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  • 1 week ago
BY: Brande Victorian

Winning an Academy Award is one thing, being honored by the Academy is a completely different thing,’ says the British film director and producer.

On Saturday night, Sir Steve McQueen, Julia Roberts, Tilda Swinton, And Miky Lee were honored at the Second Annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles. McQueen, known for directing the award-winning film 12 Years A Slave, which made him is the first Black filmmaker to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, told us on the red carpet he was “moved” by the recognition from his peers.

‘Winning an Academy Award is one thing, being honored by the Academy is a completely different thing, so I was really touched,” he shared.

On the red carpet, we asked McQueen’s peers which works of his had the greatest impact on their own artistry, and fellow director Ava DuVernay said it was the London native’s 2020 anthology film series Small Axe.

“I think it was glorious,” she said. It was expressions of joy and angst and turmoil and tragedy and triumph and that’s really what we want is the multitudes. We are multitudes.”

Actor Jonathan Majors agreed while also praising McQueen’s 2011 erotic drama Shame. “Where he’s willing to take his humanity to allow stories about humanity to come out the way they do is quite brave,” said the star of the upcoming films Devotion and Creed III.

Check out our full red-carpet interviews in the video above as Jay Ellis, Jessica Chastain and more weigh in on the cinematic excellence of Sir Steve McQueen.
Transcript
00:00I'm Brandi Victorian and we are live in Los Angeles at the Second Annual Academy Museum Gala where Sir Steve McQueen will be honored along with Julia Roberts and many other stars in front of and behind the scenes. Check out the celebs we caught up with on the red carpet.
00:16We've been asking everyone about which project from Steve McQueen has had the most impact on him since he's been.
00:21From Steve McQueen. I love small acts. I really did. I wish more people saw it.
00:29I think it was glorious. It was expressions of joy and angst and turmoil and tragedy and triumph.
00:37And that's really what we want is multitudes. We are multitudes.
00:42Small acts, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, that whole that whole thing was just right. Right. Right. You know, I appreciate that.
00:51Shame was an incredible film. You know, where he's willing to take his humanity to allow stories about humanity to come out the way they do is quite he's quite brave.
01:04Come on. I mean, come on. Twelve years. I mean, you know what I mean? Like just such a like an amazing story.
01:12Also, like when you think how hard it is to get movies made, like also such a hard movie to get made in this time or in that time.
01:21And like his point of view and his commitment to telling it and like his commitment to honesty and truth. I don't know. He's a genius.
01:31Shame or hunger. Shame. I thought shame was an extraordinary film. Yeah. Yeah. That's my favorite, I think. Okay. Yeah. Extraordinary performances, beautifully shot and it's something. We are the same person. We are the same person.
01:42Except you're a man and I'm a woman. It's crazy. So Steve McQueen, you know, one of my first kind of films since Blue Story.
01:51Although it was part of the anthology series Small Axe, it was pretty much like five films, you know, created together. And Love Is Rock was a big turning point in my career.
01:59You know, I feel like that was the first time people started seeing me in a different light. You know, I got to play a character that's, you know, that was pretty much Jamaican.
02:07I'm from Jamaica. So for me as an heritage, it was special to be involved in that. And yeah, man, he's just an incredible artist.
02:14Where were you and what was your reaction when you found out they wanted to honor you?
02:17I think I was at home and I was just really kind of touched because, you know, and moved because winning academy was one thing.
02:26Being honored by the academy is a completely different thing. So I was just really kind of chuffed, absolutely.
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