The screenwriter behind All Quiet On The Western Front has shared her “frustration” over her acceptance speech being cut from the BAFTAs broadcast on Sunday.
Producer and screenwriter Lesley Paterson bought the rights to the classic 1929 German book and spent 15 years trying to get the film off the ground before it was finally made.
It has now become the most decorated foreign language film of all time at the BAFTAs, winning a whopping seven awards at the cinematic event.
However, the wins have been tinged with disappointment for the former Olympic triathlete after her speech was cut from the BBC broadcast.
Speaking on Monday’s BBC Breakfast, the Scottish star insisted she won’t be upset by the edit and is hoping to deliver a speech at the Oscars next month, should they win one of the nine nominations they’re up for.
She shared: “It’s definitely frustrating because it really does take a village to make a film and all the team should be recognised, especially because we started this project so many years ago but at the end of the day, I haven’t gotten this far by being negative about little things like that.
“I’m a positive person, so happy with what’s happened that it is, what it is and hopefully I’ll get to say a speech at the Oscars.”
In light of the edit, Paterson was asked to share her acceptance speech “live and unedited” to the nation during her early morning interview.
She continued: “I think I would say, never give up on your dreams, fight for them all the way, regardless how big those dreams seem to other people and of course, I want to thank my family, my mum, my dad and my husband, Simon.
“He played a massive role in this film and he’s my writing partner now and we’ve got big projects ahead of us.
“I just want to thank everyone, please watch our film, pass it onto the younger generation. It’s such an important anti-war message and we could not be more honoured.”
The German language anti-war epic, directed by German filmmaker Edward Berger and based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque, scooped seven prizes at the EE Bafta film awards including best film and best director to pass the record of five set by the Italian coming-of-age drama in 1988.
Taking to the stage at the climax of the event at London’s Royal Festival Hall, producer Malte Grunert said the Netflix film showed how a generation of young German men were “poisoned by right-wing nationalistic propaganda” and he stressed that the film’s message remains “relevant” nearly a century on.
Berger paid tribute to those fighting in Ukraine and also told the audience he was able to get over his “doubt” thanks to his daughter Matilda who had encouraged him to film the book she was reading at school.
