2014 Oscars

The big show, the Granddaddy of them all, the 86th Academy Awards finally arrived! It was round-two for Ellen DeGeneres, who grabbed the reigns of the 2014 Oscars and took viewers and the audience on a fun-filled ride.

Ellen walked out on the stage to multiple rows of full-size Oscar statues, and joked about the rain in Los Angeles, before saying it’s been seven years since the first time she hosted the Academy Awards.

Ellen recognized Oscar nominee June Squibb, 84 who received her first nomination this year for Nebraska. She also joked that June was so old that she couldn’t hear, and repeated what she said to her in a loud voice.

Ellen then pointed out Liza Minnelli and called her the best Liza Minnelli impersonator she’d ever seen. Her next victim was Amy Adams who has two nominations. Ellen called her selfish for it.

Meryl Streep has been nominated 18 times, Ellen said it sounds good but that’s hundreds of thousands of dollars, so Meryl can’t afford to be nominated anymore.

She told Jennifer Lawrence she wasn’t going to bring up her falling up the stairs last year, but then she threatened to show a clip. She spared Jennifer the video replay.

Ellen said OK, we have two possibilities for Best Picture this year. “One is 12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture, possibility number two is you’re all racists.”

Anne Hathaway was the evening’s first presenter with the nominees for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and the Oscar went to Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club. He thanked his fellow nominees and said he has so much respect for them all. He told the story of a girl who got pregnant as a teenager, who dropped out of high school, a single mom, “that girl is my mother and she’s here tonight.” “I love you Mom, thank you for teaching me to dream.” He also spoke for all the victims who suffer from AIDS.

The next presenter was Jim Carrey who announced a short salute to animation, followed by Kerry Washington who introduced Pharrell Williams performing his nominated song Happy from Despicable Me 2. Pharrell wore a hat similar to the one that caused such a stir at the Grammy Awards and even got it’s own Twitter account. The first Vivienne Westwood hat was brown, this one was black.

Samuel L. Jackson and Naomi Watts were the next presenters for the category of Achievement in Costume Design. The Oscar went to Catherine Martin for The Great Gatsby, her third Oscar. She took her speech out of her bra and said don’t worry it’s not long.

They then announced the next nominees for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The Oscar went to Patricia Lee and Robin Mathews for Dallas Buyers Club.

Next up was Harrison Ford to introduce a montage of the movies up for Best Picture, followed by Channing Tatum to introduce six students that represent Team Oscar.

Ellen came up behind Sandra Bullock in her seat and startled her when she poked her head next to hers and said more Oscars were on the way as they went to a commercial break. It was so Ellen, and it got Sandra Bullock laughing.

Ellen gave Bradly Cooper some scratch tickets because she wanted everyone to go home a winner. Then came Matthew McConaughey and Kim Novak to announce another animation category. This one for Best Animated Short Film and the Oscar went to Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares for Mr. Hublot.

Matthew also announced the nominees for Best Animated Feature, and the Oscar went to Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and Peter Del Vecho for Frozen.

The next presenter was Sally Fields! Longtime no-see. She announced the movies that salute the ordinary heroes throughout the years.

Emma Watson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were the next presenters for Achievements in Visual Effects, and the Oscar went to Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould for Gravity. Well deserved for the effects in that film.

Ellen was back in the audience again, this time to bring Zac Efron to the stage. He introduced a performance by Karen O of her song The Moon Song. The next presenters were Kate Hudson and Jason Sudeikis to announce the nominees for Best Live Action Short, and the Oscar went to Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson for Helium. They also announce Best Documentary Short, and the Oscar went to Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed for The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life.

Ellen asked the audience if they were hungry and wanted to order pizza, which she said she would order as she brought Brady Cooper to the stage to announce the nominees for Best Documentary Feature. The Oscar went to 20 Feet from Stardom. During the acceptance speech, Darlene Love broke out in song, hit the high notes, and brought the audience to their feet.

Kevin Spacey followed and said and he sings because “it’s so nice to be out of Washington and here with my Hollywood friends.” He also announced an award given to Angelina Jolie for her humanitarian causes. Angelina stayed seated in the audience during this presentation and made no acceptance speech. But husband, Brad Pitt did kiss her hand.

Next Viola Davis announced the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film, and the Oscar went to Italy for The Great Beauty. Followed by another highlight of films in the Best Picture Category introduced by Tyler Perry for Nebraska, Her, and Gravity.

Ellen came out, this time in a totally white suit to introduce Brad Pitt. Brad introduced the performance of Ordinary Love from Long Walk to Freedom by U2. They, of course, received an extended standing ovation.

