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wonderful as it was for "A.I." to win all those awards,
I felt that the lack of media coverage of the event, which included
Steven Spielberg, Haley Joel Osment, and a host of other celebrities,
meant that the last piece of the puzzle could not be put into place.
That was until 20-June-2002, when the only television broadcaster
to attend the event, the lowly Canadian scifi channel "Space:
The Imagination Station", premiered the one hour highlight show
it had put together from their coverage of the 28th Saturn Awards.
A few months
ago I finally had the time to write up a transcript of the portion
of the show dedicated to the awards won by "A.I. Artificial
Intelligence". They saved the "A.I." highlights until
the end of the show, as it was given the largest amount of time
over any other award winners. They edited all the highlights together
in a series of quick cuts from presenters, to award winner speeches,
to the winner answering questions in the pressroom back stage. In
the transcript, I tried to capture as much of the flavour of the
moment as I could from what was presented in the show. It would
have been nice to see the unedited version of the events, but I
think with these highlights, the last piece of the puzzle can finally
be placed.
With only
the highest respect to everyone involved with the
A.I. Artificial Intelligence production, the 28th
Annual Saturn Awards show, and the coverage of the event by
Space: The Imagination
Station from Canada, please enjoy the following transcript...
"Space
Visits Saturn: Highlights from the 28th Annual Saturn Awards
(E) 2002"
From: The St. Regis Los Angeles
Originally Aired: 20-June-2002, 7:00PM EST
<The "A.I." highlights open with the memorable
scene from the film where Haley Osment and Jude Law have just
exited the "Dr. Know" booth. Haley gives his "special
and unique" speech, and Jude finishes up with his "all
that will be left is us" speech.>
<Cut to the main podium and we have Jeremy Piven, presenting
for "Best Writing">
"This
is a tremendous moment... Steven Spielberg for A.I. Artificial
Intelligence"
[applause]
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<Cut
to Steven Spielberg at the podium holding the Saturn Award>
"I
am privileged and honoured to have been given the chance to
touch anything that Stanley Kubrick had anything to do with...
and it turned out pretty good. So I really appreciate this.
Thank you very much."
<Cut to Steven Spielberg answering questions in the pressroom>
"I've
never won anything for Best Writing, in my entire life. I
mean, I got some kind of an honourable mention in High School
for a paper I wrote. But this is the first I've ever really
received an award for writing, so that, this is a real honour."
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| <Cut
to the main podium and we have Victor Lundin, presenting for
"Best Special Effects">
"And
the winner is, or are... Dennise Murin, Scott Perard, Stan
Winston, Michael Lantieri for Artificial Intelligence."
[applause]
<Cut to Michael Lantieri speaking at the podium, with Stan
Winston holding the awards>
"Once
in a life time a Stanley Kubrick and a Steven Spielberg come
around, and I've been fortunate enough to have it in my life
time. There are some names that are missing from this, and
they would be: Kathleen Kennedy, Bonnie Curtis, Rick Carter,
and the rest of the group."
<Cut to Michael Lantieri and now Stan Winston speaking
and answering questions in the pressroom>
"So
to the dictate from Steven was that all of the robotic characters
we would have to design for this movie would have to be beyond
any of the characters that we had done before. Our biggest
challenge was creating "Teddy" as a robotic character,
which was to date our most extensive robot."
<Cut back to Steven Spielberg answering more questions
in the pressroom>
"I
looked for years, at least two years, for somebody to play
"David". And it wasn't until I saw "Sixth Sense"
that I realized, I hope that kid doesn't grow up too fast.
Because I need him for, I need him to play "David"
you know." [laughter]
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| <Cut
to Haley Joel Osment, on the red carpet during the arrivals,
slowly walking past all the photographers. A blinding number
of photographic "flashes" all going off, and a Space
Channel Interviewer stops and asks Haley a question...>
"How
do you feel about being nominated for the Saturn Award this
evening?"
<Cut to Haley Joel Osment, still on the red carpet, and
answers the question...>
"I'm
very happy and honoured, you know this is my first time at
this awards show, so this is very exciting for me to be here."
| My
Special Note: Haley could not attend the
26th Saturn Awards when he won for "The Sixth Sense" because
he was still in Poland filming "Edges of the Lord". His
sister, Emily Osment, accepted the award on his behalf.
As Haley then mentioned in his taped acceptance speech
from Poland for the MTV Movie Award for "The Sixth Sense",
"It's a team effort at my house, even when I'm nine time
zones away." |
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| <Cut
to the main podium and we have Michelle Trachtenberg, presenting
for "Best Performance By A Younger Actor">
"And
the Saturn Award goes to, Haley Joel Osment for A.I. Artificial
Intelligence."
[Much
enthusiasm in the level of applause, more than for anyone
else. ]
[And Haley was the only one the edited highlights were so
lenient with what was shown.]
<Cut to Haley as he approaches the podium from the right...
Michelle smiles a big grin at him and then gives him a rather
warm hug. Haley then takes the Saturn Award from the awards
assistant, and lets out a slight *gasp* as the moment seems
to hit him that he has won the award. He then takes his place
at the podium.>
<Cut to Haley at the podium, holding the award with both
hands, and speaking in a rather thoughtful and reflective
voice...>
"It's...
impossible to describe the magic that Steven brings to the
set. You know, even when I wasn't in front of the camera,
I just wanted to sit next to it, just to watch Steven. It's
amazing... you know... thank you Steven for opening so many
worlds for us actors."
<Cut to Haley Joel Osment answering questions in the pressroom>
"You
know every character is different, but this one... you know,
you try and find the reality in characters, and that was sort
of the... it was the converse of the idea in this movie. You
know, in trying to make something that isn't real, real. And
it made a very challenging experience, but the more challenging
it is, the more fun it turns out to be to."
<Cut to the main podium and we have Martin Landau, presenting
for "Best Science Fiction Film">
"The
Saturn goes to... A.I. Artificial Intelligence."
[much
applause]
<Cut to Bonnie Curtis speaking at the podium, with Steven
Spielberg holding the Saturn Awards>
"Ummm...
quickly, and then I'll let the boss talk... [laughter] it's
been my privilege and honour the last thirteen years to stand
next to Steven. And it's really fun standing next to him when
he's winning awards. [laughter] So thank you very much for
this."
<Cut to Steven Spielberg speaking at the podium, with Bonnie
Curtis standing to the side>
"I
really thank the academy... for bestowing this upon A.I. In
a sense I think A.I. of all the films I've ever made, this
was the biggest risk I've ever taken."
<Cut to Steven Spielberg who continues to speak at the
podium>
"I'm
really glad that I mustered the courage, in the eleventh hour
to say yes to this. I could never... I feel in a way like
the sorcerer's apprentice. I feel like... you know Stanley
was conducting this, this was his vision, this was something
he was desparate to do. And this will never... be the movie
that Stanley would have made. But Stanley did not want this
film to rot on the shelf, and collect dust, and become some
kind of antiquity in years to come. So I'm really proud that
he chose me to be the one to bring his vision to the screen.
And the last thing I want to say is... we really should be
celebrating the Academy of Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy.
Because when you look at the top ten list, globally of all
movies that everybody in the entire world has seen, nine of
the ten films are either fantasy or science fiction. So we
should never forget that. [applause] We should never, ever,
ever forget that. [applause continues] And... [holding up
the award] thank you very much! Thank you." [surge in
the applause]
<Cut to the Host of the show for the evening, Fred Willard,
who closes the show.>
Haley is the best. 
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