by Jessica Troland
It was a golden night for the silver screen. The red carpet dazzled with designer dresses and the show inside was the perfect medley of sincere acceptance speeches, star-studded performances and moments that made instant headlines. It was Oscar night, 2014, and not even Twitter could keep up.
In 2007, Ellen DeGeneres hosted the Oscars for the first time. Seven years and three outfit changes later, DeGeneres once again brought down the house of celebrities with her effortless wit and comedic charm. To open the ceremony, Ellen casually poked fun at the front row, which held the famous names of Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Christian Bale and many more. She reminded us all of Jennifer Lawrence’s first ever Oscar win and her quite literal “trip” up the stage steps. Ellen then proceeded to let everyone know that Lawrence had already had her fall for the evening, after tripping over her red Dior gown while exiting her car. Lawrence stayed true to her classic perky and quirky personality throughout Ellen’s jokes and laughed with the crowd.
Post jokes and first up for awards was the category of best supporting actor. And the Oscar went to…Jared Leto for his role of Rayon in the also nominated film, “Dallas Buyers Club.” Leto, who is also the lead singer of the band 30 Seconds to Mars, kicked off a night of inspiring, compelling acceptance speeches, first thanking his mother, brother and long list of supporters before adding one last powerful note:
“This is for the 39 million people who have lost the battle to AIDS,” said Leto. “And to those of you who have ever felt injustice because of who you are and who you love, I stand here in front of the world with you and for you.”
The crowd roared.
First up for musical entertainment was Pharrell Williams the with his smash hit, “Happy” which was nominated for an Oscar in the original song category. The song was later beat out by Frozen’s popular “Let It Go” but Pharrell’s performance was upbeat and covered in smiles nonetheless.
In the long period of sound, animation, and effects awards, Ellen never lagged in keeping viewers entertained and the show moving. And then she made history. During one of the breaks, Ellen began taking “selfies” with several different big name actors. When she approached Meryl, she decided she wanted to break records. Ellen devised a plan take a selfie with Meryl, then tweet it and have the most re-tweeted photo of all time.
First came Meryl, then Julia Roberts, the Jennifer Lawrence, then Bradley Cooper, then Kevin Spacey, then Brad Pitt, then Angelina, then Jared Leto, and the list goes on.
“Brad, get in here! Angie, Meryl. Meryl, can you take it? I can’t get everybody in there.” Bradley Cooper volunteered, “Oh that’s good. Hey, look at us!” said Ellen, in the voice a mother uses while trying to gather her seven children.
One click, five minutes and over one million re-tweets later: Mission accomplished. Ellen DeGeneres had taken the best photo in Hollywood, crashed twitter and broken Obama’s record for most re-tweeted photo. And it only took one try.
Not to mention that she bought pizza and hand delivered it to her fellow celebrities during the show.
As the night commenced, musical performances were not to be missed. The timeless U2 graced the Dolby Threatre stage, performing their Oscar nominated original song “Ordinary Love” from the movie “Mandela.” But it was the ladies in red who really stole the show. Yeah Yeah Yeah’s leadsinger, Karen O swooned viewers as she sang the Oscar nominated “Moon Song” from the also nominated movie “Her.” Later in the evening, Pink took to the stage to sing her jaw-dropping rendition of “Over the Rainbow.” The song was a tribute to actress Judy Garland and the 75th Anniversary of the “Wizard of Oz.” Dressed in a red gown that perfectly mimicked the glisten of Dorothy’s ruby red slippers, Pink belted her powerful vocals from under a single spotlight while scenes of the Emerald City and Glinda the Good Witch projected onto a jumbo screen beside her.
Idina Menzel was last to perform, singing the Oscar nominated original song “Let It Go” from “Frozen.” One of the most anticipated performances of the evening, Menzel sadly seemed a bit too nervous to live up to the hype. After a botched introduction by John Travolta, who gave her the new title of “Adele Dazeem,” Menzel went on to deliver her powerhouse vocals but in a manner that was seemed a bit off tempo and stiff for the singer’s Broadway personality. Nevertheless, Menzel held the last note at maximum volume and the crowd applauded with equal enthusiasm. A few moments later, “Let It Go” took home the Oscar for best original song. The songwriter’s acceptance speech even rhymed.
As the night grew darker, the awards grew larger. Lupita Nyong’o took home the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in “12 Years a Slave” and dazzled the audience with her eloquence during her emotional acceptance speech.
For the category of best actress, Cate Blanchette took home the honor for her role in “Blue Jasmine.” Blanchette praised her fellow nominees and spoke loudly for women in leading film roles everywhere.
“And to the audiences who went to see it and perhaps, to those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the center are niche experiences. They are not. Audiences want to see them and in fact, they earn money. The world is round people!”
Matthew McConaughey also joined the ranks of great speech givers during his acceptance for the award of best actor. McConaughey won the honor for his leading role in “Dallas Buyers Club,” in which he played a victim of AIDS who takes matters of medicine into his own hands during his battle with the disease. McConaughey dropped 55 lbs for the role and played alongside his dynamic counterpart, the aforementioned Jared Leto.
McConaughey’s speech was a perfectly crafted mix of good ole’ southern comfort and Oscar class. From his father looking down from heaven, eating lemon meringue pie in his underwear while drinking a bear, to his closing remark, McConaughey delivered his speech as only McConaughey could.
“To any of us, whatever those things are, whatever it is we look up to, whatever it is we look forward to and whoever it is we’re chasing, to that I say amen, to that I say, all right, all right, all right.”
Classic McConaughey.
The most anticipated award of the evening and perhaps of the year was, as usual, held until the end of the ceremony and went to “12 Years a Slave.” Brad Pitt opened the acceptance speech with his thanks and Steve McQueen follow soon after, speeding through as many names as he could utter, all the while begging for “one more minute.”
“Everyone, everyone deserves not just to survive but to live, this is the most important legacy of Mister Solomon Northup. I dedicate this to all the people who have endured slavery and to the 21 million people who still suffer slavery today,” said McQueen.
And with that, the 86th annual Oscars came to a close and Steve McQueen jumped for joy – literally. No one could’ve said it better.
The feature image for this article was taken from the Ellen Degeneres Twitter account.
Jessica Troland can be contacted at [email protected]
