Winners’ Pride, Praise and Surprise

Longtime partners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, director and producers of the best picture “A Beautiful Mind,” said backstage that despite whatever quibbles some people may have about things that were left out of “A Beautiful Mind” they were proud of what they accomplished, distilling the story of a complex life into a compelling movie.

“Meeting Alicia [Nash] was one of the things that changed the script,” Ron Howard explained.

“It continued to evolve and grow as I got to know the strength of this woman.”

Best supporting actress Jennifer Connelly echoed Grazer and Howard’s comments about Alicia Nash.

“She’s a true hero. She’s a remarkable woman, she’s strong, fiercely intelligent. Devoted to her husband, even now. An incredible amount of devotion that’s rare and extraordinary,” Connelly said.

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Best supporting actor Jim Broadbent, said of “Iris,” an intense film based on his character John Bayley’s book about his wife Iris Murdoch’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease: “The film needs all help it can get. Grown up, serious. A love story between older people, by and large. It’s nice to be able to promote it.”

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Woody Allen said backstage he said he hadn’t written down his remarks for the short film honoring New York City, but he had practiced in the shower. When it was his turn to speak, he said, “I got a panicky feeling that without hot water running down my back I wouldn’t be able to do it. I feel I was better in my shower, actually.”

Allen, whose good-humored disdain for locations west of the Hudson River and L.A. in particular is legendary, said he “just flew in today. I’m here till Wednesday and will take advantage of any cultural opportunity the city has to offer, like mudslides.”

No one told him that these days, a big fire is much more likely.

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Reporter Herby Moreau of Flash TV in Montreal asked Sidney Poitier if he could touch his Oscar because it would bring him good luck.

Then he stood in front of the camera and told his parents he was holding Poitier’s Oscar. Another reporter then asked, “Have things changed enough?”

“Things have changed, clearly,” Poitier said. “If you came to this venue tonight and saw the array of minority actors headed by some extraordinary people, then you know that things have changed. I think it’s a question of degree.”

“To speak of Hollywood as if there has not been change is not fair,” Poitier said. “You can question the speed of it and question whether it will last. Denzel Washington stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best actors of the world....

“We have lots and lots and lots of African American actors. The world has changed, and it is continuing to change.”

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“The first six months, I thought it wasn’t going to happen at all,” said Julian Fellowes, honoree for best screenplay written directly for the screen for “Gosford Park.”

“And then the money came, and people were in and out. Until February, I didn’t think it would be made. The big thing was whether or not it would be made, not whether we’d win an Oscar.”

Fellowes, an actor who won for his very first script, added, “I don’t see one has to make that choice [between screenwriting or acting]. My acting career doesn’t match my writing career. A slight schizophrenia going on.

“When I write, I cast it in my head. Four of the people I imagined in my wildest dreams actually played the parts. They didn’t improvise....”

Randy Newman, winner of best original song, said he was surprised.

“I thought [Paul] McCartney or Sting would win ... or Enya.”

“When they stood up, the audience threw me. If I had tear ducts, I would have teared up.

“I wasn’t cool about it, as you could see.”

He joked that he had mixed feelings about the award, acknowledging that if he had lost, he could have set a record for having had the most nominations (16) without winning.

More seriously, he said, “I never thought I was somehow deficient in the past ... [and the award] doesn’t make the song any better. The grammar in it is really bad.”

When he saw the orchestra and the audience stand, he said, “I thought I’d have to wait till I died.”