The Fatherjoins theAcademy Awardsfamily with its Best Adapted Screenplay win at Sunday’s 2021 Oscars.
The film, based on writer and director Florian Zeller’s 2012 playLe Père,beat outfellow nomineesBorat Subsequent Moviefilm,Nomadland,One Night in Miami,andThe White Tigerto take home the Best Adapted Screenplay award.
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“It’s such a great honor,” Zeller, 41, said while accepting the award remotely. “And I share these joys and this award with [co-writer] Chris Hampton. We have worked together for years, and I want to thank him for being such a great writer and such a wonderful friend.”
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Zeller continued to thank the movie’s cast and crew, as well as starAnthony Hopkins.
“I wrote the script for him,” the Frenchman said of the 83-year-old Welsh actor. “To me, he’s the greatest, the greatest living actor. And just the idea to work with him was like a dream. I knew that it was not an easy dream to fulfill because I’m French, as you can hear.
“It was my first feature film, and you know, he’s Anthony Hopkins. But I thought until someone comes and proves that it was not possible, it means that potentially, it is,” Zeller added. “And sometimes we are the ones who close the door for what is possible and what is not possible. And forThe Father, I really wanted not to close that door and to follow my inspiration, my desire, and my dream.”
“So thank you, Anthony, for having said ‘Yes’ to that script and thank you for giving everything to that film. Your energy, your grace, and your talent, sharing that journey with you was the most amazing experience of my life.”
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The Fatherfollows a woman named Anne (Olivia Colman) as she visits her dad Anthony (Hopkins), a man who has dementia but doesn’t want a caretaker to look after him. With Anne moving to Paris, she wants to leave her father in capable hands. Zeller tells the story from Anthony’s perspective as he navigates the world with increasing confusion.
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Reading the script ofThe Fatherfor the first time “was the first time I’d ever experienced anything written from that point of view,” Colman, 47, toldEntertainment Tonight. “To suddenly make sense of the confusion because you are as confused. It’s been quite nice to understand where the confusion can stem from.”
The 93rd Academy Awards are airing live on Sunday, April 25 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.
source: people.com
