Oscars 2014: Quotes from the stars

The “Dallas Buyers Club” star on taking the role:
“I’ve been more process-oriented than ever -- I’ve been like, ‘F-it, go for the experience, Matthew,’” he said. “And the results came in more than ever by just putting my head down and sticking to the process.”

On the win:
“I got a prize for excellence in the work I do,” he said, clutching his Oscar. “Something that’s not my job, my hobby, my fad -- it’s my career. That feels wonderful.”  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

The “12 Years a Slave” cast member on the film:
“It’s important that we understand our history not for any kind of guilt but with an understanding of who we were so we can better understand who we are now. And, most importantly, so we can understand who we’re going to be. At the end of the day, we just hope that this film remains a gentle reminder that we’re all equal. We all want the same. We want dignity and opportunities for ourselves and our family. And that another’s freedom is every bit as important as our own. That’s it. And that’s everything.”

On Lupita Nyong’o and other cast members:
“We had an exquisite cast that were all drawn because: One, the story and two, Steve [McQueen]. Lupita is an absolute gem. Grace incarnate. A rare find. So look forward to seeing what she does in the future.”

On fellow cast member Chiwetel Ejiofor:
“His restraint and elegance in trying to maintain [Solomon Northup’s] dignity through these scenes -- he was just pitch perfect. For me, as a fellow actor, watching that performance was incredibly inspiring to me.”  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The “American Hustle” star on her dress:
“I’m still hungry, because I still have to fit into my corset.”

On tripping last year at the Oscars:
“I’m hoping I won’t have to deal with that again.”  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The actress on getting starstruck:
“I just met Julia Roberts. She’s basically the reason I’m an actress. And Cate Blanchett! I said ‘Hi’ to her too. So the night is off to a great start.”

On going back to Brown University and how the students treat her there:
“Everyone is surprisingly kind and protective. I love being able to hop back and forth.”  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The “12 Years a Slave” star on being a fashion icon:
“I always cared about the way I looked. It wasn’t always good, but it was always mine. So this is very cool now. I enjoy playing dress-up.”  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Backstage, the “Dallas Buyers Club” star on his Oscar win:
“I’m going to be celebrating to the break of dawn. Trust me. Look me in the eyes and see that I will revel tonight. If they only knew what’s going to happen tonight.”

“I thought about what I would say if I won, and then panicked, thinking about what I’d do if I forgot,” he said on the red carpet before the ceremony.

On his acceptance speech:
“This is the best thing getting this awards — to get on stage and thank people who are important to you,” he said. “I thanked my mother because she’s everything. She has inspired me in ways that I can talk about for days. She and my brother are the two most important people in my life. I’m real fortunate to thank them in such a unique and grand way.”  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

“12 Years a Slave” director McQueen on his reaction to his best picture win:
“I’m as cool as a cucumber right now. You saw the jump, of course,” McQueen said backstage when addressing reporters. “Truly, I’m just so excited. It’s one of those moments in life that might not ever happen again. And you’re living it. You’re there ... physicality takes over. It was my Van Halen jump.”

On the historical significance of being the first black director behind a best picture win:
“Obviously, it’s a mark of development,” he said. “A mark of how we see that particular time of history now. It’s obviously a progression. The background characters are now in the foreground. Their history and their lives and how the lived are being recognized. I think it’s indicative of what is going on now. I think people are ready for this narrative. People now want to look at that history. To embrace it and accept it in order to move forward.”  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The “Gravity” director after his editing win:
“Everything we were doing was honoring Sandra Bullock’s performance. All the light and wizardry doesn’t make a difference without the emotional life embodied by her.”   (Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press)

“Nebraska” star Bruce Dern on the awards season:
“This has all been such a treat,” he said, squeezing his daughter Laura’s hand, who was standing alongside him at the Academy Awards. “She’s been there since Day 1 too. She’s been a star.”

  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

On taking requests via Twitter for what she should sing at the Oscars:
“I don’t really know what I’m doing on Twitter, but it’s an amusing distraction.”

On performing in the Dolby Theatre:
“The band isn’t even nearby. They’re somewhere down the block, and there are teleprompters.”  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The “Captain Phillips” supporting actor nominee on the awards season ending:
“I’m relieved and I’m happy. It’s been a long journey.”

“I’m not big with glamour,” he added. “I’m just a simple guy.”

On his role:
“Right now, a lot of people are just surprised I don’t talk how I talk in the movie.”  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The real “Philomena” on the thrill of the entire film:
“After meeting the pope, this is the most amazing thing that’s happened.”

“Being here is my final excitement,” she added. “Going home is going to be a real anti-climax.”

