Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

By my count, Iñárritu is the eighth person to win Oscars for Best Picture, Director and Writing.

Earlier ones were Leo McCarey, Billy Wilder, Francis Ford Coppola, James L. Brooks, Peter Jackson, and Ethan and Joel Coen. However, only the two first ones won for an original screenplay, like Iñárritu did (McCarey actually for story, rather than screenplay).

E: Actually Coens have Oscars for both Original and Adapted Screenplay.

James L. Brooks won Screenplay/Director/Picture for Terms of Endearment.

First writer (original screenplay)/director/producer to win Oscars for all three since The Apartment?

First Best Picture winner not to be shot on film, I believe.

For what it's worth, five of the nominees were shot digitally this year--Birdman, Selma, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash, and American Sniper. (Yep, even Eastwood has gone digital.)

EDIT: Slumdog Millionaire was digital, wasn't it? Or at least partially digital.

Iñárritu saved his best speech for last.

This is the fifth Best Picture winner in the last seven years with a show biz theme. Only The Hurt Locker and 12 Years a Slave did not have one. Slumdog Millionaire was inspired by a TV show, The King's Speech revolved around speech therapy for a radio broadcast, The Artist was about the last days of the switchover from silent to talkies and Argo was about a bunch of Hollywood types who saved the day for Iranian hostages.

I was already thinking there might be an upset from the way Penn was looking at the letter. Well played

Birdman