Backstage interview quotes

©A.M.P.A.S.®

While we were in the press room (actually a giant air-conditioned tent) we had one ear on the awards ceremony and another on the interviews with the winners. Here are some of the highlights:

When asked if the Oscar® was going to change him, Steven Soderbergh replied "You know, I've always felt — I've always followed the same methodology, from my first film until — up to the one I'm shooting right now. So I don't think I could alter my way of working and thinking, even if I tried. It's pretty ingrained. Certainly coming up with the independents group, I didn't imagine this situation. But, frankly, from the beginning I've said that I don't delineate between, you know, studio films and independent films. I delineate bewteen good movies and bad movies. And we all would like to see good movies. And I don't care who's writing the check. So, you know, I've — I'm just going to keep, you know, plodding along and trying to keep busy."

Makeup wizard Rick Baker who, along with Gail Ryan, won for Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas addressed reports that Jim Carrey became complained about the grueling makeup sessions. "Well, I grew up — I started makeup when I was ten years old as a hobby and I've learned on my own face. That's why I look like this. But I've been there, I've — I've worn gorilla suits. Dino De Laurentiis is being honored tonight; I played King Kong in his film. At some point Jim said to me 'You don't understand what I'm going through.' I said, 'No. This is the one person in the world who really knows. I've been there, I've had hard contact lenses in. I didn't have a lens technician, et cetera, et cetera.' It helps to have that experience when you're in the profession I'm in."

Dino De Laurentiis, who received the Thalberg Award for his long producing career was asked for a favorite story: "After war, this is a symbolic story, teaching me something for my life, after all I don't have special movie at that time. The cost was maybe, let's say, two million dollars. Today I try to make deal with some of the people in Italy, but nobody would deliver the finances, but I believe in the story, I want to do this movie. I was young, 21,22, and then I went to the bank, there is a branch to finance a movie, talk to the chairman, to the manager of the bank. I explain the idea, and he said, 'Dino, that's a good idea. We are — the bank is ready to give you the finances. Prepare an application to the bank and put it very clear at the end of the application the collateral.' I look at the manager, I say 'You look for collateral?' He said, 'Yes.' 'Look, I have no money in my pocket. If you like my face, give me the finances. If you don't like my face, forget it.' He was ready, but then I said — I never gave up. Next week I sent the application, the next week I get a call. They said 'We wait for you this afternoon.' He looked at me and said "This is very, very unlikely. In 35 years as a manager of the bank and I give a loan with so different collateral, but nobody, nobody,' two times he say, 'nobody give me the face as collateral, but you know what, I like your face, I give you the money,' and he gave me the money, and I did the movie, gave them the money in entirety."

Asked if the win for Almost Famous was special in any other ways besides the fact that it was an autobiographical story, Cameron Crowe said, "Well, it meant a lot tonight because I was able to bring my family together in a way. The movie, besides being about music and why we love music, was also about why I love my family and why I never quite understood the cleavage that developed between my sister and my mom. And tonight I was able to bring them both here and thank them from the stage. And I think the movie, in some wonderful way, brought our family a little more together, which is great. And that's what makes it particularly sweet."

Best Supporting Actress winner Marcia Gay Harden had a special thanks that she just couldn't get done on stage: "I swore that if I ever won an Oscar®, that I would say thank you to all the waiters and waitresses who used to cover my shift for me so I could run downtown on the subway and audition. And with 45 seconds, you just can't give it to the waiters."

In his acceptance speech, Russell Crowe talked about not giving up on dreams and told those afraid of dreams that there was a chance. Asked if that feeling had ever happened to him, Crowe replied, "That happens to me on a daily basis, particularly when I'm working on a character. I've got to keep my mind on myself. The only way I'm going to get through it is just by being brave, so yeah, that happens every day."

Julia Roberts' speech was fully of giddy excitement and sheer joy. Backstage, she elaborated on why she gave so much thanks to her director, Steven Soderbergh. "He infused me really with so much confidence, and he — he teaches a great lesson to all of us who were there, which is that filmmaking can not only be totally collaborative, it can be utterly enjoyable and expedient. You don't — you don't have to, you know, be tortured and kind of be, you know, the thinker all the time. 'Oh, the angst. How do I find this?' You know, it can be kind of expedient. And I'm just so happy to know that man, I can't tell you. And — and I'm off to work with him again. So I'm just — I'm thrilled to bits You know, I don't know how people act cool and calm, because this is so huge."