What a Mexican Filmmaker Suggests the 'Government' Might 'Inflict' Seems to Take Oscar Crowd a Bit Off Guard

During his portion of the Best Picture acceptance speech for "Birdman," Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu noted to the crowd that he didn't really want to talk since he's the "worst-English speaking guy here."

Alejandro G. Inarritu accepts the award for the best picture “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Image source: John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Then Inarritu started talking — leading off with a dig apparently directed toward the United States that seemed less than off-the-cuff.

"Maybe next year the government will inflict some immigration rules to the Academy," he said, which seemed to take some in the crowd a bit off guard.

But Innaritu — who had earlier picked up an Academy Award for directing "Birdman" — managed to lighten the mood pretty fast, silently invoking last year's best director winner, Alfonso Cuaron: "Two Mexicans in a row. That's suspicious, I guess."

His latter line drew a lot more laughs.

The relevant portion of the clip starts just before the 20-second mark:

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