‘12 Years a Slave’ rises up at Academy38 Awards TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2014

Host Ellen DeGeneres speaks onstage. — AP/AFP photos Ellen DeGeneres brings pizza and deadpan affability to Oscars Key quotes from Oscars night

Host Ellen DeGeneres with pizza delivery man onstage. Host Ellen DeGeneres and actor Jared Leto onstage.

omedienne and talk show star Ellen DeGeneres returned as Oscar host on Sunday, bringing her Cdeadpan affability, and free pizza, to the 86th Actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Lupita Nyong’o backstage. —AFP Academy Awards show while still poking fun at Hollywood royalty. In a back-to-basics approach to a live, The following is a list of key quotes from the 86th Academy Awards held 3 1/2- hour telecast that largely eschewed sophisticated Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood: clip montages and lavish song-and-dance productions, DeGeneres displayed her flair for playing informality for Facing a painful past, and present: laughs. “I dedicate this award to all the people who have endured slavery and the Shrugging off complaints from some critics that the 21 million people who still suffer slavery today.”Director Steve McQueen, on breezy levity of her first Oscar stint in 2007 was at odds accepting the best picture Oscar for his epic “12 Years a Slave.” with the Academy Awards’ traditional sense of decorum, DeGeneres forayed into the Dolby Theatre audience sev- Inspiration from above: eral times during Sunday’s show to mingle with the film “To my father, I know he’s up there right now, with a big pot of gumbo. He’s industry elite, as she did seven years before. She handed a faux consolation prize - a pair of lottery tickets - to got a lemon meringue pie, and he’s probably up there with a cold can of “American Hustle” star Bradley Cooper after he lost his bid Miller Lite.” Matthew McConaughey, best actor Oscar winner for his role in for best supporting actor; took a “selfie” snapshot with a “Dallas Buyers Club.” group of nominees that was swiftly re-tweeted more than Acting her age “Sit down, you’re too old to be standing.” Cate Blanchett, 44, to the Academy Awards audience who greets her with a standing ovation as she accepts her best actress Oscar for portraying a fallen New York socialite in This image released by Ellen DeGeneres shows actors front row from left, Jared Leto, Jennifer “Blue Jasmine.” Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Ellen DeGeneres, Bradley Cooper, Peter Nyong’o Jr., and, second row, from left, Channing Tatum, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’o and Angelina Jolie as A selfie seen round the world they pose for a ‘selfie’ portrait on a cell phone. “We crashed and broke Twitter. We have made history!” Oscar Host Ellen DeGeneres, after a “selfie” photograph of her surrounded by A-listers includ- Wizard of Oz,” lit up social media site Twitter earlier on ing Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt became the most retweeted Twitter message Sunday after a red carpet appearance in which she ever. The photo has been retweeted more than 2.2 million times, shattering looked shaky, sported a blue streak in her hair, and was the previous record of 800,000 set by President Barack Obama’s re-election apparently bra-less under her blue silk pants suit. In message in November 2012. another pithy moment, DeGeneres declared two possible scenarios for the final outcome of the Oscar race: Leto on Ukraine, Venezuela “Possibility No. 1, ‘12 Years a Slave’ wins best picture. “To all of the dreamers out there around the world watching this tonight, in Host Ellen DeGeneres speaks onstage. Possibility No. 2, you’re all racists.” places like Ukraine and Venezuela, I want to say, we are here. And as you Her most sexually explicit gag of the night came when she referred obliquely to Jonah Hill’s masturbation scene struggle to make your dreams happen, to live the impossible, we’re think- 2 million times during the show; and even ushered a piz- ing of you tonight.” Jared Leto, accepting the first major award of the za delivery guy into the auditorium to hand out slices to in the film “The Wolf of Wall Street” and her own sexual evening, for best supporting actor in “Dallas Buyers Club.” the stars, then called on producer Harvey Weinstein to orientation. “You showed us something in that film that I pay the tip. have not seen for a very, very long time,” she told Hill. “No pressure, only a billion people are watching, DeGeneres, 56, made broadcast history in 1997 as the Filipino pride whatever you feel is right,” she shouted. While mostly first openly gay lead character on US prime-time televi- “Filipino pride. I’m so excited, I’m just sending love to the Philippines. I veering away from the ribald streak that marked Seth Actors Kevin Spacey, actors Lupita Nyong’o, Brad sion, shortly after she came out publicly as a lesbian in know they’ve had a tough year and I just send out my feelings to them.” MacFarlane’s widely panned, and far more provocative, Pitt, and host Ellen DeGeneres in the audience. real life. Her return Oscar engagement came a year after Robert Lopez, whose tune “Let It Go” from the animated feature “Frozen” stint as emcee last year, DeGeneres showed she was not MacFarlane, the creator of the animated sitcom “Family won the Oscar for best original song, on becoming the first Filipino- gratulated Squibb for her role in “Nebraska.” She then Guy,” drew critical scorn for a risque performance that above mocking the movie industry’s biggest stars. American to win an Academy Award. With his win, Lopez has earned a rare raised her voice to directly address Squibb as if the nomi- included zingers about gays, Jews and domestic violence, She zeroed in on supporting actress nominee, and last “EGOT”: he has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. nee were hard of hearing, saying, “I’m telling everyone and a musical tribute to female frontal nudity called “We year’s best actress winner, Jennifer Lawrence, recalling that you were wonderful in ‘Nebraska.’” Saw Your Boobs.” A first-timer’s thrill that the star famously tripped on the stairs to the stage Early reviews of DeGeneres’ latest performance were on her way to accepting her Oscar in 2013. DeGeneres Leto and Liza mostly positive. Variety’s TV columnist Brian Lowry gave “I can’t believe this is in my hands.” Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o, back- also alluded to how Lawrence, 23, nominated for her role But in perhaps her most cutting jab of the night, her points for “playful jabs” at the stars that “managed to stage after accepting her Oscar statuette for best supporting actress for her in “American Hustle,” stumbled again on the red carpet on DeGeneres recognized the presence in the audience of feel fun without being mean-spirited,” saying that her role in “12 Years a Slave.” Sunday. veteran actress-singer and Oscar winner Liza Minnelli by opening monologue “screamed of a desire to dial back “If you win tonight, I think we should bring you the calling attention to “one of the most amazing Liza the show to safer terrain.” USA Today said DeGeneres Understatement of the evening Oscar,” DeGeneres dead-panned, as the audience, includ- Minnelli impersonators I have ever seen in my life.” As the kicked off her sophomore Oscar run “in uproarious fash- “Making a film can be a traumatic experience.”Alfonso Cuaron, picking up ing Lawrence, erupted in laughter. Turning to June camera cut to Minnelli, and back to DeGeneres, the host ion,” and the Washington Post review said that DeGeneres his Oscar for best director for his 3D space drama “Gravity,” the night’s big Squibb, whom she noted was the oldest performer ever added, “Good job, sir.” Minnelli, 67, who was honored later “told jokes that were easy on the ears, gentle on the mind winner with seven awards. — AFP nominated for an acting Oscar at age 84, DeGeneres con- in the evening in a tribute to her mother’s movie, “The and, for the most part, sparingly nice.” — Reuters