“Frozen,” from Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and Peter Del Vecho, was set in an epic, magical, fairy-tale land of ice and snow – a visually stunning movie that pushed new boundaries in CGI. It beat out two other CG masterpieces, “The Croods,” from DreamWorks Animation and “Despicable Me 2” from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment. Also competing were the beautiful cel-like creations “Ernest & Celestine” from La Parti Productions, Les Armateurs, and Maybe Movies and “The Wind Rises” from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.
The trio was fast in their thanks and acknowledgments. In fact, as Lee pointed out, their acceptance speech was going to be a collaborative effect as well, referring to their efforts on the film.
Continuing in the Animation category, for the Best Short Animated Film, the award went to “Mr. Hublot” (Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares). The others in the category were “Feral” (Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden), Get a Horse! (Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim), “Possessions” (Shuhei Morita), and “Room on the Broom” (Max Lang and Jan Lachauer). http://www.cgw.com/Press-Center/Web-Exclusives/2014/The-Long-and-Short-of-It.aspx
“Mr. Hublot” was Witz’s first time as a director and producer, and the first for Espigares as co-director. Witz was quick to thank the Academy for supporting shorts and new talent. “I feel it’s an American dream,” he said in his speech.
For Best Visual Effects, “Gravity” rose to the occasion with its out-of-this-world visual effects, with statues given to Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, and Neil Corbould. The film has been lauded for its unique work that placed the actors in zero gravity. Like last year’s winner, “Life of Pi,” the movie would have been nearly impossible to produce without the use of digital effects. The film won the war in space against “Star Trek Into Darkness,” as well as the fantasy “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” and the diverse hero movies “Iron Man 3” and “The Lone Ranger.”
Webber acknowledged the competitive field in this year’s race. “Visual effects and filmmaking is all about the team,” he said, taking time to mention David Heyman, Nikki Penny, Emmanuel Lubezki, all of the shooting crew, RSP, and the “incredible team” at Framestore.
“It seemed like a crazy project, so thank you to Warner Bros., and in particular, Chris De Faria for believing in it,” added Webber. He then thanked Alfonso Cuarón “for having the vision of this breathtaking film, the audacity to make it happen, and the courage to trust us to have such a big part in making it come to life.”
Cuarón also received the Oscar for Direction in “Gravity.” Backstage, he pointed to the sophistication of the work by visual effects house Framestore and the British film industry.
When the night was over, “Gravity” came up the overall big winner, capturing the gold in seven categories. “12 Years a Slave” captured, as did “Dallas Buyers Club.” Going into the evening, “American Hustle” and “Gravity” led the 2014 pack with the most nominations, followed with “12 Years a Slave” with nine.
When it came to Best Picture, “12 Years a Slave” received the award.
The list of winners includes:
Best Picture: "12 Years a Slave."
Actor: Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club."
Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine."
Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club."
Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave."
Directing: Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity."
Foreign Language Film: "The Great Beauty," Italy.
Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave."
Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze, "Her."
Animated Feature Film: "Frozen."
Production Design: "The Great Gatsby."
Cinematography: "Gravity."
Sound Mixing: "Gravity."
Sound Editing: "Gravity."
Original Score: "Gravity," Steven Price.
Original Song: "Let It Go" from "Frozen."
Costume: "The Great Gatsby."
Makeup and Hairstyling: "Dallas Buyers Club."
Animated Short Film: "Mr. Hublot."
Documentary Feature: "20 Feet from Stardom."
Documentary (short subject): "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life."
Film Editing: "Gravity."
Live Action Short Film: "Helium."
Visual Effects: "Gravity."
Honorary Oscars were presented to:
Peter W. Anderson
Film-processing labs over past century
Angelina Jolie
Angela Lansbury
Steve Martin
Piero Tosi