The 87th Academy Awards

By Isabella Dale

The 87th Academy Awards were held on Sunday, February 22 at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The event celebrated a year of cinematography, awarding winners of each respected category with what is officially called an Academy Award of Merit, or more commonly known as an “Oscar.”

Winners included Eddie Redmayne (Actor in a Leading Role), Julianne Moore (Actress in a Leading Role), J.K. Simmons (Actor in a Supporting Role), and Patricia Arquette (Actress in a Supporting Role), while "Birdman: or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance" won Best Picture and "Big Hero 6" won best Animated Feature Film. 

“I was happy Eddie Redmayne won (Best Actor)” said Hannah Alimajstorovic, a University of the Cumberlands freshman and frequent Academy Awards follower. “He deserved an Oscar because he’s done too many good movies to ignore.” 

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The event, which was hosted by comedian and "How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris, lasted almost 4 hours and saw Lady Gaga perform a “Sound of Music” tribute in honour of Julie Andrews which was the main performance of the night. The Dolby Theatre stage was filled with many other performances from various artists throughout the night such as Adam Levine, Rita Ora, John Legend, Jack Black, Anna Kendrick and Tim McGraw. 

“I was disappointed Patricia Arquette won (Actress in supporting Role),” said Marie 
Bozeman, a freshman at UC interested in entering the entertainment business as a producer after undergrad. “I was going for Meryl (Streep) or Keira (Knightley) to win because they both have a better foundation of acting.” 

"Birdman: or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance" won best Cinematography, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" won Best Costume Design, "CitizenFour" won best Documentary Feature and "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1" won Best Documentary Short Subject. 

“My favourite part about the show would have to be the presentations of the awards,” said Sydni Grimes, a junior at UC. “I thought they did an amazing job and everything looked so professional, as it always does at the Oscars.”