Oscar quotes

‘You suggest to the audience that it’s a scintillating look at some 30-year-old interviews, and they think, “Maybe

I can wait.” But if they go to see the film, they’re

entertained and gratified in ways they never

expected -- which is why we find ourselves

in an awards situation.’

Ron Howard, director of “Frost/Nixon”

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‘You work so hard on something; everybody gave

everything they had for this project. It’s so beautiful

when people recognize it.’

Taraji P. Henson, on “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

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‘My father called and said he was crying. To see how happy my family is about it gives me a lot of happiness.

It’s about the work and the great opportunities that a lot of people have given me. This is an ensemble piece

more than any other movie -- you share this

with a lot of people.’

Penelope Cruz, on “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

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‘I didn’t know how other people would respond to it.

But when we saw it at the Toronto Film Festival, at the screening there, I thought, “Oh, my gosh, [Tom

McCarthy’s] really made a movie that people

connect to.” It’s hard to do.’

Richard Jenkins, on “The Visitor”

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‘We hoped it would happen. It would have been very well-deserved. What she does is so complex and three-dimensional and profound. Without taking anything away from anyone else nominated, it’s hard for me to see how anybody could be a better actress than her. I cannot see how anyone is doing a better performance than she is.’

Mike Leigh, director of “Happy-Go-Lucky,” on star Sally Hawkins’ failure to be nominated

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‘We lost the two producers who were running the show. And then suddenly we were having very difficult conflicts between two very large personalities. So I have to say that five Oscar nominations, including best picture,

is especially sweet to us because we did go

through an awful lot.’

David Hare, “The Reader” screenwriter, on the deaths of Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, and the fights between producer Scott Rudin and studio chief Harvey Weinstein