Every year, The Oscars bring emotions out of Hollywood players that they tend to reserve for their next Oscar-bait drama. The anticipation, the honor, and the – well – hype that surrounds this hallowed event can be enough to bring any professional make-believer to their knees.
Then, when the music sounds and the winners have to wind down their speeches, they still have plenty they want to say. That’s why the backstage press room exists, so that the latest legacy of Oscar winners can pour their hearts out to a selection of journalists that have been specially trained to talk to people that have just received the greatest honor of their career.
And Hypable. We were there too.
Due to momentary technical errors and the incomparably heart-breaking people at AT&T (monopolizing the press room of a world-class event near you!), we were unable to impart the winner’s immediate reactions as they were happening, but we at Hypable see it as our honor – nay – our duty, to give you your own all-access pass to the backstage of the 2013 Oscars.
Hypable had the distinct honor of asking Mr. Waltz the second question of the night, which concerned the third installment in Tarantino’s self-titled “Revisionist History Trilogy,” and whether or not the acclaimed director had approached him for another role.
Referencing his shiny new Oscar, Waltz said “No, again this [the Oscar] is seven minutes old. Somehow I failed to capture the moment to remind Quentin that I’m around.”
As a close personal friend of Tarantino, we doubt that the director needs reminding of the talented actor’s existence. In fact, judging by how he read the script, (page by page from Tarantino’s printer) it seems that Waltz is enough of a fan of Tarantino’s writing to always accept his roles.
“When I read the script for the first time, I realized there was something special about this film,” said Waltz. “Quentin writes poetry and I love poetry.”
He then mentioned that he’s been keeping very, very busy, and after the longest pause on Earth, added that it’s a secret. A secret that probably definitely maybe has nothing to do with the rumored Toy Story 4.
At this point, it’s important to note that Visual Effects artists and representatives could be found picketing near Hollywood and Highland, where the Oscars took place. In an age where blockbusters rise and fall based on their visual effects, a great number of visual effects artists are storming the gates for their basic working rights, as many visual effects houses are suffering due to shameless underbidding and low-balling of VFX budgets.
Claudio Miranda, the winner of Best Cinematography trophy for his work in Life of Pi, was the first winner of the night to make mention of the event. “I would hope that we can really support the effects companies and that they don’t just ride the hairy edge of profit,” said Miranda. “That tiger looked amazing, and I would hope that we could support them.”
“There are some things I did want to say that got cut off, so I’ll say them here,” added Westenhofer. “We’ve got to figure out how to make this business model work, because there are artists struggling. There is artistry involved, and we could lose some of the quality of what we see on stage if we’re not careful.”
It’s not often that the biggest surprise of the evening is the result of a tie between two competing films (how does that even happen?), but this year, the Oscar for Best Sound Editing went to two sets of artists, the magic-makers behind Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall.
Paul N.J. Ottonson, the man behind the sound of Zero Dark Thirty brought some charming levity to the stage when asked about why he continues to work with director Kathryn Bigelow, with whom he won an Oscar back in 2008. “Because we keep getting these,” said Ottonson, holding up his second Oscar.
Meanwhile, the second Best Sound Editing winner (that just sounds weird, doesn’t it?), illustrated the tightrope walk that director Sam Mendes was able to walk with Skyfall.
“He’s [Sam Mendes], one of the great storytellers in movies right now, and that works a lot with emotion and feeling and subtleties,” said Per Hallberg. “That’s not what Bond is normally about. We ended up at this great middle ground of giving the audience a Bond movie, and still the emotional quality that Sam needs and wants in his movies.”
In particular, he discusses a scene between his character, an Australian indentured servant, and Django. “He goes [imitating Django’s voice] ‘well I know how much I get paid, how much do you get paid?'”
Tarantino then put on his Australian accent and said, “They paid for my passage from Australia to here…I’m payin’ them back for the boat trip.” To that, Quentin’s Django makes a great point. “You a slave too!” said Tarantino. “At least they didn’t make us pay for the boat ride!”
It was no surprise when Anne Hathaway’s name was called up to the stage to accept the Oscar for heartbreaking turn as Fantine in Les Miserables, but the actress still had to fight back tears when she was asked to elaborate on what she meant when she said “it came true” when she first held the Oscar in her hands.
Though her view of life is centered on beauty, Hathaway can’t help but see room for improvement in her work, even with the pivotal scene in Les Miserables that won her the Oscar.
“All I can hear now are the notes that I didn’t quite hit,” said Hathaway, making note that she pays more attention to the achievements of her costume and makeup designers when rewatching the film.
Every person who listened to Adele’s Skyfall for hours on loop when it was first released (read: this writer) can tell you that she was destined for Oscar glory, forever securing herself a top position in Bond theme history.
As a reporter pointed out, the singer is well on her way to the coveted EGOT, (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony), a distinction held by a precious few. “Maybe I’ll do an HBO special like Beyoncé did,” said Adele when asked how she plans to pursue her EGOT. “A Tony, I’m not so sure, maybe one day someone will want to do a musical, musicals aren’t my thing though,” she said, laughing. “No offense.”
