2013 was a year where futuristic drama, adrenaline rush and con-games reached critical heights (“Her,” “Gravity,” “American Hustle,” “The Wolf of Wall Street”), those typically reserved for survival stories (“Captain Phillips,” “Dallas Buyers Club”), socio-political dramas (“Argo,” “ZeroDark Thirty,” “Ides of March”) or race relations (“12 Years a Slave”).
DeGeneres pointed about a serious issue Hollywood had in the last couple of days, the rain, and thanked everyone around the world for praying and that they're all right. She picked up the latest trend, 'selfie,' took a picture of herself and tweeted to the world. It's a fine opening, although I must say I missed a more dramatic entry of years past, such as mocked montages, creative skits or musical numbers.
DeGeneres made a point to make the show interactive and relatable for those in the audience. In one funny moment, she went out to the audience and started pulling stars from their seats to take pictures with her in an effort to break the record of the most re-tweeted tweet. In another, she brought a pizza delivery guy with her, offered slices of pizza to presumably starving stars, and collected cash here and there for payment.
The theme of the show is “celebrating heroes.” DeGeneres took a jab at Hollywood right off the bat. The important things in life are love, family and friends, and those without, would typically go into show business. The theme was celebrated through clips of movies in the last few decades based on true events where the protagonists are real-life heroes, as well as superheroes and fantasy heroes. Select actors and actresses were shown receiving humanitarian awards for their work that deal with human causes. Special guests for the evening include the real Captain Phillips and Philomena.
Musical performances provide a good mix, which include upbeat “Happy” from “Despicable Me,” melancholic piece “The Moon Song” from “Her,” tribute to Mandela “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” Disney's “Let It Go” from “Frozen.” There's a tribute to the 75th anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz,” a song sung by Pink, who was introduced by Whoopi Goldberg. The former Oscar host was wearing striped tights and glittering red shoes under her dress. Hollywood honored those who passed away with “Wind Beneath My Wings,” a special performance by Bette Midler.
As expected, Jared Leto won best supporting actor, followed by his co-star Matthew McConaughey as best actor, for their transformative roles in “Dallas Buyers Club.” Leto shared a story from the past about his mother and thanked her for teaching him to dream. He dedicated the statue for those people who have died of AIDS. McConaughey thanked the people in his life and touched on the hero theme, having someone or something to look up to and look forward to.
Newcomer Lupita Nyong'o gave a tearful and grateful speech after winning best supporting actress for her dramatic role in “12 Years a Slave.” The film also earned best adapted screenplay. Best actress went out to Cate Blanchett for “Blue Jasmine,” who proceeded with a well-rounded speech, gracious and sprinkled with self-deprecating humor, celebrating her fellow nominees and women.
Critics-favorite “American Hustle” lost out make-up and hairstyling, and costume design awards to “Dallas Buyers Club” and “The Great Gatsby,” respectively. The latter also nabbed a win in production design. “American Hustle” was shut out, including losing best original screenplay to “Her,” which wasn't surprising to me. It's a great film, but overrated and nothing to rave about.
“Frozen” left all other animations in a fairy dust, winning best animated film award. The animation also snagged best original song statue, “Let It Go.”
“Gravity,” frontrunner of technical achievements was unstoppable. It scored best visual effects, cinematography, sound mixing and sound editing. The film also went on to win original score, film editing, and a best director prize for its visionary and technically accomplished director, Alfonso Cuaron. I'm over the moon that “Gravity” flew home with the largest number of trophies; it deserves a win in every single category it won. It splits the last big award with “12 Years a Slave,” which was awarded best picture.
And the Oscar goes to...
Best Motion Picture
Winner: 12 Years a Slave
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Blue Jasmine – Cate Blanchett
Best Achievement in Directing
Winner: Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Winner: Her - Spike Jonze
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Winner: 12 Years a Slave - John Ridley
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Winner: Frozen - Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez ("Let It Go")
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Winner: Gravity - Steven Price
Best Achievement in Production Design
Winner: The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn
Best Achievement in Editing
Winner: Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Winner: Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: 12 Years a Slave - Lupita Nyong'o
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Winner: Gravity - Glenn Freemantle
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Winner: Gravity - Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Winner: Gravity - Timothy Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould
Best Animated Feature Film
Winner: Frozen
Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Winner: Dallas Buyers Club - Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Winner: The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: Dallas Buyers Club – Jared Leto
For a complete list of winners, check out the official website.
http://www.sdentertainer.com/arts/academy-awards-2014/