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Saturday, February 28, 2015

(OSCARS 2015) Academy Awards - Recap!


PHOTO: Mark Suban / ©A.M.P.A.S.



by Sara Michelle Fetters

During last Sunday’s 87th annual Academy Awards telecast, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Broadway-set dramatic comedy Birdman starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis proved to be the night’s big winner. The film was an obvious favorite of the Academy, nominated in nine categories and taking home Oscars in four of them for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and for Emmanuel Lubezki’s memorable cinematography (his second in row, winning last year for Gravity as well).


“All the people that were behind this film was really heroes because the idea was really crazy,” said an obviously emotional Iñárritu. “A script that started with a middle-aged man, interior dressing room, cross-legged, floating, can go anywhere, and we are here. I don’t know how that happened but it happened. And, anyway, I just really want to thank everybody.”


But, from a winner’s standpoint, it was an interesting night all around. When the rules have allowed for up to ten Best Picture nominees, for the first time in Academy history all of the film’s nominated for the top prize all took home at least one Oscar. Damien Chazelle’s music-driven drama Whiplash and Wes Anderson’s colorfully eccentric comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel received the most attention, the former taking home three awards (including one for Best Supporting Actor J.K. Simmons) while the latter scored four in a variety of technical categories (with renowned composer Alexandre Desplat taking home his first Oscar after eight nominations).


Yet all five of the remaining nominees were also winners. As expected, Patricia Arquette took home Best Supporting Actress for her 12 years of showing up on the set of Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, while Graham Moore nabbed an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his writing of The Imitation Game. Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor for his role as scientist Stephen Hawking in the biopic The Theory of Everything and John Legend and Common stood tall with Best Original Song winner “Glory” from Selma. As for 2014’s biggest hit, Clint Eastwood’s Chris Kyle biopic American Sniper, it had to settle for a lone victory in Best Sound Mixing, coming up short in all five of the remaining categories in which it was nominated in.


Also for the first time in what felt like forever, it was a highly charged, politically outspoken night as far as acceptance speeches were concerned. The tone was set relatively early, thanks to Documentary Short Subject (Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1) co-director Dana Perry, “I want to dedicate this to my son Evan Perry,” she stated. “We lost him to suicide. We should talk about suicide out loud. This is for him. Thank you.”


This was only the tip of a very large iceberg, an emotional Arquette sounding the call for gender equality while proudly cradling her Oscar. “To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights,” she said. “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”


Then there was an obviously shaken Graham Moore, looking at his Academy Award as if he couldn’t believe it was actually sitting there in his hands. “So, here’s the thing,” he began, “Alan Turing never got to stand on a stage like this and look out at all of these disconcertingly attractive faces and I do. And that’s the most unfair thing I think I’ve ever heard. So, in this brief time here, what I want to use it to do is to say this: When I was 16 years old, I tried to kill myself because I felt weird and I felt different and I felt like I did not belong. And now I’m standing here and, so, I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she’s weird or she’s different or she doesn’t fit in anywhere. Yes, you do. I promise, you do. You do. Stay weird. Stay different. And then when it’s your turn and you are standing on this stage, please pass the same message to the next person who comes along.”


But the show-stopping moment belonged to Lonnie Lynn and John Stephens, otherwise known as Common and John Legend. Not only did the pair’s “Glory” performance bring down the house, their acceptance speeches catapulted the entire theatre to their feet in rapturous applause. “This bridge was once a landmark of a divided nation but now is a symbol for change,” stated Common, speaking about the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. “The spirit of this bridge transcends race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and social status. The spirit of this bridge connects the kid from the South Side of Chicago dreaming of a better life to those in France standing up for their freedom of expression, to the people in Hong Kong protesting for democracy. This bridge was built on hope, welded with compassion and elevated by love for all human beings.”


“We wrote this song for a film that was based on events that were 50 years ago but we say that Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now,” said Legend following up the remarks of his co-winner. “We know that the Voting Rights Act that they fought for 50 years ago is being compromised right now in this country today. We know that right now the struggle for freedom and justice is real. We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850. When people are marching with our song, we want to tell you we are with you, we see you, we love you, and march on. God bless you.”


Not that every speech was political. “Thank you so much,” said a delighted Julianne Moore, Best Actress winner for her work in Still Alice. “I read an article that said that winning an Oscar could lead to living five years longer. If that’s true, I’d really like to thank the Academy because my husband is younger than me… I’m so happy. I’m thrilled actually that we were able to hopefully shine a light on Alzheimer’s disease. So many people with this disease feel isolated and marginalized and one of the wonderful things about movies is it makes us feel seen and not alone.”


Redmayne was even more euphoric about his win. “I don’t think I’m capable of articulating quite how I feel right now,” he said with palpable sincerity. “Please know this, I am fully aware that I am a lucky, lucky man. This Oscar – wow! – this Oscar, this belongs to all of those people around the world battling ALS. It belongs to one exceptional family: Stephen, Jane, Jonathan and the Hawking children. And I will be its custodian and I will promise you I will look after him. I will polish him. I will answer his beck and call. I will wait on him hand and foot.”


