I have never had the full Oscar experience (or should I say endurance) before. As a Brit it required staying up until 5am in the morning to watch the whole ceremony and not being much of a film buff I was never tempted to make that sort of commitment.
As I could watch it for the first time during my normal waking hours I thought I should last night. It was as painful as I feared it might be complete with uninspiring gushing acceptance speeches that seemed to be cut off by the music most of the time, endless awards that I never knew existed before, and constant ad breaks.
Yet despite all that the last moment of this year’s event was both wonderful and powerful at the same time. In his acceptance speech No Country For Old Men producer Scott Rudin thanked his partner John Barlow.
“This is also for my partner John Barlow. Without you, honey, this would be hardware. Thank you so much. Thank you.”
Watch the video here on YouTube if you haven’t seen it already.
It thought it was incredibly touching and genuine. It was a personal and not any kind of political statement, and reminded me very much of Jodie Foster’s tribute to her long-term partner.
Although Hollywood may be the epitome of liberal America to some it is still an industry where being openly gay, particularly for actors, is for many simply not an option they are willing to take for fear of jeopardizing their career and the type of roles that they can hope to get in the future.
As Ian McKellen said last year "It is very, very, very difficult for an American actor who wants a film career to be open about his sexuality,"
Hopefully others will be inspired by the moment that capped off this year’s ceremony to make similar moving tributes in the future. It doesn’t need to have any fanfare or have a political dimension. As Scott Rudin proved last night it can be done as a statement of love that is more powerful on the public stage in front of a global audience of hundreds of millions than any PSA or inclusiveness campaign you are ever likely to see.
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