Best Picture

Onstage Speech Transcript | 85th Academy Awards

ONSTAGE SPEECH
CATEGORY: Best Picture
SPEECH BY: Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers
FILM: "Argo"

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Grant Heslov: I know what you're thinking: the three sexiest producers alive. I want to thank the Academy, this is truly an honor. There are literally thousands of people to thank, so thankfully I'm not going to thank them now. I'm going to thank everybody personally in the next few weeks, but there are a couple of people I want to acknowledge. I want to acknowledge my partner in crime and my great friend, George Clooney, who everybody should be so lucky to have a partner who is talented and as humorous and who has as much integrity. I want to thank my beautiful wife Lisa. You make everything better. And to our kids, Maya and Olivia. I love you guys. I hope your old man's not embarrassing you up here. The reason I wanted to speak first, before Ben was Ben is a producer on the film and he is also our director. And I thought it would be awkward for Ben to thank himself, but it's not awkward for me. So on behalf of George and myself, I want to thank you, Ben. You directed a hell of a film. Couldn't be more proud of the film. Couldn't be more proud of Ben. So ladies and gentlemen, our co-producer and the director of Argo: Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck: Thank you very much. Thank you very, very much. I know eventually that thing is going to start quickly so please forgive me if this is a little bit quick. I want to acknowledge Steven Spielberg, who I feel is a genius and a towering talent among us. I want to acknowledge the other 8 films, there are 8 great films, who have as much a right to be up here as we do. I want to acknowledge them for what they did and thank them and many of them who didn't even get nominated this year. I want to thank Jack McNiece, Jerry Speck, Marty Brest and my brother and my mom and dad and Patrick Whitesell and Tony Mendez, who let us do his story. Thank you. I thank you everyone in the movie, on the movie, worked on the movie, did anything with this movie gets thanked. I want to thank Canada. I want to thank our friends in Iran living in terrible circumstances right now. I want to thank my wife who I don't usually associate with Iran. I want to thank you for working on our marriage for 10 Christmases. It's good. It is work but it's the best kind of work and there's no one I'd rather work. And I'd just like to say, I was here 15 years ago or something and I had no idea what I was doing. I stood out here in front of you all and really just a kid. I went out and I never thought I would be back here. And I am, because of so many of you who are here tonight, because of this Academy, because of so many wonderful people who extended themselves to me when they had nothing to benefit from it in Hollywood. You know what I mean, I couldn't get them a job. I want to thank them and I want to thank what they taught me, which is that you have to work harder than you think you possibly can. You can't hold grudges. It's hard but you can't hold grudges. And it doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life because that's going to happen. All that matters is you gotta get up. Violet, Sam and Sera, this is for you.

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