What do viewers think of the film?:
“Here they’re warm, but in England, they’re more reserved. They don’t get that excited.”

On what she’ll do if the film “Philomena” takes home best picture tonight:
“Oh, I’ll just have one gin and tonic,” she said with a laugh.   (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance )

“The Lady in Number 6” director Clarke on movie subject Alice Herz-Sommer, who died Feb. 23:
“The three years we have known her, she has been amazing. Completely healthy and vital and funny. We didn’t know she had gone to the hospital two nights before, Thursday of last week. Feeling a little sick. The machine just stopped. She didn’t suffer .... It’s been a rough and strange and surreal week for Nicholas and I because we are celebrating being nominated and mourning our leading lady.”

Reed, the film’s producer, added:
“She passed the same way she lived her life, which was beautifully poetic.”

Reed on Herz-Sommer:
“She would ask us about ourselves. ‘How does the camera work? What does this button do?’ She was wanting to do a documentary on all of us. She was always interested in what everyone else was doing. She was like a sponge.”   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

The “Frozen” producer on attending a singalong version of the show:
“Not only did we sing, but I brought carrots to throw out like it was ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show.’ ”

On whether they’ll join in from the audience for Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go” performance:
“We’ll be lipping,” he said. “We wouldn’t want to ruin it.”   (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

“Gravity” composer Steven Price on the score:
“There’s no conventional sound in space,” he said. “I had an incredible canvas to work with. Music not only carried an emotional journey — I approached it like ballet, following choreography of the characters with the hope to make [the audience] feel like the third astronaut in space.”

On growing up with music:
“My house was basically full of music,” he said. “My mom says I learned to speak from listening to records — The Beatles, the Stones ... doors, hopefully, will open up from [this win].”  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

The director of “Cutie and the Boxer” on his film’s subjects:
“Nobody could have anticipated this response for them — it’s been particularly big in Japan.”

On his outfit:
“Prada gave me a tux, which I know is rare for a documentarian,” he said. “Look, I even have a pocket square.”  (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Film Society of Lincoln Center)

“The Hunt” director Vinterberg:
“We’re very far from home,” he said, looking around at the fanfare.

“The Hunt” star Mads Mikkelsen on his role:
“It was difficult to contain my aggression in this film. I got myself isolated, but it was hard.”

Mikkelsen on the after-party:
“Dead arms and beer. That’s what we do to celebrate.”  (Joel Ryan / Associated Press)

“Let It Go” songwriter Robert Lopez on the inspiration for the song:
“We wanted to write a song that would instill in them the idea that fear and shame shouldn’t prevent them from being the magical people they really are.”  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

The star/producer of “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” on the nomination:
“‘Bad Grandpa,’ Oscar winner, doesn’t it sound beautiful?”

“He’s been more excited than words for weeks about this,” his wife, Naomi Nelson, piped in. “It would mean so much for the film to win this for him.”   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

“20 Feet From Stardom” director after his Oscar win:
“We’re going to have to change the name of the movie to ‘Stardom.’ It’s amazing to make a film about people who have so much talent but have been overlooked ... and all of this is the best reward we all could have gotten.”

On why the film resonated with audiences:
“Most of us aren’t rock stars or the president. People see themselves in this experience.”  (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

“Gravity” cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki on the NASA photographs he studied before production started:
“A lot of the lighting of the movie is based on those photographs. We would have big meetings ... and try to define how each scene of the movie was going to look, but of course the last word was always his [director Alfonso Cuaron].”

On Alfonso Cuaron:
“I’ve been inspired by his curiosity of exploration. It is true that I’m a fan of his.”   (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

In the press room, director-writer Spike Jonze was hesitant to explain the film:
“I don’t think I could put it into a message. I could not reduce it to a sentence.”

On today’s relationships:
“There’s still a loneliness and longing ... we’re still looking for connections.”

On writing “Her”:
“I don’t think I could have written the screenplay when I was younger. Now, I feel ready to write what’s in my heart.”   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The “12 Years a Slave” writer on where he does most of his work:
“Waiting for my kids. Waiting for basketball practice, choir practice. I would love to write on a beach in Hawaii. But most of the time it’s in the parking lots of my kid’s school.”

On his win:
“The only thing I would say is the praise goes to Solomon,” he said. “It’s his words, and his life. I’ve had a nice career, but I look at the before and after, and he’s the difference ... I give him all the praise. I really do.”

On his win’s historical significance:
“I’ll tell you what it means to me,” Ridley said. “I think of my parents, who simply wouldn’t let me settle for second best.... And it makes me think of Solomon and what it took to write his memoir at that time — it was a death sentence ... I’m very proud. I’m very humbled. And I’m very hopeful for the future.”  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)