As for Simmons, he took his moment on stage to remind everyone to pay a little respect to their parents. “[Call] your mom, everybody,” he insisted. “I’ve told this [to], like, a billion people, or so. Call your mom, call your dad. If you’re lucky enough to have a parent or two alive on this planet, call ‘em. Don’t text. Don’t email. Call them on the phone. Tell ‘em you love ‘em, and thank them, and listen to them for as long as they want to talk to you. Thank you. Thank you, Mom and Dad.”


PHOTO: Mark Suban / ©A.M.P.A.S.

In regards to the telecast itself, the less said on that front the better. After a rousing, energetic opening number featuring appearances from Anna Kendrick and a somewhat surprisingly vicious Jack Black, host Neil Patrick Harris quickly lost his way, fumbling around a number of ham-fisted one-liners and poorly conceived jabs that fell disastrously flat. Worst of all was a running gag involving a “mystery box” containing the host’s supposed predictions for the night, and throughout the evening he kept checking in with former Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer that no one had attempted unauthorized entry into the locked glass case.


It was as if the majority of his jokes, most of them revolving around this year’s exceedingly Caucasian list of nominees, the median age of the Academy’s voting body, the fact only American Sniper was a box office hit, Hollywood’s rush to embrace superhero mania and the lack of female nominees in major creative categories all hit too close to home. His satire lacked an edge, making most of what he was saying nothing more than blunt, traumatic statements than humorous asides meant to point out the Oscars’ shortcomings.


Be that as it may, it’s hard for me to get too worked up one way or another as far as this year’s Academy Awards telecast was concerned. While Linklater’s Boyhood was my personal 2014 favorite, Iñárritu’s Birdman is still a staggering achievement worthy of any and all accolades it ended up achieving. If the Oscars proved anything, it showcased again just how strong a slate of films, admittedly most of them independent efforts, were released last year. Here’s hoping 2015 can say the same.


COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

Best motion picture of the year

•“American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers

•“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers

•“Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers

•“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers

•“The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers

•“Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers

•“The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers

•“Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers



Performance by an actor in a leading role

•Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”

•Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”

•Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”

•Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

•Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”



Performance by an actor in a supporting role

•Robert Duvall in “The Judge”

•Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”

•Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

•Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”

•J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”



Performance by an actress in a leading role

•Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”

•Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”

•Julianne Moore in “Still Alice

•Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”

•Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”



Performance by an actress in a supporting role

•Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”

•Laura Dern in “Wild”

•Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”

•Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

•Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”



Best animated feature film of the year

•“Big Hero 6” Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli

•“The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight

•“How to Train Your Dragon 2” Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold

•“Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young

•“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura



Achievement in cinematography

•“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Emmanuel Lubezki

•“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman

•“Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski

•“Mr. Turner” Dick Pope

•“Unbroken” Roger Deakins



Achievement in costume design

•“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero

•“Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges

•“Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood

•“Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive

•“Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran



Achievement in directing

•“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu

•“Boyhood” Richard Linklater

•“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller

•“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson

•“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum



Best documentary feature

•“CitizenFour” Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky

•“Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel

•“Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester

•“The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier

•“Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara



Best documentary short subject

•“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry

•“Joanna” Aneta Kopacz

•“Our Curse” Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki

•“The Reaper (La Parka)” Gabriel Serra Arguello

•“White Earth” J. Christian Jensen



Achievement in film editing

•“American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach

•“Boyhood” Sandra Adair

•“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling

•“The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg

•“Whiplash” Tom Cross



Best foreign language film of the year

•“Ida” Poland

•“Leviathan” Russia

•“Tangerines” Estonia

•“Timbuktu” Mauritania

•“Wild Tales” Argentina



Achievement in makeup and hairstyling

•“Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard

•“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier

•“Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White



Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

•“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat

•“The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat

•“Interstellar” Hans Zimmer

•“Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon

•“The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson



Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

•“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”

Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson

•“Glory” from “Selma”

Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn

•“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”

Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

•“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”

Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond

•“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”

Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois



Achievement in production design

•“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

•“The Imitation Game” Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald

•“Interstellar” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis

•“Into the Woods” Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

•“Mr. Turner” Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts



Best animated short film

•“The Bigger Picture” Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees

•“The Dam Keeper” Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi

•“Feast” Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed

•“Me and My Moulton” Torill Kove

•“A Single Life” Joris Oprins



Best live action short film

•“Aya” Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis

•“Boogaloo and Graham” Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney

•“Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)” Hu Wei and Julien Féret

•“Parvaneh” Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger

•“The Phone Call” Mat Kirkby and James Lucas



Achievement in sound editing

•“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

•“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock

•“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas

•“Interstellar” Richard King

•“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro



Achievement in sound mixing

•“American Sniper” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin

•“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga

•“Interstellar” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten

•“Unbroken” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee

•“Whiplash” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley



Achievement in visual effects

•“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick

•“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist

•“Guardians of the Galaxy” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould

•“Interstellar” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

•“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer



Adapted screenplay

•“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall

“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore

•“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

•“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten

•“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle



Original screenplay

•“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo

•“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater

•“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman

•“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness

•“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy



- Portions of this article reprinted courtesy of the SGN and Movie Freak-

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