Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba said in his acceptance speech for winning the 1993 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar: “I would like to believe in God in order to thank him. But I just believe in Billy Wilder… so, thank you Mr. Wilder.”
According to Trueba, Wilder called him the day after and told him: “Fernando, it’s God.”
French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius also thanked Billy Wilder in his 2012 Best Picture Oscar acceptance speech for The Artist by saying “I would like to thank the following three people, I would like to thank Billy Wilder, I would like to thank Billy Wilder, and I would like to thank Billy Wilder.”
