After wowing the critics, Birdman is the clear winner at this year’s Academy Awards – walking away with four Oscars including Best Picture.
It’s no secret that Michael Keaton turned plenty of heads with his stellar appearance in Birdman. And with top notch direction from Alejandro G Inarritu, it seemed likely that the rather odd movie would do well during awards seasons.
But it looks as though it’s done better than that – landing some of the most prestigious awards at this year’s Oscars.
At the glamorous awards ceremony last night, Birdman received the biggest award of the entire evening – Best Picture. But it didn’t stop there. Alejandro G Inarritu also won the Best Director award, with Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography also heading to ‘Birdman’.
The full Awards List was as follows:
Best Picture: Birdman
Best Director: Alejandro G Inarritu, Birdman
Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory Of Everything
Best Actress: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
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, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolas Glacobone, Armando Bo, Birdman
Best Foreign Language Film: IDA
Best Animated Feature: Big Hero 6
Best Production Design: Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Best Costume Design: Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Film Editing: Tom Cross, Whiplash
Documentary Feature: Citizenfour
Make-Up and Hair: Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Music, Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Original Song: Glory, Selma
Sound Mixing: Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley, Whiplash
Sound Editing: Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman, American Sniper
Visual Effects: Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, Scott Fisher, Interstellar
Documentary Short: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Short Film (Animated): Feast
Short Film (Live Action): The Phone Call
Of course, Birdman landing the Oscar for Best Cinematography is a no-brainer. After all, the impress of a practically seamless single-take was an impressive feat… and really paid off when it came to immersing the audience in the dismantling of Riggan’s whole world.
But what about everyone else’s wins?
The big surprise here has to be Big Hero 6. After all, in a category up against The Boxtrolls and How To Train Your Dragon 2, it must have been a pretty close race. And I can’t help thinking that The Boxtrolls was a far better crafted film.
But if The LEGO Movie had been included, I can’t help thinking it would have been over before you could say “everything is awesome!”
Thankfully, J.K. Simmons landed Best Supporting Actor – an award that was almost certainly guaranteed from the outset. And Eddie Redmayne took home Best Actor for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking. Oscar-bait? Almost certainly… but it seemed to work, nonetheless.
What are your thoughts on this year’s Academy Awards? Are there any films you think were robbed? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
