90th Oscars Speech: DEAR BASKETBALL, Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant

By

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) – DEAR BASKETBALL, Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant

GLEN KEANE: Thank you, thank you, Academy. Thank you Gennie Rim, Max Keane, our entire crew for your incredible talents. My wife Linda for your years of love and support. And to Kobe, for writing “Dear Basketball”. It’s a message for all of us. Whatever form your dream may take, it’s through passion and perseverance that the impossible is possible.

KOBE BRYANT: I don’t know if it’s possible. I mean, as basketball players we’re really supposed to shut-up and dribble but I’m glad we do a little bit more than that. Thank you, Academy, for this amazing honor. Thank you, John Williams, for such a wonderful piece of music. Thank you, Verizon, for believing in the film. Thank you, Molly Carter, without you we wouldn’t be here. And to my wife Vanessa, our daughters Natalia, Gianna, and Bianka. Ti amo con tutto il mio cuore. You are my inspiration. Thank you so much, guys, thank you.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

Q. Kobe, hello. Look at the number. 81. Congratulations. Congratulations.
A. (Kobe Bryant) Thank you.

Q. After winning five NBA championships, now holding an Oscar, how do you feel?
A. (Kobe Bryant) It’s a ‑‑ it’s ‑‑ I feel better than winning the championship, to be honest with you. I swear I do. It’s ‑‑ it’s, you know, growing up as a kid, I dreamt of winning championships, you know, and working really hard to make that dream come true, but then like to have something like this seemingly come out of left field, you know, and like ‑‑ I heard a lot of people telling me when I started writing and they would ask me, “What are you going to do when you retire?” And I’d say, “Well, I want to be a writer; I want to be a storyteller,” and I got a lot of, “That’s cute. That’s cute. You’ll be depressed when your career is over, and you’ll come back to playing,” you know. And I got that a lot. And so, to be here right now and to have like a ‑‑ like a sense of validation is, dude, this is ‑‑ this is crazy, man. It’s crazy.
A. (Glen Keane) Not only that, after ‑‑ after the win, you don’t have to sit in a tub of ice, right?
A. (Kobe Bryant) I know. Yeah, that’s true. That’s true.

Q. We actually met at the White House, at the opening of the African American Museum.
A. Yes.

Q. You were telling me about this career. Talk to us about how different a skill it is, what’s harder about it, what’s easier about it, and what have you learned, and what’s next.
A. (Kobe Bryant) Well, I think the hardest part about it is, you know, in playing basketball, the hardest thing to do is to get out of the way of yourself. Right? Try to disassociate, you know, any sense of ego that you have to be able to perform. In writing, it feels like you have to get in a deeper connection with yourself and better understand the fears and insecurities and things that may be going on below the surface, so that, in turn, you can better communicate those. And so, those are really the two major distinctions between playing and writing or creating.

Q. What’s next?
A. (Kobe Bryant) More. More. John Williams, it just sounds crazy to even say that, but after he scored the film, he ‑‑ he looked at me and Glen goes, “Okay. That was way too short. You got to give me something longer.” And I was like, “Oh, oh, oh, okay. We’re working on it. We’re trying.”

Q. Obviously you’ve won championships, Olympic gold medals and now this. I want to know, you talked about this meaning more to you, but at the same time can you talk about the struggles that you may understand now about someone who’s achieved fame trying to find a new outlet for their talents? And, obviously, you feel you found something here. Would you like to make a feature film one day?
A. (Kobe Bryant) Yeah. We’ve ‑‑ we’ve actually been hard at work over the last two years focusing on novels, and we’ve been able to create five novels, each novel going out in a series of five books. And we look forward to bringing that to the market within the next couple years. But, you know, the hardest thing for athletes to do is when you start over, you really have to quiet the ego and you have to ‑‑ you have to begin again. You have to be a learner all over again. You have to learn the basics of things. And, you know, that’s really the hardest part. So my advice to athletes is to first and foremost find the thing that you love to do. You know, I wake up in the morning, I can’t wait to write. I can’t wait to get to the studio, you know. So when you find the thing that you love to do, then everything else tends to make sense.

Q. I want to ask you about how much this project puts you out of your comfort zone, and what was it like working with John Williams?
A. (Kobe Bryant) All of it put me out of my comfort zone. My daughter gave me the best piece of advice. I was a little worried about turning this into a film. I’d never done that ‑‑ something like that before. And we’re in a house and we’re talking about it as a family, and my little 11‑year‑old, Gianna, goes, “Well, Dad, you always tell us to go after our dreams, so man up.” She’s 11. “Man up.” So I had to man up and go for it.
And then working with John was incredible. You know, John speaks about music as if there ‑‑ they ‑‑ each key has its own soul. And it was amazing to sit with John and to sit with Glen throughout this entire process and hear the same attention to detail that we each have for our craft. It’s just ‑‑ it’s just an amazing experience to be able to work with John. I can’t even ‑‑ the guy’s like ‑‑ he’s a real life Obi‑Wan Kenobi to me, you know.
A. (Glen Keane) John had written the score. He’s, what, 85 years old? And wrote the whole thing out by hand, in pencil. Just like the film itself is in pencil. He’s an old‑school craftsman, and with 80 instruments, he wrote that. And the day that we were recording it, he was like this little kid, just so energized.
A. (Kobe Bryant) Super charged.
A. (Glen Keane) What is going on with John?
A. (Kobe Bryant) He gave me a hug, almost knocked me over. I was like, “Damn, I know I’ve been retired, but I haven’t been retired that long, man.” He almost knocked me over.
A. (Glen Keane) And he stood up in front of the orchestra, and Kobe and I sat there and I suddenly realized he’s never heard the music. He’s just been hearing it in his head and he wrote it with 80 instruments and recording it, and he lifted his arms and it was this beautiful score, the score that you hear. And Kobe ‑‑ Kobe wanted to shout, and I was like, “The red light.” And when it was done, John turns to us and says, “I promise you it’s going to get better.”
A. (Kobe Bryant) Man, I thought we were done. I thought we were done. And John was incredible, man.

Q. I saw this at the Tribeca Film Festival under EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg shorts. It was impressive and amazing.
A. (Kobe Bryant) Thank you.

