Danny Boyle is ecstatic with his Best Director win at the Oscars. Slumdog Millionaire picked up eight Oscars in total, including Best Picture. When Boyle returned home to Manchester, his family wanted to show him off. So they took him for “lunchtime lemonade” at St. Mary’s Catholic Social Club.

The sweetest part is the quotes with Danny – you can tell he’s still in shock. He claims he’s been taking his Oscar everywhere with him, and it’s already banged up. Here’s an interesting little fact: the Academy insures the Oscar statuettes, and if you’re lucky enough to win one, and your statue gets banged up, the Academy will replace it free of charge. Many Oscar winners have complained that the gold coating flakes off eventually, but they’re always happy to find out they can easily get a new one.

Film director Danny Boyle popped into his local club with his Oscar under his arm to toast the success of Slumdog Millionaire at the awards.

The 52-year-old director of Slumdog Millionaire was joined by his father Frank, 87, and twin sister Maria at St Mary’s Catholic Social Club in Radcliffe, Bury, Greater Manchester, for a lunchtime lemonade.

Boyle, who bagged an Oscar for best director for the film, said: “You kind of dream about stuff like this. I’m sure everybody in the industry does.”

When asked what his top moments were, the father of three said: “My top moments are my kids. They top everything.”

Asked what was next for the director, Boyle said: “I have no idea. I’ve been promoting the film since September in America and I haven’t had time to do any planning. But I’m looking forward to planning something.”

Boyle said that the best director gong, which was carried in a blue bag to the club, had been kept on a shelf but had picked up a “bit of damage” from “taking it everywhere” and showing it to people.

Maria Boyle said: “It’s been a really emotional time. Certainly when he produced the Oscar and we saw it for the first time a few tears come to your eyes because you can’t quite believe it, it’s such an iconic statue…You think, wow, this is Danny holding this.”

But Ms Boyle insisted Danny was a “normal person” and she thinks he keeps his “feet firmly on the ground”.

Albert Waters, chairman of St Mary’s Social Club, said: “I think it’s superb. He’s done something no-one else around here has ever done. I think he deserves some sort of award for his achievements.”

Boyle, whose other films include Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, is also being considered for the civic honour of freedom of the borough of his hometown by Bury Metropolitan Borough Council. Boyle said it was “nice” and he was proud to be considered for the civic honour.

From The Daily Telegraph

Danny Boyle deserves all of the local honors he can get. His victory is a throwback to when a non-American winning an Oscar is treated as a huge deal in the winner’s home country. So many Indians are celebrating Slumdog’s Oscar wins, and it’s nice the Great Britain is celebrating too.

When Penelope Cruz was on Oprah, she admitted that the night she won, she put her Oscar on her pillow. I wonder if Danny Boyle did something similar, just to prove it wasn’t all a dream.

Danny Boyle and his twin sister, Maria, are shown at their local social club, St. Marys, in Manchester, England on 2/28/09. Credit: WENN