SPEECH BY: Mahershala Ali
FILM: "Green Book"
MAHERSHALA ALI:
The Academy, thank you. I want to thank Dr. Shirley for just trying to capture his essence. Trying to capture Dr. Shirley’s essence pushed me to my ends, which is a reflection of the person he was and the life that he lived. And I thank him. I thank my partner Viggo, it was extraordinary working with you. Peter Farrelly, I thank you for your leadership and your guidance. And for also giving us space; like really giving us space to work it out, and coming in and tweaking. And I really appreciate and love you. Octavia Spencer, Kris Bowers, my double. I wanna dedicate this to my grandmother, who has been in my ear my entire life, telling me that if at first I don’t succeed, try, try again, that I could do anything I put my mind to. Always, always pushing me to think positively. And I know I would not be here without her, that she has gotten me over the hump every step of the way. I thank my wife and my daughter Bari. I thank Universal, Participant, Amblin and everyone who contributed and helped with our movie. Again, thank you so much.
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