Million Dollar Baby

On this date in 2005, at the 77th Academy Award presentation, 2004's "Million Dollar Baby" won four awards, including Best Picture.

Producer Albert S. Ruddy loved the story and was determined to make it into a movie and spent four years trying to find backers who were interested in helping him make it. "I couldn't get anybody interested," he said in an interview, "and I'm talking about people who are friends of mine, people I've done business with for years. They'd tell me, 'Who wants to see a movie about two old grizzled guys and a girl fighter?'" Eventually, he found someone interested, Clint Eastwood. He read the script and said "It's a downer...but God, it's gorgeous."

At age 74, Eastwood became the oldest Best Director Oscar winner for this movie. This was one of two times when the presenter handing Clint Eastwood his Oscar was Barbra Streisand. She previously handed him the Best Director Oscar of "Unforgiven" (1992). Before giving the second movie award to him, she said, "I would be very happy to give you this again, Clint."

Hilary Swank underwent a serious training schedule to prepare for this movie. She gained nearly twenty pounds of muscle due to the workouts. Swank contracted a bacterial infection from a blister she developed on her foot during training for her role. The infection was so serious that she almost had to be hospitalized for three weeks. Catching the infection in the nick of time, she instead chose to take a week off for medicated rest and didn't tell Eastwood or the other producers of this movie about the injury, because she didn't believe it was in character.

Morgan Freeman was originally approached to play the role of Frankie Dunn. But even before Eastwood took on directing and starring roles, he decided to take the part of Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris. Freeman's win for Best supporting actor was the second year in a row that category was won for a Clint Eastwood film. The previous year, Tim Robbins won the same Oscar for "Mystic River" (2003)