‘The Artist’ Producer Thomas Langmann Backstage at the Oscars: ‘No One Wanted to Help Us’

“Artist” producer said that winning the Oscar was especially sweet because his father had won one, and called the movie a tribute to American Cinema

When Thomas Langmann started work on "The Artist," "no one wanted to help us making a silent, black-and-white movie," the producer said backstage at the Academy Awards Sunday night.

But he said he knew that if we could come and shoot in L.A. with an American crew, it would work.

"We did this movie as a tribute to Hollywood, a tribute to cinema and especially to American cinema," he said. "We never expected that in return we would get so much care and love — and of course these awards that mean so much to us."

To him, especially.

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

The producer noted that his father Claude Berri won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA award, so the honor is especially sweet.

He also took time to praise the Weinstein Co.'s Harvey Weinstein.

"Talking about Harvey takes a lot of time," Langmann said. "I must say that I think he's the only distributor, even with this very special movie, able to take it to where it is today."

He said that he spied on Weinstein when he watched a screening of the film.

"I was supposed to leave him alone in the screening room and I stayed, just to check that the beginning was going OK, but I heard him laugh and laugh, so I stayed the whole screening."

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