Now that everyone has cut the Oscar show into little pieces, let me weigh in. I was at the head of the red carpet for the pre-show, in the audience and enjoying the new Dolby Bar so my perspective is different. I didn’t watch the show on a TV until tonight, when I finally got to replay it. But I’ve sat through almost 20 Oscar shows, and I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff– from Eddie Murphy’s abrupt departure when he lost, to Bill Murray trying to outplay Sean Penn, to James Franco and Anne Hathaway’s hodgepodge that went so badly.

Sunday’s show, I thought, was the most entertaining, best organized ever. It was as if Craig Zadan and Neil Meron rolled the Grammys and the Tonys into the Oscars and came up with the ultimate awards broadcast. The only thing that didn’t really work was the James Bond celebration–no Bonds. Very strange. But the producers knew that — and Shirley Bassey was simply spectacular. Her voice reverberated through that crazy auditorium with stunning drama. What a pleasure.

The other musical numbers were each spectacularly successful. Jennifer Hudson, I think, is not even close yet to being as big a star as she will be. The “Les Miserables” segment was mesmerizing– and my two picks to click from that movie, Samantha Barks and Aaron Tveit, exceeded all expectations. Adele and Barbra Streisand were each so exquisite, it’s sort of amazing that they — and all these other people- were on one stage.

What about Seth MacFarlane? Considering how subversive his humor is, I was surprised how much he was trying to be Bob Hope. He also has a very good singing voice. Some of the material was way off base– Mark Wahlberg and Ted were off base (who came up with that?) and the “Boob” song was not to everyone’s taste. But Oscar shows are full of cringe-worthy moments. These were no worse than ones in the past.

There’s a new crew at the Academy– Hawk Koch, Dawn Hudson, Christina Kounelias and Jasmine Madatian. They worked like dogs for months, and turned the whole Oscar experience into something modern and lively. I loved it, and so did the audience. The ratings were up, which was the payoff. And Michael Douglas said something to us at the Vanity Fair party that kind of summed it up. He remarked: “Some of the people who’ve never been here before, like the foreign film nominees, told me they were surprised how warm the show was. That we’re like a family.”

Douglas was right. It came across. Bravo.

PS Everyone sang live. Quite an accomplishment. Watch the videos. Crazy good. Lisa Kasteller, Jennifer Hudson’s publicist, was kind of agog later. She said she’d been in the wings with Jennifer– “And then she just went out and sang like that. It was amazing. Like it was nothing.” And the audience went nuts.

One more thing: maybe all the snarky stuff is because for once the dresses were all hits. Our favorites in person: Jane Fonda– hands down the best–followed by Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Garner, Naomi Watts, Nicole Kidman, and Salma Hayek.

And best tuxedos? Both Daniel Day Lewis and Alan Arkin were cleaned up and put in smashing penguin suits by hot New York menswear designer Domenico Vacca. His regular suits, ties, and shirts are much desired, and very, very ‘in.’

“SealTeam Six” and “Zero Dark Thirty” each told different perspectives on the killing of Osama bin Laden. Now I am told by sources that there is a film deal moving forward for Phil Bronstein’s cover story in Esquire about the man directly responsible for ridding the world of Osama bin Laden. The saga of the unidentified shooter– the man who actually carried out the killing of bin Laden–has made headlines.

In Esquire, “The Shooter”– one of the famed Navy Seal Team Six– claims that he returned to the US to find he would have no insurance or other benefits. This was in part due to his own early retirement. His real name is not revealed.

But the story took off like wildfire. My sources say a production company called Zulu 7 have secured the rights to Bronstein’s work. They’ve also signed the rights to the life story of  The Shooter himself. The Shooter can’t be reached, and the Zulu 7 principals– Paul Bernard and “A.K. Waters”–declined comment. Interestingly, Waters may be a pseudonym for someone with deep background connections. “AK Waters” was the name of Bruce Willis’s Special Ops commander in the 2003 film “Tears of the Sun.”

If the saga of “The Shooter” goes into acceptable script form, you can only imagine the directors and actors fighting to make this movie. So stay tuned. “Zero Dark Thirty” has been a hit at the box office with a female protagonist. But “The Shooter” will be quite a different story– and more poignant as it will flesh out a backstory for this man and his family.