Q. You’re very welcome. Now, a lot of people talk about their heroes, but I have a question for you: Can you share the heroes in your life?
A. (Kobe Bryant) Oh, yeah. That’s ‑‑ you know, when I had the idea of starting a studio ‑‑ I like cold calling people. And so, the first person I called was Oprah. And I didn’t understand the business at all, as you can imagine, but I ‑‑ like I loved writing, so I wanted to build a studio. So I called Oprah, and she was very gracious enough to spend about an hour and some change on the phone with me walking me through every step of the way of how she built Harpo from day one. And I cannot thank her enough for that. She’s a mentor then, a mentor now. Shonda Rhimes is absolutely amazing and I was ‑‑ she opened up the door for me to go down to Shondaland and sit in the creative room, writers’ room, and be on set. And so when you have mentors like that in your life, you know, it’s ‑‑ everything tends to work itself out. You just continue to learn from the best of the best of the best. So those are my ‑‑ those are two.

Q. Big win for me.
A. (Kobe Bryant) That’s awesome.

Q. You referenced the “shut up and dribble” comments in your acceptance speech. Why did you do that? And what do you think LeBron’s approach to handling politics and discussing them, which is so different from your hero, Michael Jordan’s, approach?
A. (Kobe Bryant) Well, man I think everybody must approach things as if, you know, from their position of whatever is comfortable to ‑‑ you know, for them. I think for us, not just as athletes, but as just people in general, we have the ability to speak up for what it is that we believe in. Whether you’re a professional athlete or not, whether you’re an actor or not, you still have the ability to speak up for what it is that you believe in. And ‑‑ and as well as people have the right to criticize it. I mean, this is ‑‑ this is a democracy that we live in. That’s what makes America beautiful. So…

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

90th Oscars Speech: SEBASTIÁN LELIO (director) A FANTASTIC WOMAN

By

Matthew Sardo

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – A FANTASTIC WOMAN (Chile)

SEBASTIÁN LELIO (director): Thank you so much. This is an amazing gift, thank you to the Academy. I want to, well, thank my dear friends and producers Juan De Dios and Pablo Larraín. I want to thank the cast of the film, especially the brilliant actor, Francisco Reyes, and the inspiration for this movie, Daniela Vega. This film was made by a lot of friends and artists; I share this will all of you tonight. I want to thank Eryn Brown and Sophie Dolan. Everyone from Sony Classics, Tom Bernard, Michael Barker, Participant Media, Setembro Cine, Komplizen Films. And my wife Virginia, I love you forever. I thank you so, so much.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

Q. Everyone can agree that when I saw you getting the award I shouted, and everyone probably thought I was absolutely insane. I saw you a week ago, and I told you I was going to see you here picking up your award. So what does that symbolize for you? And what does it feel to give a voice to the unheard voices?
A. Well, I’m extreme ‑‑ I mean, I’m in Jupiter. You know, like, I don’t ‑‑ I can’t believe that this happened. I’m really surprised, even though I knew that the film was, you know, a frontrunner and everything, you never really ‑‑ you’re never sure until you have it in your hand. So I’m very, like, happy for the team, for the film, for what the film represents. And, as you say, because it is a film that has managed to contribute to a necessary and urgent conversation. I think that there no ‑‑ there’s no such thing illegitimate people. Period.

Q. Sebastian, congratulations on this historic win. With the ‑‑ you know, there’s been recently a lot of talk about Latinos not being represented on the screen and behind the scenes as well. You know, what can be done to bring more representation, both from Latin Americans and Latinos born in the U.S., into Hollywood?
A. Well, I guess include them in the stories, hire them for the roles, and you know, just understanding that stories come from so many different sources. And considering the ‑‑ I am ‑‑ I don’t live in the United States. I am not an expert of what’s going on here, but considering the amount of Hispanic population or Latino population, more stories should be out there. So I have the feeling that it’s a matter of time. Things seem to be changing, so I hope that’s the case.

Q. What can be the impact of such an award in Chile where they are now discussing the law for the transgender rights?
A. Well, it has been a long struggle to have the State recognizing or acknowledging the existence of transgender people. And now we are about to face the ‑‑ a new government, which is very right‑wing and very conservative, and I think it would mean a step backwards. And I hope this award and film and the awareness that the film has created, the amplifier that this means helps to, yeah, give more relevance to, again, a matter that is urgent. Because again, a transgender person is not a Class B person. It’s one of us.

Q. First, I want to know, of course you are now residing here in the United States, but are you planning, you know, to go to Chile soon? Because I’m hoping that you want to celebrate with, you know ‑‑
A. Well, I’m ‑‑ I am from Chile. I live in Berlin. I’ve been here for a while because I made a film here, but I’m flying to Chile tomorrow. So I’ll be celebrating hopefully tomorrow night.

Q. And do you plan to meet our president to ‑‑
A. That would be amazing. I’m expect‑ ‑‑ well, if she wants to invite us, we’ll be there.

Q. I’m going to ask the question in English and Spanish and whichever you prefer to answer first. So the movie is very open about the misconceptions about the transgender community. Do you think Hollywood is ready to take ‑‑ give an award for best actress as someone who would have won for best actor before? [Speaks in Spanish.]
A. If that person is interpreting a transgender role? Is that the question?

Q. [Speaks in Spanish.]
A. [Speaks in Spanish.]
Well, whatever the gender identity is, you know. If an actress like Daniela, which is a woman, wins, then she should win as a woman. I don’t think we should add a transgender, you know, category. I felt that, for me, it was very instinctive and strong decision, the knowing that I was not going to make this film without a transgender actress in the main role. That was me. And I think it put the film in a different dimension because of everything Daniela brought to the film, her presence, her history. But that doesn’t mean that someone like Daniela cannot interpret a cisgender role. You know what I mean? So I think we’re not talking about freedom here, we’re not stretching opportunities; we’re opening them. And I hope this is not misunderstood, because I didn’t make the casting decision as a fascist decision, but as an act of freedom.

