Oscars Nominations 2011 – The Nominees React!
Mark Wahlberg (producer), best picture, The Fighter: “It has been such an incredible journey with The Fighter and one that I am grateful to share with David O. Russell, Christian (Bale), Melissa (Leo), Amy (Adams), my fellow producers and the Ward and Eklund families, who are the heart and soul of the film. Thank you to the Academy for this tremendous honor.”
Nicole Kidman, best actress, Rabbit Hole: “What an extraordinary journey this film has taken me on! Rabbit Hole has been a labor of love and I’m so thankful to John Cameron Mitchell, David Lindsay-Abaire and the brilliant cast. This nomination reflects all of the heart and soul that these people have put into it and I can’t thank them enough.”
Jennifer Lawrence, best actress, ‘Winters Bone’: “I woke up this time to watch the nominations and didn’t have to work,” she said. “I think now to celebrate I’m just going go back to bed and sleep the rest of the day. Maybe I’ll have dinner later on tonight.”
Jeremy Renner, Best supporting actor, ‘The Town’: “I was so fearful of doing the accent and then (director) Ben (Affleck) said ‘No dialogue coach,’ but once I began into the role it kind of came naturally,” Renner said. The Boston setting “helped as well because Charlestown (neighborhood) is so much a character in the movie itself and thematically it shows we are products of our enviroment. My nomination is a victory for all us in a way.”
Melissa Leo, Best supporting actress, ‘The Fighter’: “It was an integral role (in the movie),” she said. “To play Alice I was always taking a step forward, and I think you can see that on the screen.”
Geoffrey Rush, Best supporting actor, ‘The King’s Speech’: “As an Australian, I’m as excited to be recognized and honored by the Academy as my character must have been when his London speech therapy business flourished when the future King Of England happened to pop by one day,” he said. “This story has struck such a rich resonant chord with audiences of all ages, which is very exciting — to have your work honored by your industry peers is even better.”
Lisa Cholodenko, Director, ‘The Kids Are All Right’: “The Kids Are All Right” helmer-writer Lisa Cholodenko was up early for the news that her pic grabbed four noms, including best pic and original screenplay. It was a good thing because she had to deal with a technical hiccup. The first thing I did before I even began watching the nominations was I woke my girlfriend up and had her fix the TV because I was seeing picture but not hearing any sounds, which can be a little bizarre at 5:30 in the morning,” she said.
Darren Aronofsky, best picture, ‘Black Swan’: When you do a passion piece and it connects with people it’s just a thrill and getting the nomination is just as thrilling,” he said. “There are so many great scenes that resonate in the film but my personal favorite was what I labeled ‘the Night of Terror’ when everything goes bonkers and her legs break backwards. I always love the reaction that scene gets — some people laugh, some shout, some even cry. That particular scene really embodies the type of thrills I was going for in this movie.”
Howard Cohen, Best Picture, Winter’s Bone: “It it felt like a train once ‘Winter’s Bone’ was released in June,” said Howard Cohen, co-founder of “Bone” distrib Roadside Attractions. “It’s been a lot of work and so much has happened with it. It is an indie movie so we did have to figure out (how) to push against the big boys but I think we set forth a pretty good campaign.”
Aaron Sorkin, Best adapted screenplay, ‘The Social Network’: “It’s a story Shakespeare (and other classic writers) could have written. Just lucky for me that none of those guys were available,” he said. “Getting his head around Zuckerberg as a person was a challenge.” Sorkin admits. “He’s a complicated character,” he said. “In the movie he’s an antihero. I just wanted to make sure he was human. When you’re writing a character like that…you have to be able to defend the character.”
