John Ridley has rubbished his sup posed tiff with 12 Years A Slave helmer Steve McQueen over sharing the screenwriting credits for the film but regrets missing out on McQueen’s name during his acceptance speech at the Oscars.
Ridley is aware that his failure to thank McQueen in his acceptance speech and their cold body language during the ceremony sparked countless stories of behind-the-scenes trouble, reported Entertainment Weekly.
“I do regret it. But just 24 hours earlier at the Spirit Awards I sincerely went on and on about Steve and my work with him. You know, the guy changed my life. At the Oscars you have 30 seconds to talk and it’s like the oxygen drops out of the room,” Ridley said while explaining his surprise omission.
“I know I hugged my wife twice, I know David O Russell, again this person people think I have beef with, was the first guy to hug me, I know Meryl Streep reached out and touched my arm,” Ridley said.
However, there is one more thing that Ridley wishes he had done differently in his acceptance speech.
He took great pains in his brief speech to thank a script coordinator named Gayle for her early support of his work.
“That was my wife you know. I don’t think most people got that… Well, I know she got it. I didn’t want to be the guy when you’re getting played off by the music ‘Oh and my wife and I love her.’ I wanted to start there and thank someone who believed in me from the beginning.” (PTI)
