In a close match between “The Aviator” and
“Million Dollar Baby,” the latter packed a fatal punch
for the dreams of Martin Scorsese.
While Scorsese’s “The Aviator” beat out
“Million Dollar Baby” in terms of sheer number of
awards (five and four, respectively), “Baby” swept the
major awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress
and Best Supporting Actor.
Though the appeal of “Million Dollar Baby” was in
its acting and directing, the strength of “The Aviator”
was in its technical efforts. The Howard Hughes biopic won awards
for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best
Costume Design and Best Supporting Actress.
Best Actress Hilary Swank, a shoo-in for her award, was
overwhelmed by the Academy’s decision to honor her acting
skills for a second time. She first won the award in 2000 for her
performance in “Boys Don’t Cry.”
“I don’t know what I did in this life to deserve all
this. I’m just a girl from a trailer park who had a
dream,” Swank said.
Like Swank, Morgan Freeman, who won Best Supporting Actor,
credited director Clint Eastwood for the success of “Million
Dollar Baby.” It was Freeman’s first award, though he
had been nominated three times before ““ once for supporting
actor, and twice for leading actor.
“This was a labor of love,” Freeman said.
But in a year where boxing reigned in the Academy’s arena,
so too did deceased legendary icons.
Cate Blanchett, who won Best Supporting Actress for her role as
Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator,” extensively thanked
the cast and crew of the film for her success.
“When you play someone as terrifyingly well-known as
Hepburn, it’s a collaborative effort. You need as much help
as you can get,” Blanchett said. “Thank you
(especially) to Miss Hepburn. The longevity of her career is
inspiring to everyone.”
Jamie Foxx, whose portrayal of the late Ray Charles in
“Ray” garnered him the Oscar for Best Actor, began his
acceptance speech with an ode to his biographical character as
well, singing the first few notes of one of Charles’s
songs.
“Thank you, Ray Charles, for living,” Foxx said
humbly.
UCLA walked away from the Oscars as a winner too. UCLA alumnus
Alexander Payne won Best Adapted Screenplay for
“Sideways.” During his acceptance speech, Payne thanked
Fox Searchlight for “letting (him) make a film with complete
creative freedom.”
Other major winners include Spanish films, which picked up the
Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for “The Sea Inside”
and Best Original Song for “Al Otro Lado Del Rio”
(“The Other Side of the River”) in “The
Motorcycle Diaries.” Pixar’s “The
Incredibles” won for Best Animated Film and Best Sound
Editing, and “Finding Neverland” picked up Best
Original Score.
In the biggest change from previous Oscars ceremonies, many of
this year’s awards were announced and handed out with all the
nominees behind the presenter on stage. A few awards were even
presented in the aisles of the Kodak Theatre. The changes were made
to cut time off the notoriously long awards show, but the telecast
still clocked in at over three hours.
And while the golden statue eluded Scorsese once again, the
Academy did finally recognize Charlie Kaufman, who won Best
Original Screenplay for his script “Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind.”
If all else fails, at least Scorsese won’t have to worry
about finding a marriage partner for his daughter.
“On behalf of everyone I know in “˜The
Aviator,’ thank you to Martin Scorsese. I hope my son will
marry your daughter,” Blanchett said at the end of her
acceptance speech.
With reports from Jake Tracer, Bruin senior staff.