The movie ‘Gravity’ ended up being a force to reckon with at the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday, with the space thriller pulling in seven Oscars — including Best Director.
Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, the movie followed the aftermath of an orbital disaster. Despite criticism from some about the movie’s accuracy, the film picked up 10 nominations and numerous good vibes from critics. (The movie has a 97% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes). You can see congratulations from NASA astronauts Mike Massimino and Cady Coleman below the jump.
“Like any other human endeavor, a film is a transformative experience, and I want to thank Gravity because for many of us involved in this film, it was definitely a transformative experience,” said director Alfonso Cuarón in his acceptance speech last night (March 2).
“And it’s good because it took so long, if not, it would be a waste of time. It really sucks,” he joked, “because for a lot of people, the transformative experience was wisdom. For me, it was just the colour of my hair.”
Among the people Cuarón paid tribute to was Sandra Bullock, who was nominated for ‘Best Lead Actress’ but lost out to Cate Blanchett, who won for her performance in Blue Jasmine.
“You’re Gravity,’ Cuarón said to Bullock from the stage. “You’re the soul, heart of the film. You’re a most amazing collaborator and one of the best people I’ve ever met.”
The movie attracted 7 wins of its 10 Oscar nominations, failing to earn ‘Best Picture’ (which went to 12 Years A Slave), ‘Achievement in Production Design’ (given to American Hustle). and ‘Best Lead Actress’ Its wins were:
- Best director (Alfonso Cuarón);
- Achievement in cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki);
- Achievement in film editing (Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger);
- Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) (Steven Price);
- Achievement in sound editing (Glenn Freemantle);
- Achievement in sound mixing (Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro);
- Achivement in visual effects (Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould).
Yes, this fiction science film is full of errors and impossible situations. But as it has become so popular and has deserved so many prizes, I believe it is helping the cause of space exploration, as the general public and some politicians become more aware of the difficulties of the endeavor and the need to support (and finance) it