Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Database

WARREN BEATTY:
Thank you. Miss Keaton, I know that public expressions like this can be embarrassing sometimes and that my chances of speaking with you privately later are at the moment excellent. I do want to tell you that you make every director that you work with look good, and I think that what they're trying to tell me here tonight, thank God, is that I'm no exception. Mr. Nicholson, I know that you're enjoying my being up here almost as much as I am in being here.

I know I do one thing well, I get good people: Elaine May, Peter Feibleman, Jeremy Pikser, Robert Towne, Simon Relph, Zelda Barron, Richie Cirincione, Steve Sondheim, Dave Grusin, David MacLeod, so many, many more among whom are the people that you've nominated here tonight and happily saved me from having to remember to name fourteen more names. I do want to name Mr. Barry Diller who runs Paramount, Mr. Dick Zimbert who's been very kind to me, Mr. Frank Mancuso, and Mr. Charles Bluhdorn who runs Gulf + Western and God knows what else. And I want to say to you gentlemen that no matter how much we might have liked to have strangled each other from time to time, I think that your decision, taken in the great capitalistic tower of Gulf + Western, to finance a three-and-a-half hour romance which attempts to reveal for the first time just something of the beginnings of American socialism and American communism, reflects credit not only upon you, I think it reflects credit upon Hollywood and the movie business wherever that is. And I think that it reflects more particular credit on the freedom of expression that we have in our American society and the lack of censorship that we have from the government or the people who put up the money. Thanks.