Michael Semanick, Best Sounds Mixing for King Kong: " I want to thank my mother for giving me unconditional support when I chose this crazy career. You questioned me only once. Are you sure you don't want to be a doctor? Yes, mom, I'm sure. I love you."
Gavin Hood, Best Foreign Language Film for Tsotsi (South Africa): " I just want to thank my fellow nominees who I've become deep friends with. We may have foreign language films, but our stories are the same as your stories. They're about the human heart and emotion."
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Capote: "Thank you so much. And my mom's name is Marilyn O'Connor, and she's here tonight. And I'd like if you see her tonight to congratulate her. Because she brought up four kids alone, and she deserves a congratulations for that. Oh, I'm at the party, mom, you know? And she took me to my first play, and she stayed up with me and watched the NCAA final four. And my passions, her passions became my passions. And, you know, be proud, mom, because I'm proud of you, and we're here tonight, and it's so good."
Reese Witherspoon, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Walk the Line: "I am so blessed to have my family here tonight. My mother and my father are here. And I just want to say thank you so much for everything, for being so proud of me. It didn't matter if I was making my bed or making a movie. They never hesitated to say how proud they were of me. And that means so very much to a child. So thank you, Mom and Dad. I want to say thank you to my wonderful husband and my two children who should be going to bed. And thank you for loving me so much and supporting me. And I want to say that, my grandmother was one of the biggest inspirations in my life. She taught me how to be a real woman, to have strength and self respect, and to never give those things away. And those are a lot of qualities I saw in June Carter. People used to ask June how she was doing, and she used to say — "I'm just trying to matter." And I know what she means. You know, I'm just trying to matter, and live a good life and make work that means something to somebody. And you have all made me feel that I might have accomplished that tonight. So thank you so much for this honor."
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - DJRadiohead
George Clooney and Hollywood also died for all our sins.
Did anyone else notice that he never really thanked anyone?
2 - Eric Olsen
he mentioned Batman more than once - and he mentioned that since he got supporting actor "there goes the director award." I'm not sure that as in the spirit of the evening!
3 - DJRadiohead
The 'director' crack was pretty amusing. I will give him that. I thought he was going to get screenplay, not supporting actor. I got the other three acting nods correct.
4 - Victor Lana
I thought Clooney was pretty cool, unflappable, and just the way I'd expect him to be. I think Batman was a huge moment in his career, and luckily it didn't end up sinking the whole damn thing.
5 - Unmoved
George Clooney has a lot of fuckin' nerve making his smug remarks on the progressiveness of LA, the industry, and the academy, "as evidenced" by their first awarding a black woman, McDaniel, in 1939 for Gone with the Wind. Yeah, right. They gave her the award, but they didn't let her sit in the audience (or made her sit at an isolated table in the very back, away from the rest of the GWTW cast, depending on whom you believe) during the awards, and she wasn't allowed into the festivities afterwards. She wasn't allowed to attend the premier in Atlanta. They removed her face from the Atlanta program after locals protested. And finally in 1952 when she died, they denied her wishes and wouldn't allow her to be buried in Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery. Yeah, real progressive. Meanwhile, I believe they never gave another black woman an Oscar® until Whoopie Goldberg got one for Ghost.
6 - Eric Olsen
I don't think even George Clooney would say Hollywood is without hypocrisy - it was alos interesting to see smugness in place of the usual false humility
7 - Tom Cruise
You don't know the history of black people. George Cloony does.
8 - CAROLINA
NOMINATED 3 TIMES , FOR 3 DIFFERENT THINGS ! WOWW .. BIG UP CLOONY ! YOU CAN DO IT !
9 - CAROLINA
THIS MESSAGE IF FOR Unmoved NUMBER 5
YOUR SAYING THAT NO OTHER WOMEN HAS GOTTEN AN OSCAR SINCE AND IM QUOTING :
Meanwhile, I believe they never gave another black woman an Oscar® until Whoopie Goldberg got one for Ghost.
You forgot about HALLE BERRY !
SHES MAYBE MIX BUT SHES STILL BLACK !
AND YOUR RIGHT ABOUT CLOONY
HE DOESNT KNOW WHAT HES TALKING ABOUT.
HE JUST THINKS THAT DEFENDING BLACK PEOPLE IS A IT NOW DAYS ! THERES A DIFFERENCE between defending black peoples right and knowing that your talking about !
Diamond xxx
10 - Eric Olsen
Whoopi was much earlier than Halle - that was his point
11 - CAROLINA
i KNOW IT WAS MUCH earlier than Halle, one more reason to know it !!! People need to be uptodate !
12 - Eric Olsen
In other words, it was a long gap from Hattie to Whoopi, and then another gap to Halle
13 - you hateme
So, black people can't act, what's the big deal?
14 - youstillhateme
Oh and in 1963, we saw the first African-American win an Oscar for best actor when Sidney Poitier took home the statue for “Lilies of the Field.”
The gap narrows.
15 - Eric Olsen
#13 - I assume you jest
16 - chantal stone
#9....huh???
17 - Eric Olsen
yes, rather than "defending black people," it seemed more like he was defending himself
18 - DIAMOND
WHICH ONE WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT ERIC ?
19 - Eric Olsen
Clooney - he seemed to be trying to turn the claims against the Hollywood establishment (of which he is a proud member) -- that they are out of touch with mainstream America -- on its head
20 - Nancy
It doesn't matter what they say. The Oscars are the biggest, shallowest, most self-congratulatory ego orgy by a bunch of overly self-satisfied, over-indulged group outside of congress. It's the same old BS.
21 - Rodney Welch
You sound jealous.
22 - Eric Olsen
Nancy, that's why I love them!
23 - DJRadiohead
Did Clooney happen to mention how long it was after that first Academy Award to an African-American it was before they handed out the next one? How many African-American Actors and Actresses have landed "Best in a Leading Role" for the respective genders? If we are going to talk about how in touch Hollywood is, let's talk about it. I think there are more African-American head coaches in the NBA than there are African-American Oscar winners.
I don't mind the self-congratulatory, ego-boosting. I do mind the lectures. These people are by and large not qualified to run their own lives let alone lecture the rest of us how to run ours.
24 - Eric Olsen
do as I say, not as I do, dammit!
25 - bharath
how come all the comments are on clooney? is he one loony baloony? :)
I liked 36 mafia acceptance speech. man were they excited about getting the oscar. awesome!