| 67th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Date | March 27, 1995 |
| Site | Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Hosted by | David Letterman |
| Produced by | Gil Cates |
| Directed by | Jeff Margolis |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | Forrest Gump |
| Most awards | Forrest Gump (6) |
| Most nominations | Forrest Gump (13) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | ABC |
| Duration | 3 hours, 32 minutes[1] |
| Ratings | 48.28 million 32.5% (Nielsen ratings) |
The67th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 27, 1995, at theShrine Auditorium inLos Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m.PST / 9:00 p.m.EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as the Oscars) in 23 categories honoring thefilms released in 1994. The ceremony, televised in the United States byABC, was produced byGilbert Cates and directed byJeff Margolis.[2] ComedianDavid Letterman hosted the show for the first time.[3] Three weeks earlier in a ceremony held at theRegent Beverly Wilshire Hotel inBeverly Hills, California on March 4, theAcademy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by hostJamie Lee Curtis.[4]
Forrest Gump won six awards, includingBest Picture.[5] Other winners includedEd Wood,The Lion King, andSpeed with two awards andThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert;Blue Sky,Bob's Birthday,Bullets Over Broadway,Burnt by the Sun,Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life,Legends of the Fall,The Madness of King George,Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision,Pulp Fiction,A Time for Justice, andTrevor with one. The telecast garnered more than 48 million viewers in the United States, making it the most watched Oscars telecast since the55th Academy Awards in 1983.
The nominees for the 67th Academy Awards were announced on February 14, 1995, at theSamuel Goldwyn Theater inBeverly Hills, California, byArthur Hiller, the then-president of the Academy, and actressAngela Bassett.[6]Forrest Gump earned the most nominations with thirteen. It was the most nominated film since 1966'sWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the fifth film to earn that many nominations.[7]Bullets Over Broadway,Pulp Fiction, andThe Shawshank Redemption tied for second with seven each.[8]
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 27, 1995. For only the second time in Oscar history, three of the four acting winners were previous winners. The11th ceremony held in 1939 previously accomplished this feat.[9] Best Actor winnerTom Hanks became the fifth performer to win consecutive acting Oscars and the second person to do so in the aforementioned category sinceSpencer Tracy won for his performances inCaptains Courageous (1937) andBoys Town (1938).[10][11] He also was the sixth person to win Best Actor twice.[12] Best Supporting Actress winnerDianne Wiest became the first person to win two acting Oscars for performances in films directed by the same person.[a] She first won in that same category for her role inWoody Allen's 1986 filmHannah and Her Sisters.[13]Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life andTrevor's joint win in the Best Live Action Short category marked the fifth occurrence of a tie in Oscar history; the next tie would occur at the85th Academy Awards in 2013.[14]
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Winners are listed first, highlighted inboldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[15]
The following 17 films received multiple nominations: | The following four films received multiple awards:
|
The following individuals, in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.[19]
| Name(s) | Role | Performed |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Conti | Musical arranger and Conductor | Orchestral |
| Tim Curry Kathy Najimy Mara Wilson | Performers | "Make 'Em Laugh" fromSingin' in the Rain during the opening number |
| Randy Newman | Performer | "Make Up Your Mind" fromThe Paper |
| Patty Smyth | Performer | "Look What Love Has Done" fromJunior |
| Hinton Battle Lebo M | Performers | "Circle of Life" fromThe Lion King |
| David Alan Grier Ernie Sabella | Performers | "Hakuna Matata" fromThe Lion King |
| Elton John | Performer | "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" fromThe Lion King |
Despite earning critical praise for theprevious year's ceremony, actress and comedianWhoopi Goldberg announced that she would not host the ceremony for a second consecutive year saying, "I've had a great time, but I've done it."[20] She added that her role in the upcoming movieBogus would jeopardize her busy schedule.[21] In addition, herComic Relief co-host and veteran Oscar emceeBilly Crystal declined to host the show citing his commitment to his filmForget Paris which he directed, wrote, starred in, and produced.[21] Producer Gil Cates hired actor, comedian, andLate Show hostDavid Letterman as host of the 1995 ceremony.[22] Cates explained his decision to hire the late-night talk show host saying, "He's punctual, he's well groomed, and he knows how to keep an audience awake."[23]ABC entertainment presidentTed Harbert also approved of the choice stating, "If Dave likes the experience, this could be a great answer for the show, just the wayJohnny Carson did the show for many years."[24]
