LOS ANGELES — Riding
up in an elevator at the Four
Seasons Hotel in Beverly
Hills recently, I ran into Dev
Patel, the young Englishman
of South Asian heritage who
stars in Slumdog Millionaire.
Our brief chat became a
revelation — and an indicator
of why Slumdog is the cause
celebre of the Oscars.
There was no cocky swagger,
no presumption of grandeur,
no sense of entitlement.
Patel was modest, keen
and overjoyed that the fi lm
— which already has given
him more than his expected
15 minutes of fame — has
so much to say to the world
about life, love and the
class struggle in India.
I mentioned how
disappointed some people
feel about Academy Award
voters overlooking his
performance. No actor from
Slumdog was nominated.
“Th at doesn’t matter to me,”
Patel said humbly. “I don’t
feel I really deserve that. It is
the movie that is important.”
Patel does not even believe
he has become a good actor
yet, despite starring in the
BBC series Skins. “I was
terrible in that,” he confesses.
“I didn’t know what I was
doing. But Danny Boyle
helped me tremendously
on Slumdog Millionaire. He
deserves all the credit.”
Th en I ran into Boyle on
another elevator ride. He
seemed just as laid-back
about what is happening,
preferring instead to wax
poetic and nostalgic about
how much he has enjoyed
favour at Canadian fi lm
festivals over his career.
Contrast them with the
heavyweights on Th e Curious
Case of Benjamin Button. It
has 13 nominations, three
more than the 10 meted out
to Slumdog. Button director
David Fincher is a moody,
exacting, American power
player. Boyle is a funky Briton
who makes eccentric choices.
While Patel is happy not being
nominated, Button is played
by superstar Brad Pitt, who is
nominated as best actor and
clearly enjoying the limelight
again as “a serious actor.” He
has not had a role with this
much meat on the bones
since Fincher’s Fight Club.
Given that Pitt’s romantic
partner, Angelina Jolie, is also
nominated — as best actress
for Changeling — the glamour
couple also will be the focal
point of the Oscars ceremony.
And there seems to be a
corporate push behind Button,
a groundswell of Hollywood
sentiment for one of its own
mega-projects to bring home
the most golden-guy statuettes.
It may not happen as best
picture. Slumdog, the upstart
from another culture, looks
poised to knock off its big
league competition. Oddly, no
other nominee even seems to
be in contention. Each of Frost/
Nixon, Milk and Th e Reader is
not in the conversation for best
picture, although each may
score in other categories, such
as Sean Penn for best actor in
Milk. Th ere is more fuss being
made about the exclusion of
Th e Dark Knight from this race
— and the inclusion of the late
Heath Ledger as a posthumous
nominee for best supporting
actor — than there is serious
talk about anything other
than a Button vs. Slumdog
struggle for the top prize.
This is the classic David
and Goliath. Button is the
big, lumbering giant, a $150-
million production that has
worked its way to $197 million-
plus in worldwide box office.
The project, like many epic-
sized movies, has been in
development for years, in
its case since 1994. At one
point, Ron Howard was going
to direct John Travolta as
Benjamin Button. At another,
Steven Spielberg was going
to direct Tom Cruise. Spike
Jonze held talks to direct.
Who knows what star would
have been his Button.
In contrast, Slumdog
is a modest, $15-million
independent picture made
out of the mainstream. It has
made $137 million worldwide.
It tells the story of a street kid in
Mumbai, India, who rises out
of the roil of his slum through
success on a TV game show
that tests his intelligence.
There has been a backlash,
some of it suspiciously
being fanned by sources in
Hollywood. Street protests
in India have objected to the
title, and its implication that
slum dwellers are “dogs”, as
if taking the title apart on a
literal basis has value. Others
questioned the treatment of
two young slum dwellers who
were given prominent support
roles, as if treating them well
but paying them a modest
wage was an exploitation.
Th at issue has been debunked
by the Slumdog producers,
who revealed that each of
the youngsters has also
been given a fund that will
finance his education.
Attacks on Slumdog
Millionaire seem to confi rm
what is now obvious: Th at,
even without arrogance,
it is now the favourite to
triumph tonight, against
all the early odds.
