Monday, March 3, 2014

2014 Oscar Observations



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

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