After expressing her desire to go back across the Atlantic to see her babies, Adele was ushered off of the stage, but not before exclaiming her excitement for the latest winner, whom was announced through the press room before the singer took the stage. “Jennifer Lawrence just won best actress!” said Adele.
Sure enough, the 22-year-old actress had just won one of the night’s highest honors, and she entered the room with her standard charm and true-to-life smile. Upon seeing the giant cards that the journalists were holding in an attempt to keep the press room organized and democratic, she laughed. “This isn’t like an auction is it?” said Lawrence.
She then dropped the pretense and brought back the humor that has thrust her into the limelight as America’s sweetheart. She took a moment to detail the morning that would lead to her first Oscar win. “I woke up, tried on the dress. It fit, thank God. Then I took a shower. That’s what I did. Then I got my hair and makeup done. Then I went to the Oscars.” When the audience of press burst into laughter, Lawrence admitted why she was being so adorably frank.
“I’m sorry, I took a shot before I…Jesus.” said Lawrence. “I’m sorry.”
Then someone grabbed the opportunity to ask about the fall that warranted a standing ovation from the crowd.
“What do you mean ‘what happened’?” said Lawrence. “I tried to walk up stairs in this dress, that’s what happened.” The press pushed the question further and asked what went through her head when she tripped and fell on the biggest night of her life.
“What went through my head when I fell down? A bad word,” said Lawrence. “One that starts with an ‘F’.” The laughter continued when Daniel Day-Lewis hit the stage for his record-breaking Presidential turn in Lincoln.
His first question was about the beard he wore for the film, and whether or not wearing it for long periods of time annoyed him. “What do you mean wearing?” said Day-Lewis, clearly confused by the question since he didn’t have the makeup department fabricate his whiskers for the film. “Do you wear your hair? No, it was mine. My very own beard.”
It was also revealed that Day-Lewis was a little terrified to play such a beloved American figure and not be an American. “I got plenty of grief from myself,” said Day-Lewis. “[It was] a paralyzing quality in that if we got it wrong I could never show my face in this country again.”
We doubt very much that this would be the case, as Day-Lewis is the only actor in history to win three Best Actor statues. He’s also the only actor, American or non-American, to win an Academy Award for a portrayal of an American President.
Whereas Day-Lewis was worried that his internationality would have people looking at Lincoln differently, director Ang Lee truly believes that his “foreign” nature is his distinct advantage.
“I spoke in broken English during Sense and Sensibility,” said Lee after winning his second Oscar, again without a Best Picture win.
Lee then took the opportunity to bring the conversation back to the visual effects artists that were picketing outside the studio, on the same theme of them being true artists, and not just technicians. “I refuse to think they are technicians,” said Lee. “They create something that is visual art.”
Lee also mentioned that he was heavily inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, another film from a novel that was thought to be impossible to commit to film, and yet a movie that is diametrically opposite of Lee’s spectacular exploration of faith and wonder. “It’s a visual experience and a psychological journey,” said Lee. “That’s a movie at its purest.”
This year’s Best Picture race has been a true roller coaster of possibility. From the heartfelt dramedy about mental illness, to the massive story about stories, to the musical about freedom and the movie about making a fake movie, different films peaked and most were favorited, at one point or another, to win the highest honor of the night. Though many saw an Argo win in the cards, director and producer Ben Affleck said that he didn’t feel a tipping point until he felt the award in his hands.
“When they gave us the trophies, I was confident we would win,” joked Affleck. “Even then, I was like, is this a prank?” Though many websites and Oscar scientists had predicted a win for Argo, Affleck said that he couldn’t pay attention to the hype. “I never get much into the Oscarology,” said Affleck. “It doesn’t help me to read up on that stuff.”
In a suprising and frankly strange move, the Best Picture award was presented by none other than the First lady, Michelle Obama. This didn’t seem strange at all to Affleck, who said that his head was spinning anyway, so everything was able to pass for normal.
“I was hallucinating by that point,” said Affleck. “It’s like, oh there’s a purple elephant, oh there’s Michelle Obama. In retrospect, the fact that’s it’s the first lady is an enormous honor. It was very cool.”
With the highest honor of the night in Affleck’s hands, the room couldn’t help but ask how he felt about being snubbed, not even nominated, for his directing work for the year’s Best Picture.
“I wasn’t aware you were left off,” joked fellow Argo producer George Clooney. “Really?” Affleck responded with an extraordinary amount of humility, regardless of the fact that he had just said that he was through with being humble.
“I was excited to make it, excited to work with these guys, and excited to let the chips fall where they may,” said Affleck. “You’re not entitled to anything. I’m honored to be here, honored to be among these extraordinary movies, and honored to win an Academy Award.”
As the end of the Oscar’s telecast mentioned, there are always more losers than there are winners by the end of every Oscar night, but any film nut can agree that 2012 has been one of the best years for film in the past decade. Every actor approached the winner’s stage with the knowledge that they won out of a particularly strong group of contenders.
In a year that saw superheroes rack up billions, a year that saw James Bond break his own record, and a year where the Best Picture nominees actually reflected what audiences got out of their houses to see, it truly was an honor just to be nominated.