(Dieses Interview fand unmittelbar nach der Oscar-Verleihung statt)

Q. Congratulations, everyone. Why do you think the film American Beauty has reached out to people the way it has and has been perceived by the Academy the way it has this way? What is it about the film that has spoken people the way it has?

A. KEVIN SPACEY: I think because in film, that we -- we get a chance to see characters have experiences that make us feel that we‘re not the only ones who have those feelings. And we sort of have a collective admission when we see characters do things that we do. And I think this film has just touched people because it‘s very real and it‘ s -- it deals with its subject matter with a great deal of maturity and intelligence. And it‘s entertaining and it‘s funny, and I think --I don‘t know. That‘ s -- that‘ s about as articulate as I can get at this particular moment.

Q. Kevin, could you stand there for one more question, please? Are you surprised that you got so emotional up there? It was a very emotional moment for you tonight.

A. KEVIN SPACEY: I was actually experiencing an aneurysm. I -- yeah, I‘m --I was pretty stunned. This film means an enormous amount to me. This is the highest honour that an actor can receive from this industry, and I – I -- you know, Hilary was saying she forgot to thank Chad and Sam forgot to thank his mother, and I forgot my entire speech, so – I‘ve been stunned. I was really stunned.

Q. Kevin, you left yourself wide open for this question. Right here. You acknowledged your friends for pointing out your worst qualities.

A. KEVIN SPACEY: What are they? You’d like to know now? Well, what I meant by that was that, you know, real friends are not just the ones that congratulate you and tell you that you‘re great and tell you that you do terrific work or – if they care about you, real friends are the ones that keep you on your toes, keep your feet on the ground. And I was thanking those friends of mine --and they know who they are - who smack me in the head every time I get a little ahead of myself.

Q. Kevin, over here. Kevin. And also for Alan. I saw you just sneak up there, too. Man, you and Kevin, do you think that your appearance on the KTLA morning news has anything to do with tonight‘s big one?

A. KEVIN SPACEY: Is that -- do you work for that show? I’ m sorry.

Q. Hi. This question is for Kevin.

A. KEVIN SPACEY: Yes. Sorry. I was getting water and trying to collect my brain.

Q. I‘m over here. Can you talk about your Jack Lemmon influence you mentioned on stage?

A. KEVIN SPACEY: Well, I‘ve had the good fortune of-- my history with Jack Lemmon started when I was 13 years old. And I went to a seminar at the Mark Taper Forum on a Saturday morning for a production that he did of Juno and the Paycock with the Maureen Stapleton and Walter Matthau, and I was a young actor.

And he talked to us and encouraged us, and it was a moment I‘ll never forget.And about 11 years later I auditioned for a production on Broadway of a play by Eugene O‘ Neill, and I played his son. And we then did a film that Steven produced called Dad. And then we did Glengarry Glen Ross. So we‘ve had a sort of long history. And when Sam and I first started talking about this film, The Apartment kept coming up as a -- as a kind of a template to us for a lot of reasons. We felt that that role that Jack played was really kind of an every man.

And there were a lot of things about his performance that were very, very subtle, and the changes that his character goes through through that movie are almost imperceptible. And that was something that Sam and I talked about wanting to achieve with Lester, was to never have an audience ever see him actually change. He just evolves. And so I-- I‘ve seen The Apartment a number of times, but it sort became a benchmark for me. And Jack‘s work is -- his career, his extraordinary range, his kindness, his generosity, he‘s been a big influence on me in many, many, many ways.

But I could not have stood up there tonight and not acknowledged that he really was a model for Lester Burnham. And without his performance in The Apartment, I don’ t think it would have been possible for me.

Q. And a quick follow-up. Do you have any plans of giving him your Oscar?

A. KEVIN SPACEY: Well, let me get him on the phone and see if he has enough room on his shelf, you know.

Q. Kevin, over here to your right. This is your second time through this. How does this feel different, or is it becoming --

A. KEVIN SPACEY: Like what?

Q. Like --

A. KEVIN SPACEY: Yeah. No, it isn‘t. I mean, when I was -- when I was here for Usual Suspects, I really didn‘t -- it didn’t even cross my mind that I might receive the Oscar, because really there wasn‘t that much talk about ~ I was really a -- I‘d been discovered, for all intents and purposes, that year.

