In the first year since audiences returned to theaters after the pandemic, the 9,579 Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences voters nominated three blockbusters as Best Picture with eight films receiving at least five nominations and first-time nominees filling 16 out of the 20 acting slots.
The breadth of the list is impressive, encompassing one foreign film, one co-directed by an Asian American (with a mostly Asian American cast) and one by a woman. And this year, unlike last, all categories have been restored to the live broadcast.
The Oscars used to honor star-driven crowd-pleasers with clear-cut stories, like “Forrest Gump” and “Titanic.” But over the past 20 years or so, the Academy has tended to choose smaller, more challenging movies, like “Parasite,” “The Shape of Water,” “Green Book” and “Crash,” emphasizing diversity and inclusion. Yet it’s always helpful to remember that “prestigious” and “popular” don’t have to be antonyms.
Perhaps the best explanation for the lack of consensus about these awards starts with the rapidly growing international membership. About half of recent invitees are international, so it’s not surprising that international films have dominated this year’s Oscar nominations.
It’s worth noting that streaming has made foreign-language films more accessible to American audiences who have avoided captions in movie theaters. Plus, many of the new members do not belong to the guilds, which used to be accurate predictors. Producers in Hollywood are unsure about which films to release in theaters; moviegoing habits have changed irrevocably for all but big action movies and comic-book franchises.
Best Picture
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix): a German-language historical action re-make
“Avatar: The Way of Water” (Fox): James Cameron’s epic…
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