Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars last night, and became the first solely-British financed film to win Best Picture at the American Academy Awards since Hamlet in 1948.Simon Beaufoy won the prize for Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for his Slumdog script based on the book by Vikas Swarup.
There are certain places in the universe you never imagine standing. For me, it's the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium and here. It's a tremendous honour, so thank you to the Academy. I certainly wouldn't be standing here tonight without Vikas Swarup, who wrote the book, without which none of Slumdog would ever have happened. So thank you, Vikas.There's a concise history of the production of Slumdog Millionaire on Wikipedia. And, in the wake of its success, in The Guardian, Stephen Armstrong looks at the prospects for the British film industry.
"I'm concerned we're at a tipping point for British film," says Andy Harries, chief executive of Left Bank and producer of 2006's Oscar-nominated movie The Queen as well as next month's The Damned Utd. "The future is very uncertain. C4 and the BBC are the only source of funds for anyone who isn't Working Title and when times are tough for broadcasters a film company can look like a bit of a luxury."The Oscar for Writing (Original Screenplay) went to Dustin Lance Black for Milk.
Congratulations to Simon Beaufoy and everyone else connected with Slumdog Millionaire. It's ironic that at a time when the government is throwing billions of pounds at failing businesses, it's not doing more to support our film and television industries which are the best bets of all. Northern Rock Productions plc anyone?
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