Who should play the Shooter? Willis himself maybe? Woody Harrelson? Jeremy Renner? Justin Bieber?

I had such a nice talk with Renee Zellweger on Sunday night at the Oscars– I had no idea the internet was buzzing with all kinds of ridiculous crap about her. I’ve read that she was drunk, and that maybe she’d had some massive Botox injections. I’m pretty surprised. Renee is one of the nicest actresses, very down to Earth, and always a lot of fun.

I ran into her and her newish boyfriend, blues guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, toward the end of the show. They were leaving the Dolby Theater, walking hand in hand. If Renee was drunk she should get an Oscar for playing sober. It never crossed my mind that she was anything but happy. Her face also looked completely normal. And believe me, I’ve seen some distorted faces in this town.

Bramhall is the son of the late Doyle Bramhall senior, himself the legendary guitarist who died in 2011 at age 62. Doyle II is 44 and plays in Eric Clapton’s band among other gigs. He’ll be on Eric’s tour this spring, and at the Crossroads concert at Madison Square Garden. Doyle is from Texas, like Renee, and just a year older. They seem like a good match.

Renee told me she has a lot coming up: a TV series she’s writing and producing, a new film in the works, and maybe a play in London’s West End next fall. The Oscar winner may have been exhausted and hungry–as everyone was–after four or five hours in the Dolby. It’s not a place very conducive to personal enjoyment. The food situation is always an issue–it’s terrible. And the drinks? Bar access is minimal. And the main players are watched so no one is over-served. Bloggers and Tweeters do have over-active imaginations, however!

For years and years LaToya Jackson tried to make money off of her famous brother Michael. Nothing worked, even though La Toya tried publoishing books, making records, and appearances. She wrote critically of Michael, too. But now she’s figured out a way to get money from Michael even though he left her nothing in his estate. La Toya is the agent-manager for Michael’s 16 year old son Prince. She’s just cut a deal for him to be in the CW revival series of “Beverly Hills 90210.”

Maybe the trade papers don’t realize that Ja-Tail is LaToya’s company. She also cut the deal for him to be on “Entertainment Tonight.” So LaToya will now be taking commissions on Prince’s work. Soon will come deals for Paris. Michael didn’t want his kids to work as children. He famous resented losing his own childhood, and feared the same for his kids. But he’s dead, and his wishes apparently matter not at all to the Jacksons.

I am told there’s a proposal making the rounds once again for some kind of reality show featuring Jacksons which Ja-Tail is likely behind. It never ends.

LEAH SYDNEY reports: Elton John and David Furnish raised $6 million last night for their AIDS foundation at the annual Oscar dinner. They did have some help: Hugh Jackman was the c0-chair and British sensation Emeli Sande put on a sensational show.

Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg came in after the Oscars, with his humanitarian Oscar in hand.  Elton’s husband David Furnish told them that Sande was a fourth year medical student in Glasgow before she was  “discovered.” Katzenberg proclaimed himself an instant fan.

Usually at these Hollywood events, the crowd chats or disperses as the musical act plays. Not this year.  The crowd, including Steven Tyler, Randy Jackson, Tim Allen, Jim Carrey, Carmen Electra, Lainie Kazan, Judy Greer, Nicole Ritchie, Lorraine Bracco, George Takei, Britney Spears, Chelsea Handler and Andre Balazs, Sharon Stone, The Kardashian girls, Kim, Kourtney and Khloe, Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum, Miley Cyrus and more all rocked out to Emeli. Even notorious Chris Brown had a great time.

Elton held court with all, he proclaimed Seth McFarlane as “clever.”  Chelsea Handler agreed and said he was “just terrific.”  The lovely Lainie Kazan told us she’s off to New York to receive a cabaret award. Judy Greer told us that she’s playing the Betty Buckley part in the remake of  “Carrie.”  Judy quipped, “I’m swinging that whistle!”

Greer, who just finished a short Broadway with Katie Holmes, is writing a book. The working title is, “I Don’t Know What You Know Me From,” and she just wrapped her fourth season on “Archer.”

Chris Brown was very chatty and posing with anyone that asked him.  One guest noted, “he was the friendliest person of the party!’  Go figure!  And no one we know of was harmed.

EJAF has raised $300 million over 20 years–quite an accomplishment–and all of it has gone to AIDS research and helping people living with AIDS.