Q. I just want to ask, kind of going off of the last one, how important it was for you to cast the role of Marina authentically with a trans actress? And do you think that the film’s win will prove to other projects how important it is to cast authentically?
A. Well, casting is an art, and is probably ‑‑ well, if you’re interested in people like I am, casting is essential. And in this case, again, I think the presence of Daniela brought something, a quality to a story that add a layer of complexity and beauty that, I think in this case, a cisgender actor would have not been capable of bringing. She transitioned like 14 years ago in a country like Chile when there was no information about it. She was a pioneer, and she carries that history, and the camera announced that. And I think that generates resonances and, again, more complexity and beauty to the film. I never thought that it was going to be that important in the sense of how the film is perceived. I’ve been very surprised and happy to realize that that became one of the most important artistic gestures of the movie, and if it can contribute to, you know, again, keep opening the limits of what’s possible, keep expanding the horizons of our thinking, so welcome.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

90th Oscars Speech: Allison Janney I, TONYA

By

Matthew Sardo

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – ALLISON JANNEY, I, Tonya

ALLISON JANNEY: I did it all by myself. Okay, nothing further from the truth. Thank you to the Academy, my fellow nominees, you represent everything that is good and right and human about this profession. You are all extraordinary. Steven Rogers, look what you did. Look what you did. You are a brilliant writer. Thank you for the gift of LaVona. I did not see this coming, you did. You give new meaning to the word “friend.”

To my “I, Tonya” family: the magnificent Margot Robbie, the fearless Craig Gillespie, a cast and crew and bird that elevated my work. To Tom and Bryan, NEON, 30WEST. My team Janney: Leslie Siebert, Chris Henze, Ilana Reiss, Karen Samfilippo, we’ve been together a long time. Thank you for all of your work. Joanne Woodward, I want to thank you for your encouragement and generosity that gave me the confidence to think I could pursue a career in acting. To my mother and father, Jay, my family, my family of friends, the staff at GADA, you know who you are, I love you. And this is for Hal. You’re always in my heart. Thank you very much.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

A. I’m going to take my shoes off. Usually the dress looks like this. Oh, my feet. I’m freezing.  
Q. So winning an Oscar by yourself with no one’s help, that’s an awesome feat. So now that you’ve won this big honor on your own, how are you going to change on a day‑to‑day basis?
A. I have to be at a table read for MOM at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. So I am going right back to work, and I will ‑‑ I am so happy that I have a job to go to after something like this. Because it could go to your head, and then tomorrow to wake up and feel ‑‑ and have nothing to do and have this whole journey be over. Starting in September when we premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, and the whole journey we’ve been through is extraordinary. And it’s going to be ‑‑ I’m going to have a big crash down after this. So I’m happy that I have MOM ‑‑ the people at MOM to lift me up and keep me ‑‑ keep me going and keep me focused. And I’m just happy to have a job to go to tomorrow. But this is extraordinary. Thank you.

Q. Hi. So where did trophies ‑‑ I mean, you have a ton of Emmys. You’ve got every award leading up to this one this year. Now you have an Oscar. Was that ever part of your fantasy of what your acting career was going to be like? Or is this like this great side effect?
A. I certainly ‑‑ I kind of didn’t dare to dream of things like this, because I didn’t want to be disappointed. And I think at a certain point, I had given up thinking this would happen for me because I just wasn’t getting the kind of roles in film that would give me attention like this, and that’s what my very good friend Steven Rogers did for me. He says he did it ‑‑ wrote this for me to do just that, to show a different side of me and show that I could ‑‑ what I could do, and I will never be able to repay him. It’s an extraordinary gift he gave me. It’s kind of overwhelming. I think I’m going to get him a Rolex. I don’t know. What do you think? And engrave it on the back. I haven’t figured out what, but I’ve got to get him a good present. That’s a start at least.

Q. You’ve spoken about using your inner critic.
A. Yes. (Indiscernible cross‑talk.)

Q. But what is your inner voice saying right now?
A. “Bravo. Good going, girl. I’m proud of you.”

Q. We’re asking what makes a great story?
A. Oh, God. What makes a great story? Fully realized characters, characters with ‑‑ who have big needs, wants, desires that butt up against people who don’t want them to have them. Definitely great characters and great writing. Great writing is key. That’s why I’m ‑‑ when I read a script as an actress that I get excited about like I, TONYA or AMERICAN BEAUTY or JUNO, things that ‑‑ or WEST WING I’ve gotten to do. That just gets me so ‑‑ it makes me want to come alive, and I feel like I come alive when I do all different roles I’ve gotten to do. And it’s how I feel the most tethered to the earth, and I feel a communicator when I’m sit‑ ‑‑ telling others’ stories. And great storytellers are great writers, and I like telling ‑‑ I like telling stories.

Q. Can you talk us through a little bit of what it was like working with Margot Robbie and director Craig Gillespie?
A. Craig Gillespie? Yeah. I met them both ‑‑ well, I met Margot the day before I started shooting, and I really ‑‑ I only had eight days to shoot this role with them because I was doing MOM, and I was rehearsing for SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, the Broadway play I did last spring. I’ve never been more busy as I was last year, so when this came together, I had no time to do it, and all of the producers made it happen, the producers of MOM and SIX DEGREES and Margot and Tom and Bryan, Bryan Unkeless and Tom Ackerley of LuckyChap. They made it happen for me, and they’re extraordinary.

Margot has ‑‑ she’s kind of a phenomenon. Because I have no head for business whatsoever. All I know how to do was be emote [sic] and do my act. But she’s got this great head for business and a beautiful heart and an artist’s soul and a heart. And she’s remarkable, and I cannot wait to see what she’s going to accomplish in her career. She’s, you know, 20‑nothing, and she’s done this unbelievable performance in I, TONYA, and she’s going to do extraordinary things. They’re both ‑‑ and Craig’s just ‑‑ he killed this movie. He just killed it. And I mean killed in a good way. He just nailed it. He knew how to ‑‑ he knew how to get just ‑‑ was a running freight train. We had no time to shoot it, and he had the best sense of humor and best attitude, and knew how to grab things on the fly. And he’s just ‑‑ remarkable man. They’re both ‑‑ I’ve never even been to Australia, but I’ve got to go now. Because, I ‑‑ yeah.

Q. Yeah, come on down.
A. Good on ya.

Q. Shrimp on the barbie?
A. Exactly. 
Q. Congratulations.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

90th Oscars Speech: Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin THE SHAPE OF WATER

By

Matthew Sardo

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: PRODUCTION DESIGN – THE SHAPE OF WATER; Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin

PAUL DENHAM AUSTERBERY: First of all, thanks to all the Canadian crew who are partying right now at the Palais Royale in Toronto. This is for you. Thank you to the Academy. Guillermo, may you keep dreaming up your monsters and their wonderful stories so that people like us can help shape their worlds. Thanks to Miles Dale, David Greenbaum, Nancy Utley, Matthew Greenfield, everyone at Fox Searchlight, please keep making wonderful films like this. Luis Sequeira, Dan Laustsen, we would not be up here without your support. Nigel Churcher and all the amazing art department and construction and paint crew in Toronto. Thank you. And my wonderful people right here.

