It’s become an Oscar nomination announcement morning tradition: The talented men and women who are up for the Academy Awards tell the press how they found out the news and what they think of the great honor. So, here’s your 2014 Oscar reaction compilation! Congrats to all of the lucky teams behind this year’s nominated features and shorts. To see the list of nominees, go to
www.animationmagazine.net/events/five-animated-pics-nominated-academy-awards:
Hayao Miyazaki
Writer, Director, The Wind Rises
“I and my colleagues are deeply honored that the Academy has chosen to nominate The Wind Rises, my last film… It is indeed a privilege for all of us who worked on the film to see it get this acclaim from so far away. I hope that many people will see the film after it opens in North American theaters soon.”
Chris Sanders
Writer/Director, The Croods
“The challenge of building the world of The Croods was that our reference disappeared a few million years ago. The movie was woven from pure imagination. This nomination is an acknowledgement and reward to the hundreds of artists who worked so hard to bring this very human story to life. On behalf of the entire Croods team, we wish to thank the Academy for this incredible honor.”
Kirk DeMicco
Writer/Director, The Croods
“Today’s Oscar nomination is without a doubt the icing on the cake of an eight-year labor of love. We set out to make a film that everyone in the family—especially fathers—can relate to: a story about the power of change. You’d think as an Oscar hopeful I’d be up at 5:30 AM glued to my television, but instead I was in the nursery of my 10 month old twins experiencing the real power of change – that of diapers. This film has taken the work of over 300 talented artists at DreamWorks Animation to produce and on behalf of our entire crew, I send a huge thank-you to the Academy and raise a baby bottle in toast to our fellow nominees!”
Kristine Belson
Producer, The Croods
“Wow… WOW! I’m so thrilled and so grateful to the Academy. But mostly, I’m so very proud on behalf of our incredible team of artists who crafted this film, our amazing voice cast, and most of all of our writer/directors Chris and Kirk. They made a movie that was both hilarious and moving and I feel damn lucky to be part of this remarkable team.”
Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee (Directors) and Peter Del Vecho (Producer)
Disney’s Frozen
“Frozen‘s journey has gone beyond our wildest dreams. We thank the Academy for this honor and look forward to celebrating the nominations with our crew at Disney Animation today.”
Chris Meledandri
Producer, Despicable Me 2
“I was in bed. What surprised me was how restless my night’s sleep was. I was up literally every hour checking the clock. It got to the point where I was dreaming that it was 6 o’clock, which meant that I hadn’t gotten called at 5:30, so there was the acceptance that we hadn’t won. When I woke and watched it online I felt a deep sense of pride. I don’t think as a producer I’ve ever felt more proud.”
Lauren MacMullen (Director) and Dorothy McKim (Producer)
Disney’s Get a Horse!
“On behalf of the small but mighty crew of hand-drawn and CG artists from Get A Horse!, we want to express our deepest gratitude to the Academy for the nomination. We hoped the short would be seen as a love letter to Mickey, to Walt and to the magic of cinema, and have been overwhelmed by the response.”
Max Lang and Jan Lachauer
Directors, Room on the Broom
“This is incredible! We tried not to think about the possibility of getting nominated and kept telling each other, this won’t happen…and now…it really did happen! We would like to thank the Academy in the name of the whole team that worked incredibly hard on making this film. This nomination means a lot to us and we’re so happy our film made it this far.”
Lang: “I was at home hanging out with my daughter when I heard the news. My first reaction was to call Jan to make sure he knows and to congratulate him. The next thing will be to plan the weeks leading up to the Oscars, make travel arrangements and get as many team members together as possible to celebrate.”
Lachauer: “Now we are going to prepare everything for the Oscar journey and try to stay cool.”
Michael Rose and Martin Pope
Producers, Room on the Broom
“I was in a meeting about our next production and Martin was at a lunch when our office called with the amazing news. We’re completely thrilled and delighted. It’s a great honor for the film, and we’re so grateful to our brilliant directors Max Lang and Jan Lachauer, and everyone who worked so hard to make the film.”
Shuhei Morita
Director, Possessions
“It is a godsend! We are so glad that Possessions has been nominated and will be seen by a lot of people. When I heard the news, I was actually drinking with the staffs of this movie…I was very surprised when I heard that Possessions was nominated, and since I wasn’t able to believe this, the next thing I did, I looked over and over the nominees list! I’ve struggled for the past few years about ‘What is my anime style?’ But Possessions is a piece in which I realized that I was satisfied with myself to be able to honestly put my soul in it. With just a few staff, we brainstormed some ideas off each other to come up with this film. We are so glad that such a title is accepted in the world. We are a bit nervous but looking forward to the final awards ceremony come March 2nd.”
Alfonso Cuaron
Director, Gravity
“Thank you Academy for this incredible recognition. These nominations are not just about single achievements, but rather the collective effort of hundreds of dedicated artists who made this dream a reality. On behalf of everyone involved with Gravity I want to express our deepest gratitude to the industry, the exhibitors and the public for embracing this film so passionately. A special thank you to our friends and collaborators at Warner Bros. for staying on board this journey for more than four years. I am particularly moved by Sandy’s nomination. She is the heartbeat of our film. She immersed herself in the part. And I thank her for her grace, her trust and her dedication to finding the truth of this character.”
Patrick Tubach
VFX Supervisor, Star Trek Into Darkness
“I am honored to have been recognized by the Academy and incredibly proud to have been part of the talented team who brought JJ [Abrams’] vision to life on the screen.”
Roger Guyett
VFX Supervisor, Star Trek Into Darkness
“Very exciting! We had so much fun on Star Trek but it was a huge amount of work and this is a great reward — just wish the other hundreds of other people in the crew got nom’d too. Director JJ Abrams, who really understands vfx, makes the process so much more rewarding. This is a great honor — it’s a huge year for vfx!”
Tim Webber
VFX Supervisor, Gravity
“The vfx team behind Gravity didn’t set out to invent cutting-edge techniques for filming — but that’s what the project demanded…It was quite an extended process to work out how to do these effects…We weren’t setting out at the beginning to be inventive, it just happened to come together that way….I did wake up early enough, actually, to watch the nominations on the live feed on the BBC. Every project is challenging, but this movie was a massive leap. Unlike any other project I’ve done, visual effects were a part of the whole telling of the story.”
Pharrell Williams
Best original song nominee for “Happy,” Despicable Me 2
“I was preparing for a speech for Columbia Records, which signed me. I says, ‘Sorry … what?’ My mind is blown.” Does an Oscar nomination after all those Grammys feel like old hat? “Listen, all of it is a huge opportunity and a huge honor. I can’t thank people enough. I’m still kinda pinchin’ myself. When something goes so right, it’s a surreal moment, and I’m celebrating.”
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Best song nominees for “Let It Go,” Disney’s Frozen
“This really isn’t the kind of thing you train yourself to expect or feel like you deserve…It’s unbelievable and amazing.” Kristen: “Now that everybody has embraced it so much, I am so bewildered and incredibly pleased…We adopted cats, so I’ll be celebrating by taking them to the vet.”
* The reactions were compiled from statements emailed to Animation Magazine, as well as reports in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.com.
