Hollywood’s elite braved the uncharacteristically rainy weather in Los Angeles last night to walk to red carpet at the 87th annual Academy Awards. Everyone in attendance was dressed to impress, and quite a few talented actors received their first little golden statue.
The 87th Academy Awards and its star, Oscar.
“Birdman” overwhelmingly dominated the awards show. The edgy dark-comedy took home best motion picture, and the movie’s director, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, won for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. He was previously nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for “Babel” but received his first win last night.
In fact, all of the winners in the acting categories were first-time winners. Eddie Redmayne, who portrayed Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,” won Best Actor in a Leading Role, which was also the newly married actor’s first nomination. This was Julianne Moore’s fifth Oscar nomination, but it was her first win. She took home the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her tear-jerking performance in “Still Alice,” a film about a woman’s struggle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
J.K. Simmons won the first award of the night for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his volatile performance in “Whiplash.” This was the first nomination and win for the longtime actor. Simmons’ award was the only acting win for Best Picture nominated “Whiplash,” which also received Achievement in Sound Mixing and Achievement in Film Editing.
Patricia Arquette, Best Actress in a Supporting Role winner.
Patricia Arquette won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, making this her first nomination and win. Arquette, a longtime actress as well as a member of a famous acting family, received audience cheers — and an intense “Yes!” and finger-jabbing reaction from Meryl Streep — when she spoke about women’s equality in her acceptance speech.
“To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights,” Arquette said while on the stage at Dolby Theater. “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America!”
However, when there are winners, there are also losers. Richard Linklater, the director of “Boyhood,” a film he and the cast spent 12 years working on, was a frontrunner to receive a win. One of the biggest surprises of the night was his noticeable snub for Best Director and Best Motion Picture.
While Wes Anderson‘s film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” won four awards last night for Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Production Design, Actor in Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Original Score, the director known for his unique, artistic style was snubbed for Best Director and Best Motion Picture.
Host Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka.
Another big snub was announced a couple months ago when Clint Eastwood was left out of the Best Director category for “American Sniper.” As host Neil Patrick Harris pointed out in the opening of the show, Eastwood’s film enjoyed overwhelming success compared to its competitors.
“Congratulations to all the nominees, especially for the eight films up for Best Motion Picture. They have grossed over $600 million,” Harris said. “‘American Sniper’ alone is responsible for over $300 million of that, so congratulations to them.”
The film was not only snubbed in nominations but also in last night’s awards. There was only one win for “American Sniper,” which was Achievement in Sound Editing.
While the Academy Awards is a celebration of the year’s best films, it is also a celebration of fashion. After sporting designer gowns and couture all awards season, the Oscars is where you go big or go home. A couple of my personal favorites were worn by Best Actress in a Leading Role nominees Reese Witherspoon (“Wild”) and Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”). Witherspoon looked jaw-droppingly beautiful in a simple, sleek, black and white gown by Tom Ford. She wore her hair down and natural as she rocked some beautiful earrings and bracelets. Pike’s getup was a little less simple. She wore a deep red Givenchy gown with rosy detailing and a high slit, and this has to be my favorite look from the Gone Girl star this year.
Oscars’ Best Dressed: Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Rosamund Pike and Margot Robbie.
Margot Robbie, the breakout star from “The Wolf of Wall Street,” looked stunning in a black Yves Saint Laurent dress with a plunging neckline highlighting a statement necklace with a blue accent that paired perfectly with the gown. Presenter Jennifer Aniston, who was also recognized for being snubbed by the Academy in nominations for her role in “Cake,” has looked better and better at each awards show. This time she rocked a nude, sparkly dress by Versace.
What is a red carpet with a few fashion mishaps? Keira Knightley, nominee for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, is a glowing mom-to-be, but her embroidered Valentino dress had me asking a couple questions: Why are there words on your dress, Keira? What does it say?! Most importantly, just why?
So many questions about Lady Gaga and Keira Knightley’s fashion choices.
Lady Gaga had what was probably the best performance of her life last night. Her extraordinary tribute to “The Sound of Music” was mind-blowing (and rather surprising), earning a standing ovation from the audience and heart-warming praise from Julie Andrews herself. While I was beyond impressed with her voice and performance, I was somewhat confused as to why she decided to wear kitchen gloves to the Oscars. OK, they are not actually rubber gloves, and she did not actually just finish washing dishes, but it sure does look like it. Her custom Azzedine Alaïa gown was stunning but definitely could have gone without the odd gloves.
Unfortunately, the Oscars signify the end of awards season. On the bright side, it is all going down again next year, and we cannot wait.
Note: All photos from the official Oscars press & media photo website.
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About Nicole Crites