SHANE VIEAU: A big thank you to our amazing crew back in Toronto. Without you guys we definitely wouldn’t be here today, thank you.

JEFFREY A. MELVIN: I share this award with the people who put me here: my wife and kids, Sheila, Alex, Sarah. My coworkers who were inspired by Guillermo’s vision: Avril, Alexx, Angie, Carlos, Dominic, Toni, Jeff, Byron, Karl, Brenton, Nigel, William, Dave and David, Marc, Trace, Matthew, Marina and Donnie. Thank you so much for getting this for me.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

Q. I’d love to hear a little bit about the process of how you arrived at what looks to be a kind of faded Piaf Parisian color palette mixed with that incredible noir sensibility. How in the world did you put those together?
A. (Paul Denham) Well, it all really started with Guillermo. You know, he has a real visual eye and lots of good reference, so he had already picked before we even started a building that we used for the exterior which set the tone as a late Victorian building, and from there referenced a movie, THE RED SHOES for an arch window, and then we all worked together to develop that, and these guys brought beautiful wallpaper, kind of like that, to bring the scales into the room, and the palette is a very Guillermo thing. The first thing we did was deal with the palette. So that’s why the movie is so color coordinated.

Q. You spoke about your Toronto team in your acceptance speech, and we’d just like to know how significant it was to have a team from Toronto working with you and how it feels right now.
A. (Jeffrey Melvin) I have 35 years in the business now, and worked in Toronto almost exclusively. So I’ve worked with and watched the business grow in Toronto and go from children’s television to Academy Award‑winning films. It started with GOOD WILL HUNTING, CHICAGO, now us. We have world‑class technicians, and we want to keep it that way and keep going. Build more studios, and we can do more.

A. (Shane Vieau) The other thing too is that what’s amazing about this year with trades is that Toronto, above and beyond with everyone in North America, with THE HANDMAID’S TALE and THE SHAPE OF WATER, we really came out on top. So it’s a really, really big thing for 873 and all of the other unions in Toronto.

Q. Congratulations. And in a way, this is a continuation, I guess, of the first question, but could you talk about some of the, sort of, the Cold War period aesthetic and the institutional aesthetic that you also used for the design?
A. (Paul Denham) Yes. To contrast the, sort of, romantic notion of her apartment, the late Victorian apartment, Guillermo and I talked about institutional architecture, and we chose Brutalist‑style architecture which was very prevalent in ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. And the reason why we wanted to do it, we wanted heavy contrast with the hard, harsh materials of the concrete and then we introduced that teal green color that was very, very important. It was very important to have that very, very visual contrast between the two worlds, the worlds where she meets her lover and when she brings him back to that wonderful decrepit, but beautiful, old apartment.
Q. What was the toughest part of working with Guillermo del Toro?
A. (Shane Vieau) You know, the really amazing thing about Guillermo is that he knows what he wants visually. So as long as you’re in there with him, the guy is with you. Like, he really ‑‑ you know, once you develop a language with the man, he lets you do your thing and lets you go above and beyond what he, sort of, has given you as a basic. But no one is more well‑read than that man. No one knows more about things than that man. He’ll reference everything and give it to you, and then you can go with it.
A. (Paul Denham) And he doesn’t forget anything.
A. (Shane Vieau) And he forgets nothing.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

90th Oscars Speech: Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker and Gary A. Rizzo DUNKIRK

By

Matthew Sardo

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: SOUND MIXING – DUNKIRK, Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker and Gary A. Rizzo

GREGG LANDAKER: I’d like to thank the ladies and gentlemen of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. Thank you so much for bestowing this great honor upon this sound crew for “Dunkirk”. To my support team, Catherine Landaker, I love you. To my cheerleading squad: Carrie Cashman, Jim, Grace and Jake. To two gentlemen that bookend my career, Don Rogers, giving me flight and to Kim Waugh for giving me a safe landing. To Christopher Nolan, that entrusted us, encouraged us to try to make a difference in a soundtrack. Thank you so much.

MARK WEINGARTEN: Nancy and Oliver I love you. Chris Nolan, thanks for making such a great movie that everybody saw it and got to hear our work. Thank you everybody, thank you Academy.

GARY A. RIZZO: To my daughters, Luciana and Devon, I love you. Hang on to your dreams they are so, so valuable, and to everybody at Full Sail University. And my family waaaay up there, somewhere, I don’t know. I love you, I love you so much. Thank you.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

Q. I’ll let you guys tackle this however you want to since you collaborated together. I was interested with the challenging timeline of this film, how that affected some of the sound editing decisions, foreground events becoming background events later. And also, with any war movie, especially an iconic battle like this, the authenticity of the actual sounds made by the actual devices and machines. So how did all those factor in?
A. (Richard King) Oh, I’m usually pointing it the other way, so I’m confused.
We went to great pains to ‑‑ to capture as much authentic sound as we could, recorded all the Spitfires, the bombs, guns, boats, but we wanted it to be an emotional experience. So it was all about investing the film in as much power and emotion and visceral, you know, feeling as we could, and we used every decibel that we had available to do that.

Q. You used a really interesting thing called the ‑‑ and whoever is appropriate to answer this ‑‑ the Shepard tone, that kind of continuously ascending tone, and I’m really curious how you, number one, achieved that, and number two, wedded it so beautifully with the visuals as well.
A. (Alex Gibson) Well, the Shepard tone is something that Chris has been playing with I think since THE PRESTIGE. So it’s been floating around for a while. What it is is it’s an ascending line, melody line, that when it hits a certain note, it starts over again and then it’s overlapping itself, so it always feels like it’s going up. It’s just an aural trick. Well, because the movie was fast paced, but still running out of time, that ascension, the continuous ascension played right into it.

