On the Campaign Bus: Matthew McConaughey Had to Say "No" to Get the Work He Wanted

No one deserves the Best Actor Oscar more than Matthew McConaughey. Then, again, the same could be said about Bruce Dern, Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Chewitel Ejiofor. All did outstanding work this year. All five men have enjoyed distinguished careers and can point to ample numbers of critically admired portrayals. What's an Academy Awards voter to do? We'll have to wait until Sunday to find out. In the meantime, here's what McConaughey, 44, had to say about his work in "Dallas Buyers Club" when he spoke to Dave Karger at a recent screening.

On McConaughey's relationship with the family of Ron Woodroof, the character he plays:

They opened their home to me. They opened every scrapbook they had... They did not sugarcoat who he was. The sister said he stole two of her cars twice, took all of her valuables. But then they said, you couldn’t help but love him. They were very honest about who he was... They said we have something we feel you should have, and then they gave me his diary, which was the diary he kept before he had HIV. That was really my secret weapon.

McConaughey explains what he means by "secret weapon":

As an actor you want to be seeing it from the inside. You want a secret. That [the diary] was my secret , the thing I had on my side. I ddidn’t share that with anyone else. There were certain excerpts that I would bring up to {director] Jean-Marc Vallee along the way that sometimes were added or improved, but it’s something that’s mine. And it was me and him. It was the thing that allowed me to be like, "There’s no way I could go wrong or tell and untruth in a scene," which is a great feeling to have when you’re going In to play a role.

On the difficulty of getting the film made:

It was around for 20 years. It got rejected 137 times… No way [it was going to get made, it's a] period piece, AIDS drama, with a bigoted hero. It’s not putting change in your pocket.. I wanted to do it. They said great, but no one’s going to finance it. A year went by, another year went by, and finally we set the date. People said again there’s no one to finance it. We said, "Fine, we’ll do it. We’ll get the money."

Jean-Marc comes on. We have the director, the lead, pieces are starting to come together. The producers didn’t flinch... We did believe that the film was real. We had a start date. We had locations. We had crew. And then at five weeks out the money fell out. It never went into escrow. I never asked if it was going to happen... At the time I didn’t have doubts. It’ll happen this fall, Nov. 1. There’s something about not pausing… We’re doing it in November.

Dining With the Stars: Hollywood Salutes The Wrap's Fifth Anniversary

Give Them Five!

Whether Old School or new media, any publication that not only survives but flourishes for five years is doing everything right. That’s certainly the case with the movie business go-to web site “The Wrap.”

Former New York Times reporter Sharon Waxman launched the lively, tremendously informative site in 2009. It’s become one of Hollywood’s daily must reads, thanks to its smart reporting and analysis, complemented by its sharp, attractive design.

“We have been embraced by the insider Hollywood community for some time,” Waxman said, “and are now seeing that credibility scale into a broad consumer community that is savvy about
the entertainment business and eager for an intelligent, insider read.”

Sharon Waxman, Sony Classics' co-chief Tom Bernard
at The Wrap's fifth anniversary celebration

While acknowledging what she calls “those two intersecting communities,” Waxman declares that “no matter how big we get – and we grew 500% just last year – we will never lose sight of our core 
mission of serving the entertainment professional. That is the heart of our value as a news 
organization.”

They Said It at the Oscars

"By the way, be sure to stay tuned for the whole show, because at the end of the night we are going to vote somebody out of show business.''

– Host Steve Martin, when the 2001 broadcast reached the 2 1/2 hour point

On the Campaign Bus: Steve Carell, Pharrell Williams, And Chris Meledandri Prepare to Get Lucky

In mid-February, the star, composer and producer of the hilarious hit film "Despicable Me 2" – nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (the infectious "Happy") – talked to Oscar voters and other guild members at the Directors Guild about their experiences making the movie. Here are a few of their comments in response to the moderator's questions.

Carell and friend at "Despicable Me 2" premiere

Q (for Steve Carrell): Did you identify with your character, his challenges as being a parent and having career [as a villain]?

SC: I’m exactly that character, especially the idea of being a new father who is discovering all of these things for the first time. It’s a universal feeling when you become a parent. You feel that part of your identity has been taken away and has been replaced with something else. That’s scary. You feel like you’re losing control of what had defined you up to that point. [He paused, then:] I can’t believe I’m talking like this about an animated film.

All hat and lots of talent: Pharrell Williams at the
Grammys with Daft Punk and Nigel Rogers

Q (for Pharrell Williams): Tell us about your process and how you interacted with the talent going through it.

PW: It’s been amazing... One of the things that I learned is that you don’t make your art just for you and your crew. That’s what I used to think… That doesn’t matter [to the audience or filmmakers]. I had to learn that… I learned that I needed to harmonize with the writers, Chris, the actors.

Williams on writing the Oscar-nominated song "Happy": Happy speaks to human beings, my other songs speak to people who want to look at booty… This allows me to rise to the occasion of working with humans. And I’ve never done that. This has been the most humbling of [not just] situations, opportunities, but moments of my life, period.
 

Williams was asked if he found it hard to write "Happy": No. [He then launched into a lengthy depiction of the difficulties of writing the song.]

Oscars Firsts: The First Best Picture(s)

Most people believe the first Best Picture Oscar was awarded in 1929 to "Wings," William Wellman's thrilling WWI saga starring Clara Bow, Buddy Rogers, and Richard Arlen.

That's only partly true. In its early years the Academy had two, not one, Best Picture categories, and neither of them included the word "best." The first Oscars were given to "Wings" in the Outstanding Picture category. Another Oscar went to "Sunrise" in a category the Academy called Unique and Artistic Picture.

First Oscar banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

While all of the Academy's initial 300 or so members voted in the nominations phase, the ultimate winner was chosen by a panel of judges, one from each of the original five branches.

Louis B. Mayer, the powerful head of MGM and the singular force behind the founding of the Academy, played a significant role in selecting "Sunrise," from Fox, over MGM'S own, critically acclaimed, "The Crowd."

The Crowd: coulda, woulda, shoulda

Emanuel Levy, in his authoritative book All About Oscar, relates how this came about:

On February 15, 1929, the Central Board of Judges met all night. The board decided to honor "The Crowd" with the Artistic Quality of Production, and the even called on its director, King Vidor. But Mayer argued against "The Crowd" due to its downbeat tone. Instead he championed "Sunrise," by German director F.W. Murnau, who was a respected filmmaker. Additionally, "Sunrise" starred all-American Janet Gaynor, had a happy ending, and was made by Paramount. Mayer feared charges of favoritism since "The Crowd" was an MGM picture. Mayer prevailed and the voting results were published in the "Academy Bulletin," on February 16 with the winners announced right away.

Vidor may have been robbed, but at least Mayer escaped looking like a gonif!

They Said It at the Oscars

"Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, ladies and gentlemen. I don't actually have a joke for them. I'm just contractually obligated to mention their names five times during the show."

– Hugh Jackman, 2009 Academy Awards broadcast