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| Lupita Nyong'o accepts the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the 2014 Academy Awards ceremony. |
The 86th Academy Awards
Ceremony date: March 2, 2014
Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyer’s
Club
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
We moved to New York City on January 28, 2014. By the time
of the 86th Academy Awards, I was still without a job and we were without a
permanent residence. We were staying in a sublet in Harlem around 135th Street.
We watched the ceremony from a dingy hotel in Midtown Manhattan with one of
those windows that looks out onto a brick wall. The wallpaper was ancient, the
lightning was drab, and like much of the city, it was almost charming in its
antiquity.
I have mentioned in this series how I tend to make major
life changes just before the Oscars. Leaving my job, my friends, my family, my
home, and everything else back in California to move clear across the country
certainly qualifies. I have changed jobs, changed states, and added life
partners, but the cardinal rule of my life never changes: I don’t miss the
Oscars.
So, here we were, settled into our hotel. We ordered in
Italian, which in New York City is basically always good. If you ever find
yourself out east and need recommendations, I have many of them. Just ask. Tell
‘em Anthony sent you. They won’t know me, but the look of confusion should be
worth the price of admission.
The last time I had watched the ceremony from a hotel room
was 2007, when Ellen DeGeneres hosted. Now, seven years later, sitting in a
hotel room on the other side of the country, there was Ellen hosting again. I
always like her as a host. You know it will not be edgy, but it will be fun. I
dislike when the host attacks the audience. It is a big night for everyone.
Let’s just have some fun.
The talk-show world in the past decade has really handed
itself over to wacky stunts and a desire to go viral. Ellen brought that energy
to the ceremony this year when she ordered pizza for the audience and got out
among the crowd to take the selfie shared ‘round the world. If you ever doubt
the power or popularity of the Oscars or someone suggests the awards mean
nothing to real people, remember that the selfie of Ellen, Lupita Nyong’o, Brad
Pitt, Meryl Streep, et al, literally broke Twitter. It shut the website down
briefly. The photo was shared by 3.4 million people. That’s power. That’s
influence. That’s the Oscars.
As for the awards, it was Gravity vs. 12 Years a
Slave. Alfonso Cuarón’s technically accomplished but, forgive the pun,
airless space epic was probably the slight favorite heading into the night.
That said, Steve McQueen’s Solomon Northup biopic had tied Gravity for
the Producers Guild award and won the BAFTA for best film. So, it was neck and
neck.
All night, Gravity just kept racking up awards, seven
in all, including Best Director. Before the final envelope was opened, the
tally was 7-2, with 12 Years a Slave having won Best Adapted Screenplay
and Best Supporting Actress for Nyong’o (which we will talk about in a second).
Then, Will Smith opened the envelope and announced 12 Years a Slave. I
was ecstatic. I jumped out of my seat. McQueen was ecstatic, as well, and
jumped for joy on the Oscars stage. His speech was beautiful, bold, and
brilliant. It was as exultant as I have ever been watching the ceremony.
Back in January, I called 12 Years a Slave the best movie of the decade. Beyond that, I think it is one of the best films of all
time, a modern masterpiece, and the greatest Best Picture winner ever. I am
aware of the company that puts it ahead of: Casablanca, The Godfather
and The Godfather Part II, Schindler’s List, Sunrise, Annie
Hall, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Midnight Cowboy. All
great. All pantheon films. So is 12 Years a Slave.
I initially conceived this series of Oscars-watching
remembrances after the joy I felt seeing Parasite win Best Picture. That
made me think about the other moments watching this ceremony over the years
that gave me equal joy. The series has drifted from that original thesis, but
the desire to reflect on those joyous moments remains, and when I think about
Oscars-watching joy, this is the year that comes to mind.
The Best Picture win for 12 Years a Slave is probably
my second-favorite Oscars moment ever. It was an instance of the Academy just
getting it exactly right. My favorite all-time Academy Awards moment, however,
came a little less than two hours earlier on the same night, when Christoph
Waltz announced Lupita Nyong’o as the Best Supporting Actress.
Nyong’o was definitely the frontrunner, having won the
Screen Actors Guild award, but she lost the BAFTA and the Golden Globe to
reigning Best Actress Jennifer Lawrence. So, I had a terrible feeling in the
pit of my stomach that the Academy might pass up one of the great screen
performances of the decade for subpar work in a mediocre movie. Thankfully,
that did not happen.
Then, to top it off, Nyong’o got on stage and gave one of
the great speeches in Academy history. I know I am using a lot of superlatives
to describe this night, but if any film and performance have earned them, this
film and this performance have. I have watched Nyong’o’s gracious, heartfelt
speech 20 times, and I will likely watch it 20 more and then some. It never
fails to bring a tear to my eye. If you have not seen it recently, go back and
watch it. The actress displays the kind of humility and awareness of the moment
to which we should all aspire.
My life was in disarray. Savings were dwindling. Our sublet
would be up in four weeks. Jen was working hard, but it could not continue like
that forever. The future was as uncertain as it has ever been. I needed this
night. I needed these winners. For whatever else Hollywood does, it provides us
an escape – something we are all reflecting on amid the pandemic. At that
moment in time and that place in my life, I needed Ellen DeGeneres taking a
selfie, Lupita Nyong’o thanking the Academy, and Steve McQueen jumping for joy.
And, there they were, right when I needed them.
Quick notes: The dual wins for Dallas Buyers Club
in the Actor and Supporting Actor categories still bums me out. Matthew
McConaughey and Jared Leto were good in an underwhelming film, but better work
was passed over. … If you have never seen Best Live Action Short winner Helium,
seek it out. It is truly lovely. … This ceremony also featured a random 75th
anniversary tribute to The Wizard of Oz. Again, these are the things we
need to cut if we want a shorter show. Someone, take notes.
Next time: I have a job in an office, and in that office,
I will watch Birdman triumph.
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