Q. Did you work with Chris?
A. (Cross Talk) Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Yeah, they did, yes.

Q. Gregg, would you please comment on how it feels to win the Academy Award on your final film, unless Chris urges you back for one more?
And, then Alex, could you comment on the rare feat of your particular role being honored in this category?
A. (Gregg Landaker) This film ended up my career. It didn’t end my career, but I decided to put a period on it. And this was my 207th feature film, ninth nomination and fourth win for a soundtrack. My first win was for EMPIRE STRIKES BACK back in the ’80s. But Chris has always encouraged me to reach further into our art craft of mixing a film, to bring something completely different to the soundtrack that the audience would step up and notice. Thank you.
A. (Alex Gibson) And the reason I’ve said that the historic nomination from the sound branch was a music editor, this is ‑‑ they don’t get awards. There is no Academy Award for a music editor, and there never has been. I think one person was nominated years ago, but I’m now the first one to win. And it’s because of the intensity of the work I did and how it wove with Richard’s work. And a lot of luck. So that’s what it is. That’s how it happened. Thank you.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

90th Oscars Speech: ICARUS, Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan

By

Matthew Sardo

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – ICARUS, Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan

BRYAN FOGEL: Thank you, thank you, to the Academy. Thanks to Ted Sarandos, Lisa Nishimura, Adam Del Deo our incredible partners at Netflix. UTA Rena Ronson, and our fellow producers Jim Swartz, David Fialkow, and amazing creative team, Jon Bertain, Mark Monroe, Jake Swantko, Adam Peters, and my parents who are here. I love you guys. We dedicate this award, we dedicate this award to Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, our fearless whistleblower who now lives in grave danger. We hope “Icarus” is a wake-up call, yes, about Russia. But more than that, about the importance of telling the truth, now more than ever.

DAN COGAN: To my wife Liz Garbus. You taught me everything I know about how to support a great filmmaker because you are one. Amelia and Theo, I love you. And Geralyn Dreyfous and all the members of Impact Partners. Thank you all for making the films like “Icarus” possible. Thank you.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

Q. So how important is Netflix to documentary features, and what’s the future for Russia under Putin?
A. (Bryan Fogel) Netflix has single‑handedly changed the documentary world. They have given voice to documentary in a way that no company or distributor has ever done before. There are in a 120 countries ‑‑ or 190 countries, 120 million homes, and it was a no‑brainer decision for us to go with Netflix, because the love and support they were able to give this film that was of true importance to Dan and I and to Gregory, and that the world see it. And Netflix, I think, has done an extraordinary job, and are honored that this is their film.
A. (Dan Cogan) I want ‑‑ I want to add that Lisa Nishimura, the head of documentary there, has single‑handedly changed the documentary landscape around the world and made it so that people want to watch these films at home everywhere. It’s an extraordinary opportunity for filmmakers that we never would have had before them. At the touch of a button now, you are in 190 million homes. There’s nothing like it, and it’s a huge honor for us to win the first Oscar for a feature‑length film for Netflix. We consider that a piece of history, and we’re deeply honored.

Q. My question is, how did you manage to make the film so quickly?
A. (Dan Cogan) It took 4 years.
A. (Bryan Fogel) Four years.

Q. Really? No, I was going to laugh. And was it difficult to obtain truthful information?
A. (Bryan Fogel) Well, it’s not difficult to obtain truthful information when the person that you’re speaking to is telling the truth. And what we’ve seen is that all of his evidence that he brought forward has been corroborated, has been forensically proven, has been proven by DNA, salt analysis, et cetera. So it is irrelevant what Russia would like to say in regards to Dr. Rodchenkov or what Russia would like to say in regards to the truth. The truth is the truth is the truth. And then there’s fake news, and then there’s false news, and then there’s the truth. And Dr. Rodchenkov told the truth. So when you have a truth teller and a whistleblower, it’s not hard to prove the truth when they’re telling the truth.
A. (Dan Cogan) I’d like to add that every single thing that Grigory Rodchenkov told us was true, and we know that because it was proven, as Bryan said, chemically, forensically, and there is no denying it no matter how much you want to say about it.

Q. Do you know what the status of the threat is that Grigory is under now? I understand he’s still, as far as you know, in the Federal Witness Protection Program. And is there any sense of how long he will be under threat and how intense the threat is?
A. (Bryan Fogel) Well, this is truly for Grigory’s lawyer, Jim Walden, to talk about. But from what we know, which is secondhand information, the threat is very real. There is a hunt going on for him, at least as what we’ve been told. And more importantly, Russia has formally asked for his extradition. And in Russia, he has been made out to be a liar and somebody who is deceitful, and the Russian media has not honestly reported on this story, while they continue to blame this entire scandal on one individual while not taking a single shred of responsibility for this scandal, and then being accepted back into the Olympics, which in and of itself is a scandal and a scam.

So as to Grigory’s safety, it is a precarious situation ‑‑ and we are hopeful that our government will continue to protect him. And as to his future, it is one that is in doubt, because what we are seeing is that telling the truth doesn’t necessarily set you free. And in regards to telling the truth against Russia and your own country, not only does it not set you free, but it makes you a wanted and hunted man. And that is tragic.
A. (Dan Fogel) It’s important to add that the former head of the Russian Olympic Committee said publically months ago that Grigory should be shot as he would have been in Stalin’s time. And I haven’t heard him take that back or say that he regrets that, and I haven’t heard anyone in the Russian government say that that’s not what they should be doing. So I think we all have to take the threats to him extremely, extremely seriously.

Q. I wanted to know what was going through your mind when you saw ‑‑ I’m assuming you watched some of the Olympics ‑‑ when you saw the Olympic athletes from Russia compete. And in one case their hockey team, which represented an entire team as opposed to individuals, won the gold medal. Did you think that was right? And what do you think the Russian government is thinking of the IOC’s lack of action?
A. (Dan Cogan) Let me say one thing. Bryan and I have both been to Russia. Bryan spent a lot of time with Grigory in Russia, and he loves the Russian people. The goal of this movie was never to go after Russia. In fact, as you see from the movie, we were working with Dr. Rodchenkov because Bryan wanted to dope himself and test the system internationally. It just happened that Russia came up in the course of doing that because of the revelations about Grigory. So, we want clean athletes to compete. If they are clean Russian athletes competing, we’re thrilled for them. However, what the IOC has done by banning Russia, supposedly, but then allowing so many athletes to compete, has really been a fraud, and I know that Bryan would like to say more about that.
A. (Bryan Fogel) Well, I mean, plain and simple, Thomas Bach needs to resign. He is a crook, and what he has shown to Planet Earth and any athlete who believes in the Olympic ideal is to not trust it and to not trust those words. Because if you can corroborate and prove and substantiate a fraud on this caliber on this level that spanned for decades, and then essentially give that country that committed that fraud a slap on the wrist, allow 160 of their athletes to compete in those games, two of them found doping, and then immediately after the games are over, without that country ever accepting responsibility, apologizing for any of their actions or accepting that any of this was truth while they continue to hunt Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, and they lift the ban on that country: What a fraud. What a corrupt organization, and that man should be embarrassed and ashamed of himself. He needs to resign.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

