SPEECH BY: James Ivory
FILM: "Call Me by Your Name"
JAMES IVORY: Well, I'll try and keep it --- I'll make it as fast I can, before the music plays. My rule number one for a screenwriter who adapts a novel, is first thank the author. Andre Aciman, who wrote the story about first love, and who's here tonight. A story familiar to most of us, whether we're straight or gay, or somewhere in between, we've all gone through first love, I hope, and come out the other side mostly intact. Though maybe not without the benefit of loving parents, like the Perlman's in this film. I want to thank our sensitive and sensible director, Luca Guadagnino, as well as my neighbors in Upstate New York, Peter Spears and Brian Swardstrom who offered me this job. Of course, I want to thank the film's wonderful emotion-filled actors, I wouldn't be standing up here tonight without their inspired help. And I wouldn't be standing up here without the inspired help I received from my life's partners who are gone, our writer Ruth Jhabvala, who received this award twice, and our fearless producer Ismail Merchant. Working with them for close to fifty years at Merchant/Ivory led me to this award. And my profound thanks to the members of the Academy. In voting for me, you are remembering them. And finally, my thanks to Sony Classics, to Michael Barker and to Tom Bernard for getting behind this film in such a princely way. Thank you very much, everyone.
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