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Monday, March 8, 2010
No regrets for ‘Last Truck’ at Oscars
The Dayton area’s representatives at the 2010 Academy Awards didn’t have an Oscar with them when they waited for their return flight from Los Angeles Monday afternoon, March 8.
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” lost out to “Music by Prudence” in the best documentary short category of the 82nd annual event, held Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre.
Paul “Popeye” Hurst, one of four former General Motors workers who donned evening wear to attend the event in hopes of celebrating a win for co-directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, said there were no regrets.
“It would have been a thrill to win. It’s been a lot of fun. But I’m ready to come home and get back to just being plain old Popeye,” he said.
The long-bearded Riverside resident was one of the people featured in the 40-minute documentary about how more than 2,400 workers lost their jobs when General Motors closed its Moraine truck assembly plant in December 2008.
“Steve and Julia put their hearts and souls into this project. It would have been great to see them win,” he said.
“There’s a part of me that believes if we had won, people would have to acknowledge that there’s a problem in the United States,” he said in reference to those left jobless and without benefits. “But we saw all of the other films and the one that took the award was very good. There is no shame in losing to that one.”
He had “a personal thrill” before the broadcast began when he got to talk with show business legend Mickey Rooney “for two to three minutes in the lobby. He was a very gracious man. He has always been a favorite of mine,” Hurst said.
The former GM workers doubled up in hotel rooms — Hurst with Kim Clay, Kathy Day with Kate Geiger.
“We stayed at the Peninsula Hotel, which was ultra fancy. When we got to our room, one pillowcase was embroidered with Kim’s name and one had mine on it. That was very cool,” Hurst said.
Bognar, Reichert and the others expected to arrive in Dayton about 11 p.m. on Monday.
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