90th Oscars Speech: Richard King and Alex Gibson DUNKIRK

By

Matthew Sardo

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: SOUND EDITING – DUNKIRK, Richard King and Alex Gibsonn

RICHARD KING: Thank you. I’d like to thank the Academy. To my awesome crew in Burbank, all my friends and colleagues at Warner Bros. Chris and Emma, wherever you are, thank you for including me in this amazing trip. It was an amazing film about an amazing event, thank you. And all my love to my wife, Sue, and my son Sam. And thank them for, thank you for putting up with me prattling on about Stuka sirens for months.

ALEX GIBSON: Hello, I’d like to thank the Academy for including me in this nomination. It’s historic and I think music editors and I are very grateful. And that’s it. Guess I’m done. Thank you very much.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

Q. I’ll let you guys tackle this however you want to since you collaborated together. I was interested with the challenging timeline of this film, how that affected some of the sound editing decisions, foreground events becoming background events later. And also, with any war movie, especially an iconic battle like this, the authenticity of the actual sounds made by the actual devices and machines. So how did all those factor in?
A. (Richard King) Oh, I’m usually pointing it the other way, so I’m confused.
We went to great pains to ‑‑ to capture as much authentic sound as we could, recorded all the Spitfires, the bombs, guns, boats, but we wanted it to be an emotional experience. So it was all about investing the film in as much power and emotion and visceral, you know, feeling as we could, and we used every decibel that we had available to do that.

Q. You used a really interesting thing called the ‑‑ and whoever is appropriate to answer this ‑‑ the Shepard tone, that kind of continuously ascending tone, and I’m really curious how you, number one, achieved that, and number two, wedded it so beautifully with the visuals as well.
A. (Alex Gibson) Well, the Shepard tone is something that Chris has been playing with I think since THE PRESTIGE. So it’s been floating around for a while. What it is is it’s an ascending line, melody line, that when it hits a certain note, it starts over again and then it’s overlapping itself, so it always feels like it’s going up. It’s just an aural trick. Well, because the movie was fast paced, but still running out of time, that ascension, the continuous ascension played right into it.

Q. Did you work with Chris?
A. (Cross Talk) Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Yeah, they did, yes.

Q. Gregg, would you please comment on how it feels to win the Academy Award on your final film, unless Chris urges you back for one more?
And, then Alex, could you comment on the rare feat of your particular role being honored in this category?
A. (Gregg Landaker) This film ended up my career. It didn’t end my career, but I decided to put a period on it. And this was my 207th feature film, ninth nomination and fourth win for a soundtrack. My first win was for EMPIRE STRIKES BACK back in the ’80s. But Chris has always encouraged me to reach further into our art craft of mixing a film, to bring something completely different to the soundtrack that the audience would step up and notice. Thank you.
A. (Alex Gibson) And the reason I’ve said that the historic nomination from the sound branch was a music editor, this is ‑‑ they don’t get awards. There is no Academy Award for a music editor, and there never has been. I think one person was nominated years ago, but I’m now the first one to win. And it’s because of the intensity of the work I did and how it wove with Richard’s work. And a lot of luck. So that’s what it is. That’s how it happened. Thank you.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

90th Oscars Speech: Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, and Lucy Sibbick DARKEST HOUR

By

Matthew Sardo

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING – DARKEST HOUR, Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick

KAZUHIRO TSUJI: Firstly, we would like to give our heartfelt thanks to Gary Oldman. It was a real honor to be on this incredible journey with you, and we would not be standing here today if it wasn’t for you. You’re a wonderful actor, a dedicated artist and a true friend. We thank you for that. We would also like to thank Gisele Schmidt, Debra Sabonsky(?), the entire team at Focus Features, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Tim Bevan, Anthony McCarten, and the director Joe Wright. The cast and crew. Our family and friends, for their amazing support, and Mike Katz(?). Finally, thank you to the Academy. This is a dream come true for all of us. Thank you.

DAVID MALINOWSKI: Thank you very much.

LUCY SIBBICK: Thank you.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

Q. Congratulations on your first Oscars. So my question is going to be, what this project means to you because at the age of 15 when you were living in a small country in Japan your dream was becoming a special makeup artist in Hollywood. Your dream came true in your 20s and you left the film industry six years ago and then came back for this project. So this project brought you back to the film industry and then brought your first Oscar. So what this project means to you and then what your first Oscar means to you at this time in your career. If you prefer, you can answer it in Japanese.
A. (Kazuhiro Tsuji) Yeah. I think it’s really important, the timing‑wise because I left the film industry and Gary asked me to design this. And really, like, everything came together and then great timing, and I met David and Lucy and they’re really special, and I never worked with any such a kind before. And also I learned a lot from ‑‑ through this project because almost ‑‑ it’s really what I learned is that people ‑‑ how much people care about and how much they love about their job, and I kind of realized and kind of ‑‑ it was a really special project because it’s such a great talent came to one show and we did ‑‑ we made an amazing film and I think we made history. So it’s really meaningful to me.

Q. Hi, Kazuhiro. So there are very few Asians nominated at this year’s Academy Awards; I think you’re the only one, and you’re the winner as well. How does that feel?
A. (Kazuhiro Tsuji) I don’t want to think about I’m Asian. I’m just doing what I love to do. So, I hope everyone feels that way because it’s ‑‑ as soon as we start to think what the race we are, it’s not good. It doesn’t work that well.

Q. You know Gary Oldman says, “Look at me. What do you think of? Winston Churchill.” And of course we all laugh. At what point did you all think, “We know we’re good, but we’ve pulled it off. Look at him. We’ve pulled it off”?
A. (David Malinowski) I think it was the final test day that we did back in London. Kazu had already designed the makeup and done the final test in L.A., and he brought the makeup to London to hand over to myself and Lucy. And it was during those two weeks where we tweaked the makeup, we finessed it, and we got it to what you see on the screen today. You know, it was that very final day that Joe, Gary, the producers signed the makeup off and said that’s what we want for DARKEST HOUR.

