'Birdman' Beats Out 'Boyhood' for Best Picture at the Oscars

By Tara Aquino

February 23, 2015 / 12:07 AM

After a scooping up yesterday's Independent Spirit Awards Best Feature prize, Best Director winner Alejandro Inarittu's Birdman closed out awards season by taking home the most coveted trophy of them all, the Academy Award for Best Picture.

A comeback vehicle for Michael Keaton, the oddly meta movie tells the story of Riggan Thomson, a former superstar best known for his superhero Birdman (a la Keaton's Batman), who attempts to reclaim his fame by starring in a production of Raymond Carver play on Broadway. Rounding out the SAG award-winning cast are Emma Stone (a Best Supporting Actress nominee tonnight), Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Lindsay Duncan, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough, and Zach Galifianakis. Listen to Alejandro Inarittu's acceptance speech.

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Birdman beat out Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper, Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game, Ava Duvernay’s Selma, James Marsh’s The Theory of Everything, and its biggest competition, Richard Linkalater’s Boyhood.

Relive more of the Oscars' most unexpected and outrageous moments with this retrospective video.

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[Photo Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures]