It has been said that there is a
New Hollywood emerging that is in competition with the “Old” Hollywood. The
latter of course refers to the traditional motion picture studios making productions
that premiere in cinemas before home media. New Hollywood on the other hand
stands for the big-budget movies that release primarily for online streaming
such as Netflix. It was predicted that film awards will see the struggle
between film and digital formats, and the nomination announcements for the
upcoming Oscars have indeed proven prophetic. But even for Old Hollywood there
has been a shift in award trends too.
According to The New York Times, the list of nominees for the 92nd
Academy Awards is showing the bourgeoning contest between traditional and
digital streaming platforms for major motion picture releases. One needs to
look no further than the streaming giant itself, Netflix, which earned a total
of 24 Oscar nominations for several of its exclusive original film content.
Standout nominees for Netflix include Martin Scorsese’s crime epic “The
Irishman,” starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, and “Marriage
Story” with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. In response, Old Hollywood has
the one film with the most nominations, but its title is one that fans are not
expecting.
While Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther”
was the first major superhero film to get nods for Oscars (in last year’s
Academy Awards no less), it was a surprise that Warner Bros. Pictures’
standalone DC movie about Batman super-villain “Joker” would become the
most-nominated film for the 92nd edition. The villain-protagonist
centered psychological thriller starring Joaquin Phoenix as Gotham City’s Clown
Prince of Crime was nominated 11 times, including for Best Picture, Best
Director (Todd Phillips) and Best Actor for Phoenix. This is indeed surprising and
indicative of comic-book movies perhaps finally being considered serious Oscar
business.
Other multiple-nominees for the
92nd Oscars include “The Irishman,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a
Time in Hollywood” and Universal Pictures war drama “1917,” all with 10
nominations apiece. South Korean comedy thriller “Parasite” from director Bong
Joon-ho has also been highly praised in its native country for garnering six
Academy nominations. These include not only Best International Feature Film
(formerly “Foreign-Language Film”) but also Best Director, Best Original
Screenplay, and even Best Picture, one in a field of nine competitors. About
the only perceivable shortcomings in the nominee announcement is a palpable
return of majority-male and majority-white trending of choices.
The next Oscars will be held on
February 9 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, with no host on emcee duties but
a succession of presenters instead, just like last year. The ceremony will as
always be broadcast on ABC.
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