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Nominated actor Kaluuya in "Judas and the Black Messiah": Fight for a better world
Photo: Glen Wilson / Warner Bros. / AP
Everything shiny, everything new, everything open and transparent.
The very first images with which the live broadcast of this year's Oscar nominations began, acted like a signal to leave.
They celebrated the Museum of the Academy of Motion Pictures, which was built according to a design by the star architect Renzo Piano and is due to open at the end of September, with magnificent aerial photos.
David Rubin, President of the Academy, proudly presented them.
Then he pointed out that the nominees had been chosen by "a diverse community around the world" and gave the floor to the presenters, who were in London, actress Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas.
She was born in India, he in the USA, now together in England, so that was pretty diverse even before the first nominees were announced.
And what more could you ask for when you can name two women in the category "Best Director" for the first time in the history of the Oscars, a European (Emerald Fennell) and an Asian (Chloé Zhao), plus the Danish Thomas Vinterberg, who in Denver-born son of South Korean parents Lee Isaac Chung and finally also the old, white quota man David Fincher?
This time the members of the Academy seemed to want to give an unmistakable answer to the allegations of the past few years of being too white, too old and too manly and accordingly awarding their awards one-sidedly.
In the end there were still ten - and thus the most in this year - nominations for
»Mank
«
, Fincher's black and white film about the author Herman J. Mankiewicz, who wrote the screenplay for the classic movie "Citizen Kane" (1941) directed by Orson Welles.
A movie about white men with big egos who made a movie about a white man with an even bigger ego, billionaire William Randolph Hearst.
On the other hand, the Academy has always been pretty nostalgic and was only too happy to tell stories from the golden age of cinema.
Ten years ago, »The Artist«, a loving homage to the silent film era, won five Oscars.
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Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman in "Mank": A look back at Hollywood's golden era
Photo:
Netflix / AP
»Mank« is reminiscent of the time when Hollywood flourished and the Oscars themselves were not yet in crisis.
Both are clearly different at the moment.
The Academy has not only had a problem since the # OscarsSoWhite initiative made life difficult for it.
The TV ratings have been falling for a long time, and the studios are now considering very carefully whether it is still worth spending many millions of dollars on awards campaigns.
Because the nominations and trophies won no longer lead to more viewers and higher income as reliably as before.
A crazy time, in which the cinema was completely thrown off track due to the pandemic, is moving or forcing the Academy to change direction.
Nine out of a total of 20 nominations for main and supporting actors went to People of Color - a clear sign.
This time they should all get their space, the so far too seldom told stories of the minorities - of Afro-Americans who brought the country forward culturally and politically
(
"
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
", "
One Night in Miami
"), the immigrants from Asia who had to prevail in the USA
(
»
Minari
«
),
the socially disadvantaged and forgotten like the heroine played by Frances McDormand in »
Nomadland
«, who drives through her country in a mobile home and accepts any job.
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Leading actress McDormand in »Nomadland«: Great portrait of a woman
Photo: 20th Century Fox / picture alliance / dpa
Many small films were nominated and only a few large studio productions - not surprising after the postponement of the start date of the twelve months.
The fact that "
Tenet
" by Christopher Nolan, celebrated like a savior last year because he boxed his agent thriller in the cinemas against great opposition, was only considered for the best sound and production design, is surprising.
This Oscar year could become an unprecedented triumph for Netflix, Amazon and Co. over the film studios.
It is hard to believe that until recently there was heated debate about whether productions by streaming services should even be allowed to participate in the Academy Awards.
The 93rd Academy Awards, which will take place in Los Angeles on April 25, could end up being dominated by "Mank," which is about old Hollywood.
The film was produced by Netflix.
Many of the lines that were so far drawn at the Oscars will definitely be blurred this year.
This year's selection, thanks to a determined will of the Academy members for diversity, is a great opportunity.
Because the question of which stories are told by whom is crucial not only for the quality of the films, but also for the future of cinema.
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