2008 Oscar Nominees Luncheon: Marion Cotillard
by Reg Seeton

When we approached our first 2008 Oscar Nominees Luncheon piece, no one knew if the writers' strike would come to an end the following day, the next week, or in time to hold the lavish annual red-carpet affair.

Although the strike loomed large at the 2008 Oscar Nominees Luncheon, everyone had a sense that it would all be over soon. Now that movie fans will get to watch the full-blown Academy Awards telecast in all its fashionable glory on February 24, 2008, the countdown to Oscar night has resumed with the usual amount of industry excitement and movie-lover hype.

In our previous Oscar Luncheon piece, we heard from Best Actor nominee George Clooney, Best Supporting Actor nominee Casey Affleck, and Best Director nominee Tony Gilroy, and now we turn to the ladies of this year's Oscar Nominees with Actress in a Leading Role nominee Marion Cotillard for her mesmerizing portrayal of legendary French singer Edith Piaf in Olivier Dahan's La Vie en Rose.

If you haven't already seen Cotillard's stirring performance, there's only five days left to check out La Vie en Rose before you make that all-important selection on your fan ballot come Oscar night. Don't be surprised if Cotillard's performance as Edith Piaf earns her the Oscar since the French actress recently won the Best Leading Actress at this year's BAFTA Awards.

QUOTES FROM THE 2008 OSCAR NOMINEES LUNCHEON:

MARION COTILLARD (Actress in a Leading Role):

Marion Cotillard on whether she feels overwhelmed:

"No, I feel excited. And I really want to have fun, and it’s time to have fun."

Cotillard on the difference between awards season in the United States as compared to France:

"Well, you really don’t have this in France, all the award seasons. It’s not comparable because it’s totally different. In France, you watch the movies and then you put a cross in a case. But there’s no - there’s, like, two or three awards ceremonies. So it’s - the whole show is here. You don’t do any campaign, you don’t do any publicity. It would be odd to do this. So it’s a new experience, and I really love it."

On what it's like to be at the center of the Oscar storm:

"Well, I never thought it was crazy because I don’t watch T.V., so I didn’t know how big it was. But in the middle of it you’re - yes, it is crazy, but still you meet beautiful human people and actors and actresses that I admire so much for many years. It’s kind of a dream, which is very real, and still it’s a dream."

Cotillard on whether Americans ask her to explain who Edith Piaf is:

"Well, from what I’ve heard, a lot of people started to listen to Piaf after they saw the movie. I love Piaf’s songs, so I really understand that when you see the movie you have the desire to discover her songs. She has such a unique voice. And she wrote La Vie en Rose, it’s something."

Marion Cotillard on who she was looking forward to meeting at this year's Oscar Luncheon:

"Well, I’ve met a lot of amazing actors, actresses and directors since I’m here. So I’m very, very happy to again share moments with Amy Ryan, with George Clooney - that’s crazy. Yeah, yeah, and the makeup, it’s blue everywhere. It’s real. 'Yeah, French girl, it’s real.'"