'Birdman' soars to Oscar heights on best picture win

LOS ANGELES -- The dark comedy "Birdman" held up a mirror to Hollywood and its struggling actors and received in return the film industry's highest recognition on Sunday, the Academy Award for best picture.

Director Alejandro G. Inarritu's story of a washed-up, former superhero actor attempting an improbable comeback on Broadway won four Oscars, including best director, the second consecutive win in that category for a Mexican filmmaker.

Inarritu thanked the star-studded audience for seeing his "crazy film."

The reward for the satire hews to an Academy tradition of awarding films that honor the entertainment industry, such as "Argo" and "The Artist" in recent years.

Eddie Redmayne won best actor with his painstaking portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything," robbing "Birdman" lead and former superhero actor Michael Keaton of a big comeback moment.

Each of the eight best picture nominees went home with at least one award, but it was a disappointing night for "Boyhood," Richard Linklater's unprecedented endeavor to depict the simple story of a boy growing up over 12 years, all with the same actors. It won one Oscar for its six nods.

Wes Anderson's colorful caper, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" proved popular among the 6,100 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who vote for the Oscars, winning four awards on its nine nominations.

"Whiplash," the independent film about an aspiring jazz drummer and his tough mentor from young director Damien Chazelle, won three Oscars.

It was a night in which the controversy over the lack of diversity among this year's nominees was front and center. First-time host Neil Patrick Harris opened the telecast with a quip: "Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and whitest, I mean brightest."

But the race theme resonated in a more serious way too, when Common and John Legend got a standing ovation and made many in the audience cry with their performance of "Glory" from the 1960s civil rights drama "Selma."

It won best song, delivering the sole victory to "Selma," the film at the center of the diversity debate, sparked by the exclusion of ethnic minority actors from the four acting categories. The nominations sparked the Twitter hashtag "#OscarsSoWhite.

"'Selma' is now, because the struggle for justice is right now," said Legend in the aftermath of recent racially charged protests in America.

Moore, Arquette prevail

The Academy rewarded heavy favorites and veterans with their first Oscars in the three other acting races.

Five-time nominee Julianne Moore won best actress for her portrayal of a woman suffering from early onset Alzheimer's in "Still Alice."

Patricia Arquette won best supporting actress for her role as a struggling single mother in "Boyhood," while J.K. Simmons won the best supporting actor as a monstrous music teacher in "Whiplash."

For the biggest televised event outside the sports world, the Academy aimed to attract young viewers who may not care much about the films but who could tune in for the musical acts.

A bridge between the young and old, pop diva Lady Gaga received a standing ovation for her medley of tunes from "The Sound of Music" before introducing that film's star, Julie Andrews.

Poland's "Ida" clinched best foreign-language film and director Pawel Pawlikowski pushed the 45-second acceptance speech boundary to thank "my Polish friends who are in front of the TV, the crew who were in the trenches with us and who are totally drunk now, and you were fantastic."

Best documentary went to "Citizenfour," director Laura Poitras' feature about National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who detailed the secret mass surveillance programs.

"The subject of 'Citizenfour,' Edward Snowden, could not be here for some treason," joked Harris.

Full list of winners

Following is a list of winners in leading categories.

BEST PICTURE
"Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

BEST ACTOR
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Inarritu, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of
Ignorance)"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris
Jr., Armando Bo, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of
Ignorance)"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Ida" (Poland)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Big Hero 6"

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"CitizenFour"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Glory," from "Selma"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Milena Canonero, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of
Ignorance)"

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"Interstellar"

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Boyhood,' 'Birdman' share top Critics' Choice honors

LOS ANGELES -- "Boyhood," Michael Keaton and Julianne Moore were among the top winners at the 20th annual Critics Choice Movie Awards on Thursday, winning best picture and director, actor and actress.

"Boyhood," which earlier in the day received six Oscar nominations including best picture, was named the year's best film by the more-than 250 members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the largest U.S. and Canadian film critics' group.

The critics honored "Boyhood" director Richard Linklater, who in a virtually unprecedented move made the film over 12 years with the same actors, and awarded Patricia Arquette the best supporting actress prize.

The critics twice awarded Michael Keaton for his acclaimed performance in "Birdman," in which he plays a fading action film actor trying to make a go of it on Broadway, with both its best actor in a comedy and best actor awards. The film also won for best ensemble among a total of seven awards.

"I'll take anything, to be honest with you," quipped Keaton, who has already won many awards, including the Golden Globe, and is considered a favorite for the best actor Oscar when Hollywood's top honors are handed out on Feb. 22.

Moore, another Oscar nominee and favorite to win, won best actress for "Still Alice," in which she plays a professor with Alzheimer's disease.

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" was named best comedy film, also winning for art direction and costume design, while best comedy actress went to Jenny Slate for "Obvious Child."

Supporting actor Oscar nominee J.K. Simmons won the critics award for his turn as a hard-driving music teacher in "Whiplash," while Ellar Coltrane was named best young actor or actress for "Boyhood."

"A year ago I really didn't think anyone was going to care about this movie," he said.

Best action film went to the box office hit "Guardians of the Galaxy," while Bradley Cooper won best actor in an action film for the true-life war film, "American Sniper." Emily Blunt won best actress in an action movie for "Edge of Tomorrow."

The award for best animated film was won by "The Lego Movie," which was snubbed in the Oscar nominations.

Screenplay awards went to "Gone Girl" and "Birdman." Best foreign language film was "Force Majeure," while "Life Itself" won the best documentary prize.

Among honorary awards, Kevin Costner received a lifetime achievement award, Jessica Chastain was presented with the group's first MVP, or most valuable player, honor, and director Ron Howard received the Louis XIII Genius Award.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com