What do a civil rights leader, a former movie star, and a brilliant physicist have in common? If you answered that they’re all among the protagonists in some of this year’s Academy Award-nominated Best Pictures, you’re right. And even if you haven’t seen “Selma,” “Birdman,” or “The Theory of Everything” yet, you can catch clips of all three — plus from the other five nominees — in a new four-minute 2015 Oscar tribute video edited by Dustin Martin.
By now, you’re well aware that “American Sniper,” “Boyhood,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game,” and “Whiplash” round out the eight films nominated for the prestigious Best Picture Oscar. In his Vimeo short, Martin recognizes all of this year’s picks, set to a soundtrack that includes Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy" and “Hero” by Family of the Year (both off the “Boyhood” soundtrack, with the former also used in the trailers for "Birdman").
After a generic Oscars intro, the video opens with Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Birdman,” splices in some dialogue from Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood,” and then takes it from there. Both Iñárritu and Linklater are also up for Best Director, along with Wes Anderson (‘Budapest’) and Morten Tyldum (‘Imitation’). (Bennett Miller is the fifth director nominated, but his “Foxcatcher” isn’t up for Best Picture.) Given the short duration of the montage and the number of films Martin was working with, we think he did a pretty commendable job devoting equal attention to all nominees.
Check out the video below, and be sure to catch the Oscar telecast live on February 22nd.
