CATEGORY: Music (Original Score)
SPEECH BY: Alexandre Desplat
FILM: THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
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Q. [Speaks in French]
A. [Speaks in French]
Q. [Speaks in French]
A. [Speaks in French]
Q. [Speaks in French]
Q. So I'm asking ‑‑ first of all, I'm congratulating you for what you just received tonight. And the question is what ‑‑ what I want to know: What does this Oscar really represent to you?
A. Well, this Oscar is just an Oscar, and an Oscar is, as you know, the ultimate award that a filmmaker can dream of. So I guess that that says it all. I've been very fortunate these last years. I've worked with incredible directors, and I have many nominations here, which I never won. And this year I really thought I would split my votes with IMITATION GAME and GRAND BUDAPEST; but, obviously, GRAND BUDAPEST made it for me. And the sound sucks here. It's really bad. But, otherwise, it is fine.
Q. We have a Facebook question, a fan question from (name omitted). How would you describe the moment when you heard your name being read?
A. Intense. Warm. Relieved. Happy. Should I go on?
Q. No. Those are all great words. Thank you very much.
A. Thank you.
Q. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL doesn't take place in any specific country or time period. I was wondering how that informed your writing. And, also, will you be working on the next Roman Polanski movie?
A. Well, that ‑‑ that was the idea, that ‑‑ that Wes and I would try and create the sound that would belong to this fictional country, which was Zubrowka. As you know, you can also drink Zubrowka, with moderation. The ‑‑ the music that you can hear from Switzerland to Russia and to the Balkans is made of a great instrumentarium. The instruments, you can find them, are very various; and we tried to kind of crystallize them into one sound. So that's what we tried to do to achieve. And, yes, I will work again, I think, with Roman Polanski, who is one of the greatest directors of all times.
Q. You were also nominated for IMITATION GAME. Which one are you the most pleased with personally?
A. It's a very good question. Is there another question maybe? No. I mean, I love ‑‑ both these things is a ‑‑ is a ‑‑ was a wonder. As you know, I couldn't do this film, because I was ‑‑ I was booked for another project, which was delayed. And then I could do Morten's film. And I was so inspired by Morten's film, it took me very little time to write the music with a lot of excitement and joy. And Morten is a great artist and a very good musician himself. So working together was smooth, beautiful, and easy.
Q. I know you've worked with Wes Anderson before. Can you talk a little bit about the give and take between the two of you: How much does he approve? How much does he disapprove? And how much freedom do you really get?
A. Well, it's all ‑‑ it's all him. Actually, he should have won this award. Well, you know, Wes, as any great director, is very detailed. He likes to be precise, obsessively, but like not different from Morten Tyldum, or Roman Polanski, or Jacques Audiard. They are ‑‑ they are great directors, and so they are very demanding; and they want everything to fit perfectly in. The thing about Wes's movie is that ‑‑ and in his previous movies we have done together, MR. FOX and MOONRISE KINGDOM, music is really interwoven very strongly to the editing, to the rhythm of the film. I guess that's the most important thing in our relationship. And, also, when we sit together in my studio, very quickly we ‑‑ we get excited about ideas, and I try to give a shape to that musically very quickly. And from ‑‑ it's like arborescence, you know: You find an idea that brings another one. And we really work on the same level and very, very closely.
Q. This is your eighth ‑‑ you won on your eighth nomination. You've got to be beside yourself. I mean, for a second, you had to be fearing you were Randy Newman for a second. But what I'm wondering is why do you think you finally won this time? Is it because it was a score that was easy on the ears? I mean, it's a beautiful score, but I'm just ‑‑ I'm just curious, why this? Why not KING'S SPEECH? Why not ARGO?
A. You know, each year, there's five scores nominated; and you do the best work you can. You don't think about the Oscars. You think about music and the film you're working for; and then you get the nomination or not, which has happened to me, sadly. Just one year in the last eight years. But ‑‑ and ‑‑ and, you know, the ‑‑ I'm not the only composer in the world, and then I'm not ‑‑ I'm not the only one to write film music. So there's other great composers, and sometimes they win. They should. And ‑‑ but, maybe, I hope I will win the next 20 Oscars.
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