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Oscar bravo for Slumdog Millionaire
Amar Singh, Louise Jury and Rashid Razaq23.02.09
- Gallery: Fashion special: Hits & misses at the Oscars
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- From rags to riches: the story of Slumdog
- Charity's plea: remember India's real Slumdogs
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- Poll: Did Kate Winslet deserve her Oscar at last?
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Slumdog Millionaire and Kate Winslet led a night of British triumphs at the Academy Awards.
Winslet finally won the best actress Oscar for The Reader, claiming the coveted award on her sixth nomination.
Slumdog Millionaire became one of the 10 most successful films ever at the prestigious ceremony, winning eight Oscars including best picture and best director for Danny Boyle.
Boyle, 52, bounced up and down in delight.
Explaining his energetic performance to the audience at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, he said: “My kids are too young to remember this,
but I swore that if this miracle ever happened, I would receive it in the spirit of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, so that's what that was about.”
More pictures: Oscars fashion special: Hits & misses on the red carpet
More pictures: All the winners at the Oscars
The story of an orphan from the Mumbai slums who wins the Indian version of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? was the night's runaway winner.
In addition to the best director and best picture awards, it also scooped Oscars for best adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound mixing, film editing, best original score and best song.
The Oscar sweep capped off a remarkable run of awards for Slumdog Millionaire — a film that was heading straight to DVD in America last year after its distributor closed down.
The low-budget movie, which features a cast largely made up of first time Indian actors in addition to London teenager Dev Patel, became the most successful British film at the Oscars since The English Patient won nine in 1997.
Accepting the best picture Oscar, producer Christian Colson was joined on stage by the giant Slumdog Millionaire team, including child actors who were flown over for the glittering ceremony.
The evening also belonged to Kate Winslet, 33, who delivered a composed speech, ensuring there was no repeat of her gushing performance at the Golden Globes earlier this year.
Clutching her Oscar, the Reading-born star said she had been rehearsing the moment for many years.
“I'd be lying if I hadn't made a version of this speech before,” she went on. “I think I was probably eight years old and staring into the bathroom mirror.
“And this [holding up her statuette] would've been a shampoo bottle. Well, it's not a shampoo bottle now.” She also thanked her friends and family, “especially my mum and dad, who are in this room somewhere. Dad, whistle or something, 'cause then I'll know where you are. [He whistles.] Yeah — I love you.”
She paid tribute to the late Anthony Minghella and Sidney Pollack, both producers on The Reader who died while it was being made, and called her fellow nominees “goddesses”.
Speaking backstage, Winslet said she was going to go and get “very drunk”, adding: “I feel like an unlikely hero. I was not the privileged kid things like this could happen to.”
The big upset of the night saw Sean Penn, 48, take the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of America's first openly gay politician Harvey Milk. Mickey Rourke had been favourite to win the award for his comeback in The Wrestler. Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor for The Dark Knight.
Penélope Cruz, 34, became the first Spanish woman to win an Oscar for acting, picking up the best supporting actress award for her portrayal of a tempestuous artist in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
The Oscar for best documentary feature went to Man On Wire — a British film about tightrope walker Philippe Petit. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, which led the field with 13 nominations, won only three Oscars, all in technical categories.
More pictures: Oscars fashion special: Hits & misses on the red carpet
More pictures: All the winners at the Oscars
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Reader views (13)
Am I the only one who cannot stand Kate toffee nosed luvvy Winslett?
And as for that other film...
- Steve, London
As usual, the nay-sayers are out in their droves, not realising that only the top 5% of actor (a handful out of millions) make the money they make.
I can't decide whether the comments are born from jealousy or abject boredom...
- Jock, London
So happy the Bollywood/British/Hollywood fusion "Slumdog Millionaire" won big. Hope for a sequel.
- Martha Dixon, Atlanta, USA
As long as we remember "the British are not back"! - they are just visiting for a season. For it's size, however, I am proud to be British. Great Movies, Great Cutting-Edge music, always breaking the boundries in the visual arts; not to mention live drama at the West-End.
Britain is a mass of contradictions, eccentricities, and ethnicities - yet somehow - it works!
- Peter, London. UK
Has Kate got asthma? She always appears to be gasping for breath when she appears at one of these do's. Can't be the work, not very energetic really is it. Nor does it save lives or anything like that. Would anyone notice if we did away with the 'Arts' and celebrity, apart from those really ill people who may have a better quality of life as all the money wasted could be channelled into treatments that NICE say we can't afford! Might even provide a cure for breathing problems.
- Alan, Carlisle UK
As a friend at university memorably said, I can scarcely contain my indifference.
- Mikes, London
As usual no mention of what the MEN WERE WEARING!!!
- Davi Patterson, glasgow
Kate Winslet's performance in The Reader was spectacular, the range, the accent, the emotions, even the nudity, if anyone else had got the Oscar than her it would have been robbery. She can go on to be another Dame Judie Dench, an actress for Britain to be proud of, who is not afraid to take on challenging and different roles, and let's not forget that she is beautiful as well.
- Graeme Brown, Austin, Texas
Kate Winslet, YES - Slumdog Millionaire, TRIPE.
- Ted, London
Congrats to Kate Winslet. Have loved her since Sense and Sensibility!!!
- Gez, Lancs
I'm glad that Sean Penn won for his brilliant performance in Milk, far superior to that of Rourke in the Wrestler.
- Bob, Cheam
Why really cares other than our celebrity obsessed media. Why the rest of us worry about the worst recession since the thirties, with the inevitable political upheaval benefiting the far left and the far right, which in the led in the past to the second world war.
- Alan Green, Woodford Green
Great stuff from Danny Boyle and Cast! Can't wait for 'Slumdog II'.
- Dhanraj, basildon
