The Academy Awards, or Oscars, are something I look forward
to every year. I love movies and enjoy seeing what gets nominated. Here’s what
I noticed watching this year’s ceremony.
Wizard of Oz’s 75th Anniversary Tribute (In High
Definition): Judy Garland’s children, including Liza Minnelli, were on hand
to honor the 75th anniversary of the film The Wizard of Oz. Whoopi Goldberg even wore ruby red sequined heels
when introducing singer Alecia “Pink” Moore. Pink’s amazing rendition of
“Somewhere Over The Rainbow” was a highlight of the evening.
Introducing Idina
Menzel?: Idina Menzel’s performance of Best Song winner “Let It Go”(from Frozen) was stunning as was the backdrop
of Swarovski crystals that adorned the stage behind her. Her voice made it
possible to almost forget John Travolta’s mispronunciation of her name when he
called her “Adele Dazeem”.
Gravity
Wins Big: As foretold, Gravity
won its fair share of Oscars: Its achievements in sound mixing and sound
editing were noticed as were its visual effects… The cinematographers and
editing teams received Oscars…Alfonso Cuaron won the Best Director award for
his work on the space thriller.
A Night of
Predictability: The Oscar prognosticators usually seem to know who will
leave with the famed gold statue. This night, the Academy seemed to agree with
them: Cate Blanchett accepted the Best
Actress award for her role in Woody Allen’s Blue
Jasmine…The Supporting Actress award went to 12 Years a Slave’s Lupita Nyong’o.
The Artistic Gatsby: The Great Gatsby was honored for its attention to detail. Catherine
Martin received the award for the film’s costume design and accepted a second
for being one half of the production design team.
Oscar Pizza Party: Viewers
at home were not the only ones who ordered fast food to celebrate the night.
Host Ellen DeGeneres delivered on her promise to order pizza for those in
attendance when a deliveryman from a Hollywood pizzeria came on stage with
three pies. The pure joy of watching the celebrities indulge was priceless.
Academy, My Dear
Watson: Two stars of the BBC series Sherlock
were part of 2014’s Oscar nominated films: Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock
Holmes) was a presenter as well as a part of the ensemble cast of Best Picture
winner 12 Years A Slave… Martin
Freedman (Dr. Watson) was in the live action short nominee The Voorman Problem.
That wraps up my summations of the 2014 Oscars. Here’s to
another great year at the movie theaters.
Sources: NY Daily
News Oscar Ballot in 'Your New York', a section in the Sunday newspaper-March 2nd,
2014; ABC’s Oscar Telecast-March 2nd, 2014; and IMDB.com
