Last Sunday night, viewers around the globe tuned in to watch the biggest night in Hollywood; but this time the eighty-seventh Annual Academy Awards were not the same old song and dance. Despite the rainy night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the four-hour-long show hosted by Neil Patrick Harris was filled with the hottest stars and biggest performances.
Arts Commentary
And what isn’t the Oscars without an outrageous musical number? The comedic group The Lonely Island sang with rock duo Tegan and Sara for a Lego-themed musical number complete with audience interaction and Lego-constructed Oscars of “Everything Is Awesome.” Following the performance, Patricia Arquette won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Boyhood and used her speech to share her views on wage equality, which resulted in a passionate standing ovation from Meryl Streep.
Common and John Legend stole the stage after their moving performance of “Glory” from Selma. “Glory” was then awarded Best Original Song by Idina Menzel and John Travolta, who joked together about Travolta’s announcement mishap at last year’s Oscars.
Lady Gaga’s tribute to the classic The Sound of Music was another highlight from the show. After her medley, Julie Andrews appeared onstage to rave about the performance.
The highly anticipated award for Actor in a Leading Role was given to first-time nominee Eddie Redmayne for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Following this, Actress in a Leading Role was given to Oscar veteran Julianne Moore for Still Alice. As midnight rolled around, Birdman soared to win its third Oscar for the most-talked about award of the night, Best Picture.