The 86th Academy Awards, on Sunday March 1, went on with very few surprises. Ellen DeGeneres hosted for the second time and, as usual, brought the energy all her own to the biggest night in Hollywood. In one of the highlights of the evening, she handed out pizza to the audience, and then made them tip. The unwitting pizza deliveryman, who thought he was delivering to the backstage crew, received a $1,000 tip from the star-studded front rows of the Dolby Theatre. DeGeneres also took a selfie with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars that was retweeted so much it shut down Twitter. It was later reported that this was the most retweeted photo on Twitter ever.
The show was long, as usual, and there were no surprises with the winners. Gravity took home most of the technical awards and ‘The Big Four’ acting Awards went to the well-deserving Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o, Cate Blanchett and Matthew McConaughey. Each of these actors had excellent and heartwarming speeches. It was only McConaughey’s speech that had people reeling. This was his moment to discuss the issues presented in Dallas Buyers Club and thank the real Ron Woodroof but instead said that him ten years from now was his own hero. Although McConaughey deserved the Oscar, he certainly is the same old Matthew. I’d also like to point out that the man who starred in Surfer, Dude now has an Oscar — let that sink in.
Nyong’o, on the other hand, made a heartfelt speech, thanking everyone for her success and stating, “No matter where you are from, your dreams are valid.” Leto managed to thank his mother, his brother, his former band 30 Seconds to Mars and he even had time to discuss many of the issues presented in Dallas Buyers Club. Leonardo DiCaprio was denied an Oscar again, but with a category as stacked as it was, it is no surprise that The Wolf of Wall Street actor didn’t come away with his long-awaited award.
John Travolta somehow managed to have the spotlight this year when he introduced Idina Menzel. Menzel sang the Oscar-winning song “Let it Go” from Frozen and John Travolta somehow pronounced her name “Adele Dazeem”.
12 Years a Slave took home the honour of Best Picture and is the first movie about slavery to win best picture. It’s also the first time a movie with a black director has won the accolade.
Despite partying throughout the night, Blanchett, Nyong’o and Leto all appeared on DeGeneres’ live show the next day, Oscars in hand. As stated on DeGeneres’ show, this broadcast was the highest rated since 2005, and the highest rated entertainment event since the Friends finale. No word yet on who will host next year, but with the success of this years show, it will be no surprise if Ellen is asked again.