donnellys," which premieres tonight, is definitely doing just fine in the eye-candy department.

The show, which is taking over the "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" time slot for an undetermined amount of time, also has star power: creator/producer Bobby Moresco and writer Paul Haggis, both of Crash and Million Dollar Baby fame. Though both have worked in television before (most notably on the mid-'90s crime drama "EZ Streets"), their film work has garnered them most of their recognition. So it's no surprise that the first episode of "The Black Donnellys" feels like a movie, with its expertly composed visuals and tricksy editing. Yet for all its glitz, the show's pilot was only OK. To hear why, read more

Apparently, between this year's Super Bowl and last night's Oscars, the clumsy General Motors robot has gotten some counseling. GM originally aired a commercial during the Super Bowl that even made me uneasy: While working on a car, a robot drops a screw and gets fired. After a series of "worse" jobs, robot throws itself off a bridge in despair before waking up and realizing it was just a stress-induced dream, due to GM's quality-obsessed culture.

This definitely didn't jive with suicide prevention groups, and understandably so. As a result, GM edited the spot for the Oscars to remove the suicidal ending, which is nice, but now it's "that commercial that used to have a robot suicide and now doesn't."

For more on the controversy and to see the original commercial and the edited version, read more