If you are a faithful follower of this blog you will know my love and admiration for Director Danny Boyle. Boyle ranks in the top five of my favorite Directors of all time; his vision is all his own, his style is just telling a great story, it is his passion that makes him succeed. Last night after a long hard road in the business that is film making, Boyles dedication and perseverance paid off as he was crowned Best Director for his work on this years Best Picture Slumdog Millionaire. Slumdog taking home eight out of the ten awards it was up for proved to Hollywood and fans around the world you do not need a name cast, big budget, and special effects to tell a great story. You just simply need a director with a vision, solid talent and of course a great story. This is the formula Boyle has used his entire career, always backed by an amazing soundtrack, everything Boyle has ever done was laying the ground work for his success in Slumdog Millionaire.Aside from being extremely delighted to see my favorite film of last year win, it was a bittersweet night as Heath Ledger would win for the role he will be most remembered. Heath has now transformed the idea that a comic book / action film can be just as artistic as anything else in the Hollywood system. I miss him dearly and only would have loved to have seen what more he would have done.
Big wins of the night also went to a much deserving Kate Winslet for The Reader, Penelope Cruz in her scene stealing performance in Vicky Christina Barcelona and Sean Penn for his brilliant acting in Milk. I would have loved to have seen Mickey Rourke take the statue, but this certainly was the hardest category of the night.
Congratulations to all the winners! Now we press on for next year!