Lin-Manuel Miranda is one step closer to an EGOT.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Congratulations!
[Laughs] So I still dont know whether Federer wins or not, but hes doing really well.
Credit: Amanda Edwards/WireImage
My phone vibrated off the table.
I didnt know the time because Im in London, so I messed up.
I didnt know when the nominations were going to be announced because I cant do math.
[Laughs] It literally started buzzing off the table, and thats when I found out.
Do you have any plans to celebrate yet?I dont know!
I guess Ill pop a little something of bubbly with my wife when I get home from work tonight.
I think thats about as crazy as Im going to get!
This is your first Oscar nomination, and youre now officially Oscar-nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Whats going through your head?Ooh, you say that like there will be more.
[Laughs] No, Im not gonna lie, Im excited to go to the Oscars.
Im the kid who used to tape the Oscars and memorize Billy Crystals musical monologues.
And you know, the Jack Palance running jokes…
I used to tape them every year, so Im thrilled to get to go to the party.
And Im really just so excited for the entireMoanateam.
I mean, I worked on the movie for the past three years.
Theyve been working on it forfiveyears.
[Laughs] But its not.
Youd be doing it if no one cared.
For Moana, thats the ocean.
She loves her family.
She loves her island.
She loves her way of life.
And yet theres still this calling, so you begin to kind of question what it is.
And I related to that.
Thats what I related to, and thats sort of the genesis of the song for me.
I was thrilled the moment Ron and John showed me the water test.
Thats when I was like, Ohhhh, this is going to be a really special movie.
Because it tapped into something primal.
It tapped into something that you know as a kid and that you forget.
Youre in a pretty great category.
How do you feel about going up against two songs fromLa La Land?Oh, its great.
Ive known Benj [Pasek] and Justin [Paul, who wroteLa La Landslyrics] a long time.
Sting and Justin Timberlake!
Its a crazy category.
Its a mad libs of a category.
Do you feel like this is a particularly exciting time for movie musicals?You know, its interesting.
We just have a seat at the table, and thats whats really exciting.
I think musicals are so tough to pull off that for a while, they just werent done.
And I think weve slowly reawakened that language, and the success ofLa La Landis a testament to that.
I know youre sworn to secrecy, but youre in the middle of working onMary PoppinsReturns.
Hows that preparation going?Its a big ol musical!
[Laughs] Funny you should ask!
Im singing and dancing every day with Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep.
Its sort of a dream come true to come to work.
Whats crazy is youre not going to see it for a year and a half, two years.
[Laughs] Because theyreverycatchy.
Head herefor the full list of this years Oscar nominations.
