British artist-filmmaker Steve McQueen made history with his best picture win for 12 Years A Slave in 2014. But what does he remember from that night in the Dolby Theatre? “I met Prince,” McQueen said jokingly this morning during an onstage screen talk at the London Film Festival where his latest feature length project Blitz debuts this evening. “He took his shades off and met my mum.
It was Prince, man, oh my god.” McQueen — who was questioned on stage by film critic Danny Leigh — continued to describe Oscars night in 2014 night as “heavy” before telling the London crowd that he’s proud of the film’s legacy.
However, he told the audience that he’s certain the film would not have been made if Barack Obama wasn’t in office at the time. “I know for a fact that if President Obama wasn’t in office that movie wouldn’t have been made.
It was an in,” McQueen said. “It was before Oscars So White. My proudest feeling after 12 Years A Slave was that a lot of Black filmmakers got opportunities to make their movies.
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