Nearly everyone at some time in his or her life has stood in front of the bathroom mirror, wrapped in a towel and cradling a can of hair spray or shaving cream, and thanked the Academy for this wonderful honor. Unfortunately only a select few ever really have a chance of stepping up to the podium to receive an Oscar®. With the nominations for the 81st Academy Awards® out today, we asked Focus nominees for their first thoughts at being given the nod.

Bruce Cohen & Dan Jinks
Best Picture, Milk

Today’s eight nominations are a huge tribute to everyone involved in the making of Milk. The goal of all of us was to bring Harvey Milk’s wonderfully inspiring story to audiences everywhere. The nominations will go a long way towards making that happen.

 

Gus Van Sant
Achievement in directing, Milk

I am so thankful, so humbled, by The Academy for the nominations they have given our film. I'm so proud of our screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin, and our incredible team––Danny Glicker, Danny Elfman, Elliot Graham––and our amazing producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen. These nominations ensure that Harvey Milk's legacy will live on.

Josh Brolin
Best Supporting Actor, Milk

It is very special because of this movie. I am happy Milk received so many nominations and that people are paying attention. The subject matter is so timely and important right now because of what is happening in California with Prop 8.

When I think about my life a few years ago, being happy just to feed my kids, never in a million years would I have imagined I would be up at 5 in the morning getting phone calls saying I was nominated for an Academy Award. There is no reality to it.

Dustin Lance Black
Original screenplay, Milk

I won’t lie, I was up at 4:30 AM Pacific Time this morning. I couldn’t sleep. I took a shower, I started washing dishes, I did a load of laundry… I was completely losing my mind waiting for that local ABC telecast.

My heart jumped when Josh Brolin got nominated, but the tears started flowing when Gus got his. I couldn’t have asked for a better director for this project, a fiercer protector of this little spec script that meant so much to me. And that script would have been nothing without the dedicated talent of nominee Sean Penn, who truly inhabited Harvey’s soul, and Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, Alison Pill, Joseph Cross, and on and on. This film was a real team effort.

By the time the nominations got to Best Picture, I was a wreck. Tears… lots of tears. I couldn’t breathe. My big hope had been that the Academy would recognize our film enough that Harvey’s story could get a wider release, but I could never have predicted 8 nominations including Best Picture. I’m still pinching myself.

When I first heard Harvey’s story at 13, I was a closeted kid living in a conservative Mormon, military home. It was a rough time for me. Hearing Harvey’s story not only gave me the hope he talked so often about, it very likely saved my life. What happened this morning means this film WILL win a wider audience, and maybe, just maybe Harvey’s message will reach some of those kids out there today who have been told they are “less than,” that they are sick, that God does not love them, and perhaps, from the grave, 30 years later, Harvey might give those kids the hope and love he gave me so long ago. It might sound overblown to some, but I firmly believe these nominations are life-saving. I can’t thank the Academy enough.

Danny Elfman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score), Milk

Of course I'm thrilled to receive a nomination from the Academy for the score to Milk but more importantly, I'm happy to have been able to contribute to a project that I believe is so important and so relevant today. And I'm very happy that this recognition might, in some small way, help to attract more attention to a film that really should be seen by everyone. Working on Milk was a unique and special honor.

Elliot Graham
Achievement in film editing, Milk

I am very, very, very, very excited and excited for the whole film.  I'm just so proud of the film; it’s so significant that a story like this be recognized and be a part of this. It is absolutely extraordinary and we are all in awe of Gus and Sean and their talents.

 

Danny Glicker
Achievement in costume design, Milk

I’m thrilled to be a part of the artistic team that told this story, and to be recognized by the Academy. I’m so proud of Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black’s vision and of the actors’ performances. And I’m forever grateful to have a small part of myself up there on the screen in Milk.

 

Martin McDonagh
Original screenplay, In Bruges

My heartfelt thanks to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, particularly the writers' branch, for their support. I'm thrilled that a tale so peculiar and twisted, and that was released so long ago, has stayed in their minds for so long.