Michel Hazanavicius Backstage at the Oscars: I Could Thank Billy Wilder a Thousand Times

The Oscar winning director of “The Artist” called Billy Wilder the perfect director and said he next wants to remake “The Search”

While "The Artist" may be groundbreaking, its director played down its impact on Hollywood.

The black-and-white movie paid homage to an earlier era of moviemaking in an age of hyper-charged special effects and 3D technology, and won a slew of awards leading up to the Oscars, where it won five statues.

Just after winning an Academy Award for best director, Michel Hazanavicius said that, "one movie is just one movie — it doesn't change things."

Also read: Christopher Plummer Backstage at Oscars: Charlie Chaplin Was Older

The director, who thanked Billy Wilder three times during his acceptance speech, explained that he did so because "I had to make it short — but I could thank him like a thousand times because I think he's the perfect director, the perfect example. He's the soul of Hollywood and I wanted to thank him and I love him."

And he said he already has an idea for his next project.

"What I want to make now is an adaptation of an American movie named 'The Search,'" he said, noting that it's a 1947 movie with Montgomery Clift. "It's a melodrama."

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