Personal email recounting Oscar season buzz and industry anecdotes

From: Stephanie Sent: 3/4/2011 11:15:40 PM To: Peggy Siegal 2<Vacation@gmail.com Subject: RE: Oscar diary Attachments: Oscar story.doc Importance: — High Jeffrey, Peggy's story is attached to the e-mail. I have included the story in the body of the e-mail as well. Thanks, Stephanie Omar Quadhafi is hunkering down in Tripoli giving press interviews denying that rebels are taking over Eastern Libya. Oi] prices are shooting over one hundred dollars a barrel. The US government is on the verge of a shut down. These are not the top secret opening lines to Aaron Sorkin’s new script, but the global headlines of a world spinning out of control. I head to Los Angeles like an overdressed lemming to attend the 83rd Academy Awards and attempt to make sense of artists thrust into combat. For the second year nearly 6,000 Academy members have nominated 10 films and the battle is down to two. The beloved timeless classic, "The King's Speech" marches into the arena as the front runner, but passionate supporters of the brilliant edgier (and critics darling) "The Social Network" have not conceded. The ballots are counted, the party invites are out and still the feelings are raw. Filmmakers are exhausted from campaigning. At Bryan Lourd's famous star studded party Sony Classics’ Co-President Michael Barker announces to me he has taken a random sampling of voters in the room. He says, "There will be a ‘Social Network’ upset at the Kodak Theater." Shear panic radiates from my every pore as he says, "I am joking." It's like color war at summer camp. woody Allen and George Lucas tell me they are no longer members of the Academy because pitting artists against each other to determine the quality of their work is insane. They are right. My event and publicity company is considered "Switzerland" by the studios, as we help every filmmaker to present and position his work. This year I am somewhat emotionally sucked in. In 2005 I meet the unknown 32-year-old English director Tom Hooper on his first film for HBO,"Elizabeth I". The Emmy award winning movie stars Helen Mirren, who takes credit for discovering him directing English television. Helen later wins her Oscar for portraying Queen Elizabeth in “The Queen”. Queen Elizabeth is the daughter of King George VI portrayed by Oscar winner Colin Firth in “The King's Speech". I also become Hooper's champion encouraging many to see his early work including his herculean 10 hour HBO mini-series "John Adams" produced by Tom Hanks. Six years later at the Telluride Film Festival Tom Hooper is bathing in the glory of a hysterical standing ovation with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush at the very first screening of "The King's Speech.” Surprisingly, this drama's subtle humor gets big laughs leading up to its emotional ending. within two weeks, at The Toronto Film Festival, Harvey Weinstein is now standing with his filmmakers witnessing the same reaction. The film wins The Audience Prize. Their strategy is to say nothing. Do nothing. They have a possible Oscar winner. Four out of five past Best Pictures have premiered in Toronto. cut to New York City at the end of September. It's the opening night at The Film Society of Lincoln center. One of America’s most important and prolific producers Scott Rudin, along with Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Aaron Sorkin are in a brightly lit box waving down to their equally hysterical audience who have just seen "The Social Network". The film opens the next day to rave reviews and endless publicity. David Fincher is off making “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Aaron Sorkin becomes the face of the film and an immediate shoo-in for an Oscar. The Hamptons International Film Festival in October suddenly becomes a launching pad for "127 Hours", where cool Yale/NYU student James Franco appears and receives a heroic standing ovation. More Oscar buzz. “Black Swan" also unspools there in a tiny theater as Madonna, Alec Baldwin and even Harvey Weinstein slip in the back. Darren Aronofsky, sporting the ever present cool wool scarf around his neck is hailed a genius. Natalie Portman is instantly the hot nominee for Best Actress. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_012685