Our predictions for the 2015 Oscar wins were right on. You saw it here, folks — 8 out of 8!
Best Picture: “Birdman”
Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman”
Actress in a Leading Role: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Actor in a Leading Role: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”
Actress in a Supporting Role: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Actor in a Supporting Role: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
Original Screenplay: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman”
Adapted Screenplay: Graham Moore, “The Theory of Everything”
Everybody loves to make fun of everything and everyone on the Internet. The worst slams of the night on Twitter went to host Neil Patrick Harris. Poor guy. He tried hard and landed a few good jokes. Sadly, many fell flat. But I’m here to talk about the joys of the evening. The Academy Awards are still a big deal, and the gala deserves our respect.
2015 OSCAR HIGHLIGHTS
Patricia Arquette’s acceptance speech lit up Twitter. After thanking everyone she was supposed to, Arquette was a heroic spokesperson for women: “To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” Meryl Streep’s roar of approval was priceless.
Graham Moore’s win for Adapted Screenplay for “The Imitation Game.” His brave acceptance speech included admitting his attempt at suicide. Benedict Cumberbatch’s character Alan Turing is believed to have committed suicide after being prosecuted for being homosexual. He was also chemically castrated. Moore said, “When I was 16-years-old, I tried to kill myself. I felt weird and different and felt like I didn’t belong.” But then he spoke to other kids in the world who feel that way. “Stay weird,” he said, “stay different. Then when you’re standing on this stage, please pass that message along to someone else.” I teared up.
Eddie Redmayne squealed with delight. Redmayne was so overcome with emotion, he let out a spontaneous giddy cheer. “I am fully aware that I am a lucky, lucky man,” he said. He dedicated his award to people with ALS and said about his Oscar, “I will polish him and wait on him hand and foot.” At the end he thanked his wife and the “new guy waiting to share our apartment.”
Julianne Moore was radiant! From the red carpet to the end of the evening, Moore looked like she was stifling a Snoopy happy dance. When she received her award, she burst out in joyful laughter and said, “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.” She went on to say, “There’s no such thing as Best Actress as is evidenced by the performances of my fellow nominees. I’ve been honored to be among you every step of the way.” She thanked her grandparents, brother Peter, sister Valerie and her mother and father “who told me I could be whatever I wanted to be if I got an education, only I didn’t think they meant being an actress. My dad for showing me the world. Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin.” She also said, “People with Alzheimer’s deserve to be seen.” And ended with a beautiful thank you to “My husband Bart and our children Cal and Liv — thank you for my life, thank you for giving me a home.” She was wonderful. I love her and feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to be with her in January when we talked about her movie, “Still Alice.”
Idina Menzel introduced John Travolta as “my very dear friend, Glom Gazingo.” It was a joke in reference to Travolta mispronouncing her name as Adele Dazeem at the 2014 Oscars. #Oscar2015 went to town buzzing about that funny bit, and a bunch of new Twitter accounts named Glom Gazingo popped up.
Lady Gaga sang a medley from “The Sound of Music.” People were floored by her expertise and have a newfound respect for her. I admit I was weirded out at first. It seemed like such an incongruous choice for Gaga to sing, but then Julie Andrews came out on stage — looking amazing — and said, “Dear Lady Gaga, thank you for that lovely tribute. It really warmed my heart.” Andrews then went on to announce the nominees for Best Musical Score. And when I learned that “The Sound of Music” turns 50 this March, then it made sense what that medley was doing there.
Octavia Spencer talked about Martin Luther King Jr. It was a powerful reminder of his death and that the Oscars were canceled that year because they were scheduled to air four days after MLK’s assassination. Spencer then introduced John Legend and Common, who sang their expert version of “Glory” from “Selma.” It is weird how white the Oscars were this year, except for presenters.
Jared Leto looked like Jesus. Well, just the hair. I’m sure Jesus never sported a light-blue suit, pink carnation on the lapel and a white bow-tie against a white shirt. An amusing photo of Leto/Jesus went viral on Twitter. Aside from his appearance being funny, he made a joke about Meryl Streep. When he announced the Best Actress in a Supporting Role nominees he said, “They are four women plus, in accordance with California State law, Meryl Streep.”
THE LAST BITS AND PIECES WORTHY OF MENTION
- Jennifer Lopez’s breasts made an appearance once again at the Oscars.
- NPH came out on stage in his undies. It was a spoof on a scene in “Birdman” where Michael Keaton’s character gets locked out of the Broadway theater in his underwear.
- Iñárritu later referred to that same scene as Keaton in his “tighty whities.” The Best Director was adorable all evening.
- When “Citizenfour” won, NPH joked that Edward Snowden “couldn’t be here for some treason.”
SOME OF OUR FAVORITE MOMENTS
Patricia Arquette Acceptance Speech:
John Travolta Pronounces Idina Menzel’s Name Correctly:
Oscars: Eddie Redmayne’s emotional speech after winning Best Actor
Graham Moore Acceptance Speech:
Dorri Olds is a contributing journalist for TheBlot Magazine.