As with previous ceremonies he produced, Cates centered the show on a theme. This year, he christened the show with the theme "Comedy and the Movies" commenting "This year, because of the earthquakes and floods andBosnia andRwanda, it was a (terrible) year, and therefore seemed a great year to celebrate what movies can really give us, which is an opportunity to go for two hours in the dark and laugh together. Even with television, it's not a community experience unless you have a very big family. So it's unique to movies and theater, and it's this very human thing."[23][25] In tandem with the theme, the ceremony's opening number featured a montage produced byChuck Workman featuring scenes of humorous moments from a variety of both comedic and non-comedic films projected on a large screen on the stage. During that segment, actorsTim Curry,Kathy Najimy, andMara Wilson performed a modified version of the song "Make 'Em Laugh" from the filmSingin' in the Rain, usingblue screen technology to make it appear that they were jumping in and out of the montage on the screen.[26][27] Several collections of film clips were shown throughout the broadcast highlighting various aspects of comedy such as troupes and dialogue.[28]
Several other people were also involved with the production of the ceremony.Bill Conti served as musical director and conductor for the event.[29] Production designer Roy Christopher designed a new stage for the ceremony which prominently featured aproscenium which was designed to resemble the iris of a camera.[30] Moreover, Christopher commented that the iris motif was inspired by theiris shot prominently featured in several comedic films and shorts.[25] Dancer Debbie Allen choreographedThe Lion King musical number.[31] ActorsAlec Baldwin,Jack Lemmon,Steve Martin, andRosie O'Donnell participated in a pre-taped comedic sketch lampooning auditions for a role inCabin Boy, the film in which Letterman made his film acting debut.[32]
At the time of the nominations announcement on February 14, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $468 million, with an average of $93.6 million per film.[33]Forrest Gump was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $300 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed byPulp Fiction ($76 million),Four Weddings and a Funeral ($52 million),Quiz Show ($21 million) andThe Shawshank Redemption ($16 million).[33]
Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 44 nominations went to 14 films on the list. OnlyForrest Gump (2nd),The Client (12th),Pulp Fiction (14th),Four Weddings and a Funeral (20th), andNell (41st) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, or Best Picture. The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations wereThe Lion King (1st),True Lies (3rd),Clear and Present Danger (6th),Speed (7th),The Mask (8th),Interview with the Vampire (10th),Maverick (11th),Legends of the Fall (27th) andLittle Women (31st).[34]
The show received a negative reception from most media publications. John J. O'Connor ofThe New York Times wrote, "Instead of keeping things moving smartly, Mr. Letterman stuck with his late-night shtick, too often leaving the show's pacing in shambles." He also added, "Within the show's first half-hour, with no strong hand at the helm, the audience simply sagged. Applause died long before most winners even reached the podium."[35] Television critic John Carman of theSan Francisco Chronicle commented, "Last night on ABC, no one got it. Hollywood's big event was wonderfully littered by technical errors, bad taste, low comedy and lower necklines." Moreover, he remarked, "Letterman, the rookie host, was off his game in his opening monologue. Maybe it was the big auditorium. Or a billion people in the television audience."[36] Film criticAndrew Sarris ofThe New York Observer quipped, "Not only was he not witty or funny, he never knew when to let bad enough alone." He concluded, "As the evening dragged on, it became obvious that Mr. Letterman had no gift for ad-libbing through the few unpredictable opportunities in a 'live' event like the Oscars."[37]People named the ceremony as one of the worst television broadcasts of 1995, summarizing it as follows: "a cranky skeptic visits the high temple of show business, mocks the gold-plated statuary and displays insufficient reverence for the gods. (Tom Hanks assisting with astupid pet trick?!) We know who the winner wasn't."[38]
Some media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Television critic Joyce Millman ofThe San Francisco Examiner noted, "In his first stint as host of the Oscar telecast, David Letterman did the impossible—he made something entertaining from what is traditionally the most boring three hours of TV this side of atest pattern."[39]The Buffalo News columnist Alan Pergament praised Letterman's performance as host writing "David Letterman was a box full of chocolates on an Oscar night that was empty of much emotion until the expectedForrest Gump sweep in the final 15 minutes." He also added that despite a lack of surprises amongst the awards, the emotional and unexpected humorous moments provided depth and entertainment throughout the evening.[40] Hal Boedeker of theOrlando Sentinel gave an average review of the ceremony but singled out Letterman noting that he "proved Monday night that he's among Oscar's Top 10 Hosts. He's definitely at the top of the list with Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal andBob Hope."[41]
The American telecast on ABC drew an average of 48.28 million people over its length, which was a 7% increase from theprevious year's ceremony.[42][43] An estimated 81 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards.[44] The show also drew higherNielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 32.5% of households watching over a 53 share.[43][45] It also drew a higher 18–49 demographic rating with a 21.7 rating among viewers in that demographic.[45] It was the most watched Oscars telecast since the55th ceremony held in 1983.[46]
In July 1995, the ceremony presentation received six nominations at the47th Primetime Emmys.[47] Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Jeff Margolis's direction of the telecast.[48][49]
The annual "In Memoriam" tribute, presented by actressSigourney Weaver, honored the following people:[32]
Official websites
Analysis
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