Ellen took a selfie with Liza Minnelli and then took a selfie with Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and many others. Bradley Cooper finally took the photo. That’s a first – and it must be a great photo.

Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron announced the nominees for Sound Mixing, and the Oscar went to Gravity. They also announced the nominees for Best Sound Editing, and the Oscar went to Gravity.

The next category was Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and the Oscar went to Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave. She was the favorite to win, but she looked stunned as the audience gave her a standing ovation. She thanked Director Steve McQueen and said, “thank you for putting me in this position. It has been the joy of my life.”

And yes, Ellen did order pizza and it arrived. She handed huge boxes of pizza out of Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Brad Pitt handed out plates, and Ellen said, “wait Carrie Washington is pregnant, she needs some.” Even Harrison Ford grabbed a slice.

Ellen then introduced Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Marketing Executive, Public Relations Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who spoke of the far-reaching future of the Academy.

Followed by Amy Adams and Bill Murray to announce the nominees for Best Cinematography, and the Oscar went to Emmanuel Lubezki for Gravity. Gravity had a great night at the Oscars.

Anna Kendrick and Gabourey Sidibe paired up to announce the nominees for Best Film Editing. The Oscar went to Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger for Gravity. What a night for Gravity!

Whoopi Goldberg was up next and showed that she was wearing striped socks and ruby slippers in honor of The Wizard of Oz. To commensurate, Whoopi had Liza Minnelli, her sister and brother standup in the audience in honor of their mother, Judy Garland. And to further celebrate the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, Whoopi introduced a performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Pink.

Ellen came running out dressed as Glinda the Good Witch in gown, crown and waving a wand to introduce Jennifer Garner. Jennifer announced the nominees in the category of Production Design, and the Oscar went to Catherine Martin and Beverley Dunn for The Great Gatsby.

Glenn Close was the next presenter. She introduced the In Memoriam feature, and again it’s always surprising to see the talent that has crossed over, and large the number of the people who have said goodbye.

The wonderful Bette Midler followed with a performance of Hero. She also received an extended standing ovation.

Ellen announced that the Oscars tweet crashed Twitter. She said they made history. Then introduced Goldie Hawn to highlight one of the nominees for Best Picture. The nominees featured here were Captain Phillips, Philomena and 12 Years a Slave.

John Travolta was the next presenter, and he introduced the performance by Idina Menzel of Let It Go from Frozen. He slaughtered her name, but hey, it happens. She also received a standing O.

Jamie Foxx and Jessica Biel announced the nominees for the category of Best Original Score. The Oscar went to Steven Price for Gravity. Gravity quietly took the evening. No one predicted a Gravity sweep.

They also announced the nominees for Best Original Song, and the Oscar went to Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez for Let It Go from Frozen.

Ellen started to collect money in the audience with a hat very similar to Pharrell’s brown hat and then introduced Penélope Cruz and Robert De Niro. They introduced the nominees for the category of Best Adapted Screenplay. The Oscar went to John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave. They also announced Best Original Screenplay, and the Oscar went to Spike Jonze for Her. They were all so good, but no offense, that was a shocker.

The next presenters were Angelina Jolie and Sidney Poitier. They took the stage to a standing ovation before they even spoke a word. Angelina honored Sidney for his body of work and thanked him. He spoke deliberately, but eloquently. Jolie read the nominees for Best Directing, and the Oscar went to Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity. Gravity cleaned up!

Ellen was again sitting in the audience, talking now to Matthew McConaughey before throwing to Daniel Day-Lewis. His category was Best Actress in a Leading Role. The Oscar went to Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine. She congratulated her fellow nominees and told Amy Adams her performance, “blew my mind.” She also told Julie Roberts to “Suck it.” That’s not the last time we’ll hear of that; to be continued. Her speech was among the longest and was certainly among the most robust.

Jennifer Lawrence was the next presenter and her category was Best Actor in a Leading Role. The Oscar went to Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club. This was a huge year for McConaughey. He thanked his fellow nominees, the film’s director, Jared Leto, God, and his family, and ended with his signature statement, “alright, alright, alright.”

The final award of the evening was presented by Will Smith for Best Picture, and the Oscar went to 12 Years a Slave. Brad Pitt, Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o and the whole cast filled the stage to receive the highest honor from the Academy Award. Congrats!

No one got played-off during their acceptance speeches, even when their speech was a bit long, and that was refreshing.

The biggest surprise was The Butler and American Hustle were shut-outs.