"Well, you know the old line - to be nominated is what it's all about. I think that I've done pretty well - I've had about 46, or 47 nominations from my movies, and my films have won about 12 awards in total, so I don't really have any complaints"
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Jewison’s line is a small masterclass in how to talk about awards without sounding either bitter or thirsty. He opens with the “old line” - that nomination is the real prize - a piece of industry folk wisdom so overused it’s basically a protective charm. Invoking it lets him step into humility on cue, pre-empting the obvious question: should a director with his filmography have more trophies?
Then he quietly detonates the modesty. “I’ve done pretty well” is an understatement that sets up the number-flex: 46 or 47 nominations, 12 wins. The casual arithmetic (“46, or 47”) is doing double duty. It suggests he’s above keeping score, while also proving he absolutely has kept score. That little fuzziness reads as practiced nonchalance: he’s not a pundit arguing a case; he’s a veteran letting the ledger speak without turning the conversation into a grievance.
The subtext is less about personal satisfaction than about the awards economy itself. Nomination, in Hollywood terms, is currency: it boosts budgets, buys leverage, keeps your phone ringing. Jewison is signaling he understands the game and benefited from it, but won’t perform wounded entitlement if the Academy didn’t always crown him. “I don’t really have any complaints” lands as both a shrug and a subtle critique: if you’re still measuring worth by statues after decades of work, you’ve already lost.
Then he quietly detonates the modesty. “I’ve done pretty well” is an understatement that sets up the number-flex: 46 or 47 nominations, 12 wins. The casual arithmetic (“46, or 47”) is doing double duty. It suggests he’s above keeping score, while also proving he absolutely has kept score. That little fuzziness reads as practiced nonchalance: he’s not a pundit arguing a case; he’s a veteran letting the ledger speak without turning the conversation into a grievance.
The subtext is less about personal satisfaction than about the awards economy itself. Nomination, in Hollywood terms, is currency: it boosts budgets, buys leverage, keeps your phone ringing. Jewison is signaling he understands the game and benefited from it, but won’t perform wounded entitlement if the Academy didn’t always crown him. “I don’t really have any complaints” lands as both a shrug and a subtle critique: if you’re still measuring worth by statues after decades of work, you’ve already lost.
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| Topic | Success |
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