Oscars 2015 analysis: Beyond the glitz, Hollywood's diversity problem is simmering

About an hour before the Academy Awards began, I ran into one of the producers of “Birdman” in the bustling lobby of the Dolby Theater. Like any nominee would be, he was nervous, even though his film had swept all of the major Hollywood guild awards leading up to the Oscars, winning top honors from the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.

The reason for his anxiety was obvious: Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Birdman” not only was facing a stout competitor from Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood,” but “Birdman” also had proved to be a divisive film for some audience members, with more than a few people finding the film too arty and emotionally distant.

In the end, Iñárritu’s dark comedy about an actor (played by Michael Keaton) in the midst of an existential crisis united the only moviegoers who mattered on Sunday night: Academy Award voters. And the film’s best picture win brought the second consecutive top award for distributor Fox Searchlight and production company New Regency Pictures, which teamed last year on “12 Years a Slave.”

Outside of the suspense over the best picture winner, the ceremony had few surprises, and the distribution of trophies was remarkably balanced. “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” won four Oscars each, but every one of the eight movies nominated for best picture garnered at least one statuette.

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A few films expected to win did not, including “How to Train Your Dragon 2” in the animated feature category, where the film lost to “Big Hero 6.” In a mild upset, composer Alexandre Desplat won the Oscar for “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” beating both himself (he also was nominated for his music for “The Imitation Game”) and Jóhann Jóhannsson, who did the score for “The Imitation Game.”

Few people expected “Whiplash” to win for best editing (which it did), and in the only other small shocker, “Birdman” took the original screenplay Oscar, topping “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which had taken that honor from the Writers Guild of America.

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were criticized for failing to nominate a single person of color in the 20 slots for the four acting categories. As comedian and former ceremony host Chris Rock caustically Tweeted on Sunday: “really hoping a rich famous white person wins an Oscar tonight.”

The producers of the ceremony tried to compensate for the imbalance by filling the ranks of presenters with black actors (including TV personalities such as Kerry Washington),  but the only win of the entire night for any African American in any category was to Common and John Legend for their song “Glory” from “Selma.”

Oscars host Neil Patrick Harris jokingly addressed the film industry's diversity problem when he welcomed the audience to Hollywood's gathering of "the best and the whitest."

Of course, there was an element of truth in the joke. The question is whether Hollywood will treat diversity as more than a punch line.

John Horn is host of "The Frame," KPCC's daily arts, entertainment and culture program.