Rotten Tomatoes UK is exhausted. We stumbled into the office at 5:30AM this morning as the Oscars came to a close, wearing grins so big they’d give the Cheshire Cat a run for his money… Marty! Jennifer! Pan’s!
Yes, t’were a good Oscar night all around, the Academy taking note of truly the most deserving winners in each category, and the FilmFour party we spent the evening at felt supremely happy with its result for Forest Whitaker; The Last King of Scotland being one of their home-grown projects.
And it was a good night for the Brits in general – nominees in the acting categories sung with British brilliance and they sparkled on the Red Carpet (all except Judi Dench who was unwell) and Her Madge, Helen Mirren, was crowned Best Actress for The Queen – expected, perhaps, but pretty darn thrilling for an actress who can claim Penthouse-production Caligula amongst her screen credits.
"You know my sister told me that all kids love to get gold stars," effused Mirren, "and this is the biggest and best gold star that I have ever had in my life. I want to share my gold star with my fellow nominees; those brilliant, brilliant actresses who gave such amazing performances this year."
It seemed there was no escaping the Brits in another key category to boot. Arguably the key category in fact… Our own Graham King took to the podium to accept the Best Picture award for The Departed, the film that nabbed Martin Scorsese his first Oscar. "To be standing here where the Queen of England just stood is pretty incredible," said King, "To be standing here where Martin Scorsese won his Oscar is such a joy."
All in all it was a good year to be a Brit in Hollywood. With nominations running into the double figures and representation amongst winners even in American productions, our filmmakers did us proud. On behalf of all at Rotten Tomatoes UK, congrats chaps!