Q. What was your reaction? You looked at him and you believed it?
A. (David Malinowski) Yeah, I think so. You know, yeah, I do believe it. I’m just being honest. I do believe that it’s an outstanding makeup and the feedback we’ve had from everybody else has been superb. So, you know, I hope everybody likes what they see on screen today.

Q. I don’t know if you were aware, but on the Red Carpet they were showing the video of Gary dancing to James Brown while he was in his full outfit and full makeup, and I just wondered if you could talk a little bit about the relationship that you three had with him because it seemed to be a very warm bond between all of you.
A. (David Malinowski) Yeah. I met Gary on a previous job, and I think one of the main reasons, other than, you know, he likes the work I did with him, was that we just got on so well together, our personality, he’s very similar. We like to joke, mess around, but we also have, you know, an eye for detail. We both want the best of whatever we do. So ‑‑ and then you add to that mix Lucy who’s, again, very similar sense of humor to myself and Gary, so you could imagine that we spent four hours on a makeup bus every day for three or four months, it’s going to get a little bit insane at times. So, you know, Gary likes to dance around, he likes to sing, he likes to chat, tell stories, and, you know, we like to do the same. I think, you know, we’ve just got a brilliant sense of humor between all of us. Do you want to add anything, Lucy? Do you want to add for me?
A. (Lucy Sibbick) He’s got so many characters inside his body, so he’s always doing different impressions.
A. (David Malinowski) Yeah. He’s always doing impressions. He does a good De Niro, for example. I won’t do it now because that would be terrible. He does a good Christopher Walken and he does an extremely good Winston Churchill, more importantly. So fingers crossed for Gary tonight.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

90th Oscars Speech: Mark Bridges PHANTOM THREAD

By

Matthew Sardo

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: COSTUME DESIGN – PHANTOM THREAD, Mark Bridges

MARK BRIDGES: Oh first, I want to thank Paul Thomas Anderson, for writing this amazing script and having me design it. Thank you, Paul. To our wonderful actors, Daniel, Lesley, Vicky, the whole company of actors who were such great collaborators on this film. My brilliant, brilliant crew in London who worked tirelessly to make beautiful dresses and get them on camera, thank you. And of course, the Academy. Thank you very much.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

Q. I know you’re a frequent collaborator with Paul Thomas Anderson.
A. Yeah.

Q. So, I’m curious. When he reached out to you about this movie, how excited were you to work on a picture where you get to do this sort of couture and also the more contemp‑ ‑‑ well, not contemporary, but sort of traditional clothing as well?
A. Right. Well, I always am excited when Paul calls because, as you know, over 22 years we’ve done everything from porn stars, to oil drilling, to hippie detectives. You know, so this is just another one of the bag of tricks that Paul has. But, you know, you feel like there’s ‑‑ there is a little bit of a pressure. You know, will I be able to do justice to the era, and, of course, working with Daniel, you up your game. And Paul always ‑‑ and Daniel ‑‑ always makes me be a better designer. You know, so I proceeded with the research the way we always do and just try to tell a story. And then we ‑‑ of course, we had the luxury of working in London, too, where there are makers and fabrics and access to Europe that we don’t have here.

Q. So, but what is it like to design costumes for a film that is, in a sense, partly about the act of designing costumes? How was that different?
A. It was ‑‑ it was a little different than I usually do, and it was kind of two levels. One of it is: Tell the story of the real people. And then when we had to do a fashion show or the fashions of Reynolds Woodcock, I had to go into another mindset of, you know, what would this man be like? Paul said, Oh, can we have a spring fashion show? Can the fashion show be spring? And I’m thinking, like, hmm, a dark character, like Reynolds in London, who uses rich colors and sort of dark fabrics. What would a spring collection be for him? So I had to get into the mindset of somebody else. It was ‑‑ it was different and challenging, in a cool way, for me.

Q. Something that I hear a lot in common with costume designers and their relationships with actors is that they discover their character from the bottom up once ‑‑
A. Yeah.

Q. ‑‑ they get in the shoes, they know who they are. Can you share with us some kind of ‑‑ some instance ‑‑
A. It’s actually really, really true. I don’t know whether it’s because I started in theater. Theater actors are very much like that. If their shoes work and make them move a certain way, then the rest is ‑‑ rest follows. And certainly working with Daniel Day‑Lewis, both on THERE WILL BE BLOOD and this one, his shoes were very important to him, and a ‑‑ it’s a way ‑‑ it makes you walk in a certain way or carry yourself in a different way that then sort of feeds up into the rest of the physicality of the role, is what I discover, and helps them become who they need to become.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about collaborating with Daniel Day‑Lewis, especially as his character actually had to drape a gown in the movie?
A. Well, you know, Daniel did an amazing amount of homework. He’s the consummate artist preparing. I hooked him up with a cutter in New York, and he studied, and actually made a ‑‑ quite a nice garment at the end of his tenure there.

Collaborating with him, you know, he had a lot of ideas about what this man should be like. You know, his idea was to go to Anderson Sheppard, Savile Row, to have his clothes tailored, and he knows this world very well. He grew up with it. His father had bespoke clothes, his grandfather. So it was ‑‑ it was a learning experience for me, but we worked together. We went shopping together, actually, on German Street in London, which was amazing. And ‑‑ but I was always there and collaborating about, like, I know I need this many suits to be able to make this costume plot. But he did not want to plan ahead what he was going to wear, so we created a closet for him, and Paul wanted him to choose daily what he would pull from his closet and wear it.

So that was ‑‑ that was a new one on me, a little nerve‑wracking at first. But we all trust each other so much at this point that ‑‑ and the fact that I had been in on creating that wardrobe, I was fine with it. And I think as long as Paul felt we were feeding Daniel nourishment for his character, it was fine, and that’s why I’m there too, to help aid that performance.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube

90th Oscars Speech: Sam Rockwell THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

By

Matthew Sardo

-

March 4, 2018

WINNER: ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – SAM ROCKWELL, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

SAM ROCKWELL: Thanks. Okay, run that clock, Jimmy. I want to get that Ski Jet or whatever that was. I’d like thank the Academy, never thought I’d say those words. Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Christopher Plummer, Woody Harrelson: you guys rock. You inspire me. And you always have. When I was eight years old, I was called into the principal’s office and my father was looking very solemn. And he said, “We gotta go, it’s Grandma.” We got in the car and I said, “What’s wrong with Grandma.” And he said, “Nothing, we going to the movies.” My mom and dad’s love of movies became my love of movies, so thank you for that, Mom and Dad. I love you.

