In the final interview of the night, Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson spoke about the tremendous success of their small, independent movie made for only "7 million pounds" in the day of $100-million budgets and the importance of having independent movies in the days of huge blockbusters "The studios -- and it's difficult of course, because they are under pressure -- the studios have got to protect them as well. Because that's where everybody starts, and they go on," said Boyle, who started out with the low-budget thriller Shallow Grave, about which Boyle reminded the press:
The whole film cost a million pounds. That's where you learn your craft, and you don't know what you are doing, you know. And I think that keeping it that way, you don't know what you are doing half the time; it's really important.
Considering Slumdog's almost-$100-million box office and 8 Oscars, it seems like "not knowing what you are doing" worked out well for the uplifting love story, which Boyle described as a "heavily disguised love story."
And all the success sure feels good. Boyle described the night by quoting W.H. Auden:
He talks about Americans 'putting jukeboxes on the moon.' I love that expression, and that's what tonight feels like. Just amazing like that. The bringing together of things that are just so unlikely, and yet wonderful, and about entertainment and pleasure and exploring things and changing things.