• Entertainment & Connectivity

Academy Awards 2015: Birdman Soars To Oscar Gold

February 23, 2015  | Written by Tomas Romero

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Despite early surges by fellow Best Picture nominees The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight), Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics) and Boyhood (IFC Films), Fox Searchlight’s Birdman flew to the top of the heap at the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday night winning four Oscars, including Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture of the year. And though fans of the sentimental favorite Boyhood were disappointed by the fact that the film took home just one trophy – Patricia Arquette for Best Supporting Actress, whose rousing acceptance speech about wage inequity would make Oscar activists Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon blush – there was something for everyone on Sunday. Literally. Last night’s telecast marked the first time since 2009, when the Academy expanded the Best Picture field from five nominees to up to 10 per year, that all of the films nominated for Best Picture won at least one Oscar.

Another micro trend on Sunday night were big wins for short films about working in call centers, with The Phone Call and Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 taking home Oscars for Best Live Action Short Film and Best Documentary Short Subject, respectively. Powerful political speeches also took center stage on Sunday night, with everyone from Best Documentary Feature winner Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) extolling the virtues of whistleblowers, to Best Adapted Screenplay winner (for The Imitation Game) Graham Moore’s emotional plea to troubled, suicidal teens to “stay weird” despite the pressure to fit in.

Also giving another top-notch acceptance speech was the winningest actor of the season, J.K. Simmons, who – to the surprise of no one – took home a richly-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Whiplash.

And though I was too busy frantically Googling the names Lonnie Lynn and John Stephens (Common and John Legend’s real names, respectively) to hear much of their moving acceptance speech for Best Original Song, “Glory,” from from Best Picture nominee Selma, I heard that was pretty cool too.

Another big winner on Sunday night was music. Love her or hate her, Lady Gaga showed off some powerful pipes in her Sound of Music tribute, and Adam Levine was also great. But for sheer Oscar-telecast-awesomeness, nothing could hold a candle to the performance of the Best Original Song Nominee “Everything is Awesome” from The LEGO Movie. Accompanied by Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh, The Lonely Island and dozens of dancers clutching beautifully-articulated LEGO Oscars, Tegan and Sara killed it. I’m just sorry there’s not an award for Best Performance of a nominated song!

And though fans of The Theory of Everything’s Eddie Redmayne and Still Alice’s Julianne Moore (who took home Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively) can breathe easier knowing that the so-called “Norbit Curse” was ineffective last night, first-time host Neil Patrick Harris, unfortunately, was not so lucky.

Falling prey to the much more fearsome “Oscar host curse” Harris, who has won three Emmy Awards for his hosting duties at the Tony Awards, was savaged in social media circles for his performance last night. And though die-hard fans seemed to enjoy the way Harris playfully poked fun at the Academy by highlighting some of its more glaring snubs  –  like Selma’s David Oyewelo, Cake’s Jennifer Aniston and Warner Brother’s The LEGO Movie – and how he brazenly took the stage in his underwear in a hilarious Birdman tribute, there were just as many viewers who just didn’t get it.

But, at the end of the day, Harris shouldn’t take it too hard. Critics brutalized Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg’s performance the first time she hosted and she was invited back to MC the show three more times. So, when it comes to the Oscar curses, hope springs eternal.

Complete list of winners: 87th Annual Academy Awards