“Birdman” flies high on white-dominated Oscar night

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24 (NsNewsWire) — Alejandro G. Inarritu, director of black comedy movie “Birdman,” went onto the stage of the 87th annual Academy Awards ceremony three times on Sunday night.

He was the biggest winner on the Oscar night, receiving three golden statuettes for best original screenplay, for best director and, at last, for best film, reports Xinhua.

The quirky film, starring Michael Keaton, is about a faded Hollywood actor — who once played iconic superhero Birdman — struggling to recover his family, his career and himself in the days leading up to the opening of a Broadway play.

Inarritu co-wrote and directed the movie, whose full name is “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).” In his acceptance speech, Inarritu first thanked his good luck.

“Tonight I am wearing the real Michael Keaton tighty whities,” he said, referring to a famous scene from the film. “They worked. I’m here. Thank you, Michael.”

Inarritu made history in 2006 by becoming the first Mexican director to be nominated for Oscar’s best director for his drama “Babel.”

Other films nominated for the best motion picture included “Boyhood,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game,” “The Theory of Everything,” “Selma,” “American Sniper” and “Whiplash.”

Other nominees for best director included Richard Linklater for “Boyhood,” Bennett Miller for “Foxcatcher,” Wes Anderson for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and Morten Tyldum for “The Imitation Game.”

According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 323 films were eligible for the best picture nomination this year. To be eligible for the 87th Academy Awards, films must open in a commercial movie theatre in Los Angeles County by midnight Dec. 31 and have a minimum run of at least seven consecutive days.

They also must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and be shown on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.