This year there was a lot more talk, a lot more of people writing about it, a lot more people talking about it, a lot of people telling me at parties that they were voting for me or I was going to win, and I was like. “Thank you very much, but shut up. And you know, so there was a bigger build up this time, and I rea1ly really thought that there was no way it was going to happen. And so when it -- when it did, I was - speechless. And my friends are very happy because I‘ m - they think I‘m really speechless, so they were delighted that I actually lost my train of thought completely. But it‘s -- it‘s not something you get used to, I don’t think.

Q. Kevin, I know it isn‘t all about competition, but I‘m wondering what, if anything, you will say to Denzel, and what your friendship is with him.

A. KEVIN SPACEY: I think Denzel --I mean, look, every actor in this category deserved to take one of these home, and that‘s the truth of it. And I will congratulate him on an extraordinary piece of work that will last forever. And that‘ s the amazing thing about film. These night, you know, two years from now you ask someone who won or who even got nominated, and people forget. But for those of us who are standing here, we‘1l never forget. But the films live forever.

Q. Sam, now that you‘ve got a little guy in the custody of Spielberg --(inaudible).

A. SAM MENDES: You can ask him, he‘s standing just there. I don‘t know, but I would have done this movie for free, ~ practically did, so -- but you always make up or quit.

Q. Congratulations. This is so great and such a wonderful movie. I guess I would ask this of Sam. All of you are back here, Annette Bening is not. So would you comment for us on her extraordinary contribution to American Beauty?

A. SAM MENDES: In so many ways, she was the touchstone for this film. She got -- it‘s completely -- it‘s very difficult communicate how much she meant to everyone in the film. And it‘s -- you know, obviously we want everyone everyone that was nominated to win, even some people who weren’t nominated we would have liked to win as well, because we were biased.

But she meant more than we can possibly say. She dived head first into the role before anyone else, she took everyone else along with her, because she‘ s one of those actresses that makes everyone e1se act better. It‘s a huge sadness, but she has more important things to worry about now.

Q. Aside from Kevin, all of you up there are first-time nominees. Can you say something about the innovation that you‘re giving to other filmmakers, directors, screenwriters, about -- that this can real happen to you?

A:ALAN BALL: Well, the lesson that I‘ve learned out of this is really follow your heart and follow your passion, and follow your guts and just sit down and write it. And don‘t – don’t wait for permission and write the - write what moves you, and hopefully that will be on the page. But I do realise that I‘m incredibly lucky, because I know that there are amazing scripts that are written every day that people, you know, pass on because they think they‘re risky or weird or whatever. And so -- but I would say, don‘t give up, you know, to aspiring screenwriters, just to stay true to yourself

Q.Much has been made about the marketing campaigns that studios wage of films, especially the competition between DreamWorks and Miramax. I‘m wondering, what do you think of the -- of DreamWorks and the campaign that they lead?

A. ALAN BALL: DreamWorks did an incredible campaign on this movie. They are -- the press was ahead of us for DreamWorks. When she first saw this movie -this is a film that people have to be told to go see. And beyond what you‘ve all seen, which are the ads and trailers and TV commercials, she showed the film to audiences across America, and that helped create an awareness of this movie and started word of mouth in this movie. And that‘s, I think, a huge part of the reason why people around the world responded the way they have, is that enough people saw it and they started talking about it, and they did a great job.

Q. Yeah, guys. I was outside, so I apologise if it‘s been asked and answered before. Do you feel like maybe the honours -- director, actor, screenwriters, producers that were seen for this movie tonight may signal another coming of age of the Academy, much like maybe Midnight Cowboy did years ago, where it seems like they‘ve maybe grown up again?

A.I think that there‘s a whole period of movies in the ‘60s, ‘70s, Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate, that were mostly contemporary and were big in scale, and they weren‘t -- didn‘t cost a great deal of money. And I think the more these sorts of movies get made and the more they get acknowledged by the mainstream, the better.

Q. For Alan and Sam --I guess for Dan also. What was the -- what was the greatest challenge in getting this picture made true to your Vision, because it has such distinct Vision?

A. The greatest challenge was --

Q. Was it difficult to get it made?

A. It wasn‘t difficult to get it made because it was made for a studio who wanted to make a movie that was written on the page, and they didn‘t try and change. And it was also -- but I think probably the biggest challenge was to capture the variety of terms in the movie, to move between -- for the movie to be both funny and moving. For me. it was --I had the experience that most screenwriters dream about. I mean, you know, a studio bought my script that went into production. I didn‘t get fired, it didn‘t get rewritten. I got this amazing director who not only understood, you know, what I intended, but also brought his own Vision to it, which amplified and elevated the script. This is unbelievably talented cast, world class cinematographer, who was -- and I just --I just hope that it‘s karma payback for four hellish years in television.