The Academy Awards have always been considered to be boring and stuffy, but host Ellen DeGeneres proved critics wrong by bringing memorable moments to the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2.
Her second time hosting the star-studded awards, Ellen DeGeneres kept the audience entertained with funny and record-setting jokes.
One of the most entertaining moments was when DeGeneres handed out pizza to the stars. It was refreshing to watch Brad Pitt distribute paper plates to his peers and to see the actresses eat while wearing expensive attire.
The most memorable moment belonged to the epic star-studded selfie. DeGeneres’ goal was to take the “best selfie ever” and to break the record for most retweets. The selfie gathered some of the biggest stars in Hollywood including Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep and Kevin Spacey.
The selfie gave a fun element to the show. Usually in award shows, you don’t get to see stars having fun with each other. Having so many great celebrities together and in a picture was a great way of showing how not all actors are stuffy and arrogant.
The picture broke the record for the most retweeted photo on Twitter and showed that the award show is still a popular event.
The most cringe-worthy moment belonged to John Travolta, who mispronounced the singer Idina Menzel’s name by introducing her as Adele Dazim. It was a horrible mistake since he was reading of a teleprompter. Despite the mishap, Menzel still gave the best performance of the night belting out the song “Let It Go” from Disney’s “Frozen.”
The top honors of the night belonged to “12 years of Slave” and “Gravity.”
The film “Gravity” won 7 awards including best director but the drama “12 Years a Slave” took the top honor of the night receiving the award for Best Picture. Director Steve McQueen made a heart-warming speech dedicating the award to all the people who have suffered and are still suffering from slavery.
Many were rooting for Jennifer Lawrence to win Best Supporting Actress but newcomer Lupita Nyong’o took home the award for her performance in “12 Years a Slave”.
Not only did Nyong’o beat Lawrence, she also stole the show with the cinderella inspired dress she wore.
It was no surprise that Jared Leto was named Best Supporting Actor. The actor was the front-runner of the award, having already won both the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild Award.
The Best Actor and Actress awards went to Cate Blanchett and Matthew McConaughey. Both delivered the best speeches of the night.
Cate Blanchett gave an incredible speech, slamming Hollywood stereotypes and declaring that audiences want to see more female centric films.
McCounaughey delivered one of the most unique speeches of the night by describing how his hero would always be himself in 10 years. Being as it is something unattainable and something he will always be chasing.
The Academy Awards had many iconic and memorable moments. The show showed how Hollywood is still an important and popular event in our society.
