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Fil-Am animators of 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse' given a shout out by director and producer after Oscar win
Los Angeles — The 91st Academy Awards held Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre of Hollywood and Highland, was a night of surprises.
“Green Book” went home with the Best Picture Award, stealing the moment from Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” which had 10 nominations and Yorgos Lanthimos’ film, “The Favourite,” which also had 10 nominations.
READ: Controversial race drama 'Green Book' wins Oscars Best Picture
Olivia Colman bagged the Best Actress Award for her performance as Queen Anne in “The Favourite” stealing the thunder from Glenn Close, Lady Gaga, Melissa McCarthy and Yalitza Apricio.
In her acceptance speech, she told Glenn onstage, “Glenn Close, you’ve been my idol for so long. This is not how I wanted it to be. And I think you’re amazing and I love you very much.”
RELATED: 2019 Oscar winners in key categories
Rami Malek made a very emotional speech when he received the Oscar award for Best Actor for his performance as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Calling it a monumental moment, Rami gave a shout out to his mom, his family, and "to everyone who has had a hand in getting me here. To the Academy. To people who took a chance on me every step of the way, Graham King, Denis O’Sullivan, everyone at Fox and New Regency, thank you guys so much. I may not have been the obvious choice, but I guess it worked out."
He thanked the legendary band, Queen, the cast and crew, whom he called "my equals, you are my betters. I could have never been here without you" and then he turned inward and pondered about “what it would have been like to tell little Bubba Rami that one day this might happen to him, and I think his curly-haired little mind would be blown."
Describing his younger self as "struggling with his identity, trying to figure himself out," Rami addressed those "struggling with theirs and trying to discover their voice:
"Listen we made a film about a gay man, an immigrant, who lived his life just unapologetically himself. And the fact that I’m celebrating him and this story with you tonight is proof that we’re longing for stories like this."
Meanwhile, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse” went home with the Best Animated Feature Film accolade.
READ: 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse': Sony spins 2018’s last — and best — Marvel movie
When directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman as well as producers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord went backstage to talk to the press, we asked them about how much the Filipino animators contributed the film.
The breakthrough animated movie had on board Fil-Am animators John Butiu, Louie del Carmen and Ryan Paredes Rubi. It also showcased the voice talent of Fil-Am actress Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman/Gwanda.
Director Peter Ramsey said, “It was a substantial contribution. We had talented people from all over the world working together on this movie that kind of echoed what you see in the movie: people coming from whole different universes to get together and realizes their commonalities. So we are very proud of what our Filipino animators and artists, who were among a crew of 800 artists, gave to the film.”
Then producer Chris Miller added, “Shout out to John Butiu and Louie del Carmen!”
According to John, he learned of their Oscar win while he was out for dinner with some friends. “I checked my Facebook and noticed several ‘Congrats!’ messages. I exclaimed, ‘Yes! We won the Oscar!’ to my family and then I checked YouTube to see the Oscar acceptance speech, and then watched the full backstage interview and when you (Hollywood Insider) asked about the Filipino animators and Peter Ramsey and Chris Miller mentioned my name three times, my jaw literally dropped!
"It was so surreal and we had to do a double take and we all watched it several times to be sure we weren’t seeing things! I’m just glad I was a part of an amazing Spider-Verse team and very honored!"
After expressing his thanks to Sony Pictures Animation, Imageworks as well as Phil Lord, Chris Miller and directors Bob, Peter and Rodney, John said he "can’t wait to see what the future brings to this fun and amazing studio full of talented artists! I’ve been at Sony Pictures Animation since 2004 and I can’t wait for the next Spider-Verse adventure! Congratulations also to the other Filipino animators and artists as well!”
In an earlier interview, Louie said, “Whenever you can balance, vision, innovative technology and storytelling that resonates with people, the rest takes care of itself. Spider-Verse has done that and is very much deserving of its Academy Award nomination. Needless to say I am very proud to have played a part in its creation.”
Ryan Rubi said, “I found out about the nomination through LinkedIn of all places - I'll admit I was not surprised, but appreciative that the film received this recognition because of its unique and extraordinary approach. As an artist, this is fantastic news, and it means more opportunity in the future to challenge ourselves and go beyond what we have already accomplished.”
Unfortunately, Matthew Libatique (“A Star is Born”), who wore an Oliver Tolentino tuxedo, lost to Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”) in the Best Cinematography category while Bobby Pontillas (“ One Small Step”) and Trevor Jimenez (“Weekends”) lost to Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb (“Bao”) in the Best Animated Short Film category.
But no matter: Congratulations to the Fil-Am members of "Spider-Verse"! — LA GMA, News
