Lady Gaga offered a tribute to Julie Andrews on the 50th anniversary of the The Sound of Music with a melody of the songs from the film. It was a fine effort, but our take-away analogy was: Sarah Silverman can’t do Jerry Seinfeld. The beauty of Ms. Andrew’s voice still holds the throne in our minds.
Sean Penn read the winning card for Best Picture and added, “Who gave this son of a bitch his green card? Birdman.” As a friend of Alejandro G. Iñárritu, they both laughed and embraced on stage. Alejandro G. Iñárritu offered that the U.S. might change immigration requirements given back to back wins by Mexican directors. Also please note: For those few spring-loaded to leap on any random race-related comment, we say, “Get a life.”
John, John, John…We don’t care what Zeta level you’ve achieved. Don’t touch your fellow presenters. That was just creepy.
Patricia Arquette offered a Feminist spin on her acceptance with a demand for equal pay and rights for women. We assume her Oscar was the same size and everyone else’s. Did she want to renegotiate her cut from the film Boyhood? When will we acknowledge that good taste demands we exclude casuist propaganda from otherwise enjoyable evenings?
Now for some quotes from the winners…
Julianne Moore, winner of the Best Actress in a Leading Role, for the film Still Alice.
Ms. Moore: [With regard to her 5 previous nominations and now her first win…] “My husband has been amazing in the way he has supported me. In fact, after he and I saw the first cut, he told me I was a shoe-in for the Oscar.”
Ms. Moore: [With regard to audience desire for more adult drama films…]
I hope it does [stimulate more production]. I think there’s an audience for movies like Still Alice. I go to the movies because, like I said, I like to see complicated, interesting stories about people and relationships. So I think whenever there’s success with films like this, people think about them more. At the end of the day, Hollywood is also a business, so I think it depends on how many people buy tickets.”
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, winner of Best Director, for the film Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Mr. Iñárritu: When asked about his approach to making this film, he said, “I haven’t figured out why I did what I did in this film or why I took those chances. I think you come to a point when you lose your fear. [Paraphrasing] You shed a layer of protection which is holding you back and let yourself be creative.”
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, winner of Best Picture, for the film Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Mr. Iñárritu: [With regard to how the film was shot (with very few cuts)…] “People have been sometimes reacting against it…or obviously, accept it passionately. I think my intention was not to flash or to impress anybody. I really always thought that the subtlety of the way we did it…that was basically my intention…that nobody should notice this, that nobody should say, “Oh, my God.” I wanted people to get caught up in the emotional journey of this guy three days before opening a show where everything was falling apart. It’s a restless kind of journey. I thought that without cuts, I will not distract people by a juxtaposition of spaces, places and time. Rather they would live in that conscience that is talking to him all the time.”
Eddie Redmayne, winner of the Best Actor in a Leading Role, for the film The Theory of Everything.
Mr. Redmayne: [With regard to playing Stephen Hawking…] “I think I will certainly go to Cambridge at some point to see Stephen, Jane, Jonathan, and the Hawking children. They have been so kind to us the whole way through this process. Honestly, I’m one of those people who, when I watch a film, believe what I see on screen. And so we felt a responsibility to tell their story truthfully and authentically. Their support throughout has been amazing. I’ll use any excuse to go back to Cambridge, it’s such a beautiful place.”