Thank you, the formidable Frances McDormand. We’re at the convention, Frances. The fantastic Woody Harrelson. You guys are my heroes. The rest of this incredible cast and crew, incredible! Fox Searchlight, everyone involved in “Three Billboards.” Everyone who’s ever looked at a billboard.

Martin McDonagh, I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for you. I want to do 10 other movies with you, I love you. Rhonda, Elise, Jason, Liz Mahoney, Liz Himmelstein, Terry Knickerbocker, all my good friends and my beloved Leslie Bibb. You light my fire, baby. I love you. Peace out. This is for my old buddy, Phil Hoffman. For my old buddy, Phil Hoffman.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEWS

Q. Question from Bulgaria. Could you tell us more about the process? How you embodied the character? How you started working on that role?
A. Oh, it’s so boring, but if you want to hear it, I can tell you the whole ‑‑ you know, it’s like a big soufflé or a stew. You throw in some potatoes and some carrots in there and you work with an amazing dialect coach like Liz Himelstein who worked with Gary Oldman and Margot and Terry Knickerbocker, my acting coach. And I did some ride‑alongs with some cops, Josh McMullin in Southern Missouri. Liz Himelstein taped two cops, actually. There was a guy named Demer (phonetic) in L.A. I did a ride‑along with him. And I met with this skin graft doctor who introduced me to some burn victims, actually. I mean, but the thing is, that’s if you have luxury ‑‑ the luxury of time, you know, which you don’t always have for a part. And then I worked with Martin and ‑‑ but sometimes you get a part and you only have a week or a couple days to prepare. I heard that Jeremy Renner only had four days to prepare to play Jeffrey Dahmer, which is a lot, if you are playing Jeffrey Dahmer, you know. So I had the advantage that I had, like, two or three months. And so I got to indulge in all this research. And so it was a lot of fun. So that’s the long answer to your short question.

Q. You said a wonderful thing about the arc of your character being Barney Fife going into Travis Bickle.
A. Yes, yes.

Q. I’d love to ask, in any way, was Barney Fife and the great Don Knotts any inspiration to you as an actor throughout your career?
A. Absolutely. I mean that when I say Barney Fife and, you know, the town of Ebbing is very much like Mayberry, and Woody Harrelson’s character is very much like the Andy Griffith character. And, in fact, I could be wrong about this, check your facts, but I think we shot in Sylva, North Carolina and I think Mayberry was shot there, but I could be wrong about that. But, you know, the goofiness of Barney Fife, the kind of hapless thing of Barney Fife, and then his transition into somebody else was just sort of ‑‑ Travis Bickle was kind of a ‑‑ Barney Fife to Travis Bickle was kind of a generalization, but it’s a lot more complicated than that, obviously, but, you know, yeah.

Q. You dedicated your win to Phil Hoffman and I would just like ‑‑
A. Oh, you caught that, good.

Q. We could hear that.
A. You heard that?

Q. Yes.
A. Because I thought the music was going. Oh, good. I’m glad you heard that.

Q. So I’m curious, as a friend and as a colleague, tell me, you know, what he meant to you, how he inspired you.
A. Well, I guess you want to start making me cry, but he’s, yeah, he was an old friend of mine, and he directed me in a play at the Public Theater and, yeah, he was very close to me and he was an inspiration to all of my peers. You know, people like Jeffrey Wright, Billy Crudup, Liev Schreiber, you know, you know, everybody. Mark Ruffalo, Josh Brolin. I mean, whoever was in my age range, Phil Hoffman was the guy. And he was a great director and he believed in doing theater. In fact, he was ‑‑ he vowed to do a play a year, which I don’t know if he got to do because he was very busy doing movies, but he was a great inspiration and a great theater director. And I don’t know if anybody knows, he was a bit of a jock. He was a wrestler, and he played basketball, and he inspired me. And I could go on for an hour about Phil Hoffman. Philip Seymour Hoffman was a good friend and he was a huge, huge inspiration on me. Yeah.

Q. You know, I’m still counting, at 21, the awards that you won before the Academy Awards. So did you count them at all?
A. I’m sorry. Could you say it one more time?

Q. I stopped counting at 21 the awards that you won. So do you count them at all and do you feel that those were like billboards saying, Sam, you’re going to win the Oscars now?
A. No, but that sounds like a really cool dream, but no, no.

Q. Obviously very ‑‑
A. I like your hair, dude.

Q. Thank you very much. Obviously very proud of Martin because we hail from Ireland.
A. Saoirse?

Q. And Saoirse as well. [Indiscernible.]
A. Colin in IN BRUGES.

Q. Loads, exactly. As a frequent collaborator of Martin, what is it about him that makes him such a great artist?
A. Well, you know, he says ‑‑ Martin says that, you know, you couldn’t set this in Ireland or England, but I actually think you could set this movie in almost any working class town all over the world, but he disagrees with that, but I think you could ‑‑ it could be anywhere almost. But there’s obviously something very timely about it now, what’s going on in this country, you know. Yeah.

Q. There’s been some complaint, criticism about the film.
A. Yes.

Q. Specifically as it relates to path of a betrayal and the relationships with African Americans.
A. Yes.

Q. Can you talk about, specifically, your character and whether you take that criticism on or was that how you dealt with it and your sense of that?
A. Well, yeah. I mean, it’s a complicated issue, but, I mean, Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar wrote an article that was really amazing sort of defending the movie as far as that goes and it was really eloquent. I didn’t realize he’s like a cultural professor, which I didn’t know, in addition to being like a basketball icon, and that was a great article that articulated everything. And I think for me, you know, the whole thing is that, you know, they have a lot of work to do, Mildred and Dixon. It’s not like they are like all of a sudden redeemed at the end of the movie. They have, you know, a lot of work to do and maybe some therapy, you know. It’s an ongoing thing, you know. So, and it’s also ‑‑ it’s a movie and it’s a dark fairytale of some sorts. And so it’s like, it’s not necessarily ‑‑ in real life we probably would have gone to prison, both of our characters, so, you know. That’s ‑‑ that’s sort of how I see it.

Q. Thank you so much and congratulations.
A. Thanks. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

Monkeys Fighting Robots Youtube