Last Sunday was the biggest night in Hollywood, as the 87th annual Academy Awards took over the Staples Center in downtown Los Angles. With a variety of phenomenal films, actors, and actresses nominated for awards the evening was looking like it would be quite interesting. Neil Patrick Harris hosted the event. Harris has hosted the Tony Awards a number of times before, so it came as no surprise that he kicked off the evening with a musical number.
The song, “Moving Pictures” was a fun, upbeat way to start off the evening and featured cameos from Anna Kendrick, dressed as her character Cinderella from Into the Wood, and Jack Black who sang a snippet of comic criticism about the movie industry.

The first award of the night, Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, went to J.K. Simmons for his performance in “Whiplash.” He gave a lovely speech in which he talked about how wonderful his wife and children are. There was then a handful of awards presented including Best Foreign-Language Film and Achievement in Costume Design before the award for Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role was presented. Best Foreign-Language Film went to the Polish film “Ida,” directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, and Achievement in Costume Design went to Milena Canonero for her work on “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role went to Patricia Arquette for her role in “Boyhood.” Her speech received loud cheers from the audience as she quickly listed all the people she wanted to thank and went on to call for wage equality.

During the course of the show, Neil Patrick Harris made comedic appearance on stage, once even appearing in nothing but his tighty whiteys in a tribute to the film “Birdman.” Following this shock, award presentation continued with categories including Best Animated Feature film and Achievement in Production Design. Best Animated Feature Film went to Disney Animation’s “Big Hero Six,” while Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock recieved Achievement in Production Design for their work on “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

The Oscars also included a number of fantastic musical performances by popular artists, including Adam Levine, The Lonely Island, Jennifer Hudson, and Lady Gaga. The most notable ones of the evening were performed by John Legend and Common, and Lady Gaga. John Legend and Common’s rendition of “Glory” from the film “Selma” was beautiful and powerful; it received a standing ovation and moved David Oyelowo, the star of the film, to tears. Lady Gaga performed a masterful medley of songs from “The Sound of Music” in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary.

The evening wrapped up with the presentation of the night’s most highly anticipated awards: Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, and Best Motion Picture of the Year. The award for Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role went to Eddie Redmayne for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything.” Redmayne was so excited to receive the award; he had a momentary freak-out mid-speech. Julianne Moore received the award for Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, for her role in “Still Alice.” The festivities came to an end with the presentation of Best Motion Picture of the Year which went to “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”