As part of our coverage of the Oscars 2014, we highlight some of the more notable remarks made by the honorees both backstage and at the podium.
“12 Years a Slave” (3 Oscars) – Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In summing up at the podium, co-producer Steve McQueen said, “The last word: everyone deserves not just to survive, but to live. This is the most important legacy of Solomon Northup (on whose life the story is based). I dedicate this award to all the people who have endured slavery and the 21 million people who still suffer in slavery today.”
“Dallas Buyers Club” (3 Oscars) – Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey, Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Backstage, Matthew McConaughey remarked, “I got a prize for excellence for the work I do in something that’s not my job, it’s not my hobby and it’s not my fad; it’s my career. That feels wonderful. It’s a very special thing. Back in 1992 I was one week into working on my first job, DAZED AND CONFUSED, when my father moved on. Now in hindsight I’ve looked back, he got to be alive for me doing the one thing that was not my fad, hobby or job. We didn’t know it then, but it turned out to be my career. He came to my mind tonight in speaking about him. It feels wonderful. Yeah. It feels wonderful.”
(Backstage interview with Jared Leto)
Q. Jared, your collaborators in makeup and hairstyling have just won one of those statues. Can you talk about your collaboration with them in this performance?
A. Well, you know, they had a budget of $250. I’m not joking. That’s the truth. And they worked the hardest out of anyone on the entire set. Makeup, hair, they’re always the first to set in the morning. I don’t know if you guys probably know this. They show up at the crack‑ass of dawn, and they leave at the crack‑ass of dawn. They’re there all the time and they were tireless, tireless workers. And essential to the building of these characters and performances
“Gravity” (7 Oscars) – Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music (Original Score), Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
(Backstage interview with director Alfonso Cuaron)
Q. You’ve got an Oscar in each hand. How does that feel?
A. Balanced. Heavy. No, it’s fantastic. Look, what is fantastic about this evening is that this has been a very long process. And, as I said in the speech, yes, it has been a very transformative process for a lot of folks involved in the film. And this just marks a closure for which I am very grateful ‑‑ I’m grateful with GRAVITY and for these Oscars and the fact that some other members of the artistic team that made this film happen were celebrated. It’s a joy.
“Blue Jasmine” – Best Actress: Cate Blanchett
From her acceptance speech: “I’m here accepting an award based on an extraordinary screenplay by Woody Allen. Thank you so much, Woody, for casting me. I truly appreciate it. I’m so very proud that Blue Jasmine stayed in the cinemas for as long as it did. And thank you to Sony Classics, to Michael and Tom for their extraordinary support. For so bravely and intelligently distributing the film and to the audiences who went to see it and perhaps those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging
to the idea that female films with women at the center are niche experiences. They are not. Audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money. The world is round, people.”
“Her” – Best Original Screenplay
(Backstage interview with writer Spike Jonze)
Q. What inspired HER? How did that come to mind for you?
A. Well, I had the concept of a relationship with an artificial intelligence entity, but then I also had an idea just to write about relationships, and it was sort of the merging of those two things together. And ultimately I think I was more inspired to write about relationships, and intimacy, and the challenges of intimacy.
Best Documentary Short: “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”
(Backstage interview with director Malcolm Clarke)
Q. How did you find her and how did you decide to make a movie about her.
A. I almost didn’t make this movie because I was so stupid. I was told about her three years before I met her and for three years I refused to meet her. My reason was really very simple. I had made a Holocaust film 10 years ago which was nominated for an Academy Award (PRISONER OF PARADISE). I didn’t want to make another Holocaust film. I didn’t want to go into that space again; because dealing with that material day after day, week after week is really rough. And so I refused to meet this lady who my friend in New York said was quite remarkable.
Finally, I was in London on business, and my friend said you’re there anyway, just go and have a cup of tea with her. And I went and spent 45 minutes with Alice, and. Well, that changed everything. It certainly changed both our lives. And she was 107 at the time. And I came back to Montreal, which is where I live; and I said to my crew, you are going to make a movie. We are going to do it fast, because she was 107. Everyone’s going to do it for free, because we haven’t got the time to raise any money; and that is what happened.
We made the film and she lasted another 3 years…and when she died, I think it’s true to say that we genuinely believe that she was going to go on…I actually said to the Academy screening in New York, I said, I believe that she is going to outlast us all, because she was so remarkable. So, this is definitely for her.
And not to be excluded, the other winners…
“Frozen” (2) – Best Animated Feature and Best Music (Original Song): “Let It Go”
“The Great Gatsby” (2) – Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
Best Foreign Feature: “The Great Beauty,” Italy
Best Documentary Feature: “20 Feet from Stardom”
Best Short Film, Animated: “Mr. Hublot”
Best Short Film, Live Action: “Helium”