12 Years a Slave WINS Oscar for Best PicturePosted by Wilson Morales
March 3, 2014
A Reprint from The Hollywood Reporter
12 Years a Slave took home the top prize at the 86th Academy Awards, winning Best Picture and two other Oscars.
Directed by Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave also took home statuettes for best supporting actress (Lupita Nyong’o) and best adapted screenplay (John Ridley).
“It’s been an absolute privilege to work on Solomon [Northup]’s story,” producer Brad Pitt said when he took the stage to accept the award, praising the “indomitable” McQueen, who was a bumbling ball of nerves when he approached the microphone. McQueen took the moment to thank Pitt, who he said without his support “the film would never have been made.” McQueen endearingly stumbled through his speech, aided by a piece of paper, requesting an additional minute to thank his long list of supporters — including his mother and children.
“Everyone deserves not just to survive but to live. This is the most important legacy of Solomon Northup,” McQueen said. He concluded his speech, “I dedicate this to everyone who have endured slavery” and to those who continue to endure slavery.
“I can’t believe this is in my hands,” Nyong’o said, holding up her statue. “I cant believe this is real life. I’m really overwhelmed.” The actress, who made her feature film debut in Steve McQueen‘s drama, has had a whirlwind awards season, topping it off with a win at the Academy Awards. “What I’ve learned for myself is that I don’t have to be anybody else and that myself is good enough,” she told reporters. “When I’m being true to myself, I can avail myself to such extraordinary things — such as this!”
On his first nomination, John Ridley won the adapted-screenplay prize for “12 Years a Slave,” from Solomon Northup’s memoir. Ridley became only the second black person to win an Oscar in the writing category, after Geoffrey Fletcher for “Precious,” states Variety. The award-winning screenwriter is also the author of seven novels and three graphic novels. His well-known work includes Oliver Stone‘s U-Turn, David O. Russell’s Three Kings and the George Lucas-produced Red Tails.
12 Years a Slave, set years before the Civil War, follows the story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. Subjected to the cruelty of one owner (Michael Fassbender), he finds kindness from another, as he struggles to survive and maintain his dignity. In the 12th year of the disheartening ordeal, a chance meeting with an abolitionist from Canada changes Solomon’s life.
Overall, Gravity won the most Oscars with a total of seven, dominating the crafts categories. Dallas Buyers Club took home three awards, including wins for best actor Matthew McConaughey and supporting actor Jared Leto.
Blue Jasmine’s Cate Blanchett was named best actress, while Alfonso Cuaron won best director for Gravity.
BEST PICTURE
12 Years a Slave – Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack, Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Before Midnight, written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips, screenplay by Billy Ray
Philomena, screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
12 Years a Slave, screenplay by John Ridley
The Wolf of Wall Street, screenplay by Terence Winter
FILM EDITING
Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten, American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity
John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa, Dallas Buyers Club
Christopher Rouse, Captain Phillips
Joe Walker, 12 Years a Slave
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgium
The Great Beauty, Italy
The Hunt, Denmark
The Missing Picture, Cambodia
Omar, Palestine
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)
Helium
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger A. Deakins, Prisoners
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
Philippe Le Sourd, The Grandmaster
Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska
ORIGINAL SCORE
William Butler and Owen Pallett, Her
Alexandre Desplat, Philomena
Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks
Steven Price, Gravity
John Williams, The Book Thief
ORIGINAL SONG
“Happy” from Despicable Me 2
“Let It Go” from Frozen
“The Moon Song” from Her
“Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
COSTUME DESIGN
Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby
Patricia Norris, 12 Years a Slave
Michael O’Connor, The Invisible Woman
William Chang Suk Ping, The Grandmaster
Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle
PRODUCTION DESIGN
K.K. Barrett and Gene Serdena, Her
Judy Becker and Heather Loeffler, American Hustle
Catherine Martin and Beverley Dunn, The Great Gatsby
Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard, Gravity
Adam Stockhausen and Alice Baker, 12 Years a Slave
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny, The Lone Ranger
Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews, Dallas Buyers Club
Stephen Prouty, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
VISUAL EFFECTS
Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier, The Lone Ranger
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton, Star Trek Into Darkness
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick, Iron Man 3
Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould, Gravity
SOUND EDITING
Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns, All Is Lost
Brent Burge and Chris Ward, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Glenn Freemantle, Gravity
Wylie Stateman, Lone Survivor
Oliver Tarney, Captain Phillips
SOUND MIXING
Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro, Captain Phillips
Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow, Lone Survivor
Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro, Gravity
Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland, Inside Llewyn Davis
ShareTweet
