Best Motion Picture of the Year
As of today, I’ve been trying to duck all media that has anything to do with the Oscars and its winners. Why? Well, ’cause I recorded it last night and the wife and I have yet to find the time to watch it all (we have to watch everything together because otherwise it would be a marriage crime). We did watch the first thirty or so minutes last night before we both knocked out, so what I do know about the Oscars this year is that Hugh Jackman was awesome!
But trying to avoid Oscar press during the film awards season is like trying to avoid Guam’s olympic-sized pot-holes – you can dodge it for a while, but it’s only a matter of time. I thought I was doing a good job too, so I can keep the element of surprise on my side as we watched it later tonight. That is until I opened my email inbox this morning. In big bold letters – “Slumdog Millionaire – passion” was the subject of the email. Next to the subject was the excerpt that read “Yeay!!!!”. Dang. Wishful thinking almost had me convinced that maybe, if I didn’t look at it, I really didnt’ see it. But too late. Dianne, a former writing professor at UOG is a big fan of Slumdog, this year’s low-budget darling of the film awards circuit and she sent me the good news. She called it ever since she first saw the film in early January while she was out in the Bay Area. But today it was official – Slumdog Millionaire won the Oscar for Best Motion Picture of the Year.
“Now that the cat’s out of the bag, I might as well read on”, I thought. I’m very glad I did. She sent me the transcript of the acceptance speech given by Slumdog’s producer, Christian Coulson. Here’s what it said (the bold text is what Dianne herself emphasized):
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Producer Christian Coulson – Best Motion Picture of the Year
Slumdog Millionaire
“Thank you so much to the Academy. As you can see, our film was a collaboration between hundreds of people. I’m so happy that so many of them could be with us here tonight to share this moment. Together, we’ve been on an extraordinary, an extraordinary journey. When we started out, we had no stars, we had no power or muscle. We didn’t have enough money, really, to do what we wanted to do. But what we had was a script that inspired mad love in everyone who read it. We had a genius for a director. We had a cast and a crew who were unwavering in their commitment and whose talents are up on the screen for all of you to see. We had partners in Film4, in Celador, in Pathé and Fox Searchlight, who had the courage to support us. And we had a shared love for the extraordinary city of Mumbai, where we made the movie. Most of all, we had passion and we had belief, and our film shows that if you have those two things, truly anything is possible. I want to thank, on a personal note, my mum and my dad for all their love and support over the years. I want to thank my girl, Saskia Mulder, who is my partner in crime and the light in my life. And I want to thank all of you very much indeed. Thank you.”
Dianne – thank you for everything.
Kel, how about naming it Fanohge Chamoru? The only thing is the announcer might have problems with the pronunciation. 
Yes Miget and Linda, I do concur. She does win for PURE CUTENESS! Hmmm...you just gave me an idea - ...
too adorable! 
Hafa Adai Lillian,
I came across this trying to confirm the word "yanggen." After reading this I felt compelled to ...
Comment by Kel Muna on 25 February 2009:
Slumdog Millionaire is now playing at the Micronesia Mall!
Shows at
12:00, 2:35, 5:15, 7:50, and 10:10
Great follow up by Dianne…she forwarded this article from the New York Times about Slumdog sparking a new global audience in cinema: “Starless Movie’s Starry Night”
Comment by Michael Lujan Bevacqua on 25 February 2009:
I watched Slumdog Millionaire in December of last year since I never thought it would come to Guam. I’m glad it did, but I’m disappointed that so many other films of note this year didn’t. This makes me wonder if the movie theaters on Guam can be persuaded to bring certain movies on island through phone calls, emails or letters. If anyone knows, please tell me, so I can organize a letter writing campaign the next time I want to watch an independent film in a theater here.
I still haven’t had a chance to read the book its based on “Q & A” but I hope I’ll find the time to in the next couple months.
I really enjoyed it, I even made a dialogue in Chamorro about the film, you can check it out here:
http://minagahet.blogspot.com/2009/01/nihi-ta-fanchat-gi-fino-chamoru-put.html
Comment by Sarah on 25 February 2009:
We saw it on the big screen at the Micronesia Mall on Saturday, and it blew us away!
Comment by Jayton Okada on 25 February 2009:
I’m hoping on starting something where we request screenings of films such as slumdog and other films like documentaries at UOG.
Most movies are screened at festivals and at college campuses, however because of Guam’s location and high price of airfare… we never have any!
Hopefully we can do this on the campus and then set something up with the theatres.
Well, we shall see
But yes, I watched the movie about 3 months ago, and it’s AMAZING.
Comment by Travis on 26 February 2009:
Where did you watch it? The only place I can think of where you could watch it 3 months ago would be the states or the internet.
Comment by Jayton Okada on 26 February 2009:
The internet, I never expected it to come to Guam because they never send quality films this way often.
Can’t wait to get in line for the Watchmen this coming weekend though
Comment by Jayton Okada on 26 February 2009:
Peter, Francis, and Justin – three UOG students reviewing one movie every week, reviewed Slumdog Millionaire this week.
http://www.vimeo.com/3377956
Next week: The Watchmen, I’ll be joining in on the review for that movie.
Comment by Kel Muna on 27 February 2009:
I finally watched it! I won’t give anything away, but I will say that it’s a perfect peek into the mind of Danny Boyle. One of the most influential movies introduced to me and Don was “The Beach” (Danny Boyle/Leo DiCap). Matt Ladmirault actually got us hooked on it while we were shooting Shiro’s.
One of the most memorable quotes from Boyle came from a show I watch called “Storymakers” on AMC with Peter Bart and Peter Guber. Anyway, he was asked what the biggest difference is between being an obscure director and a director thrust into the limelight. His response was along the lines of “Now, you can’t hide.”