Christopher Nolan has directed twelve films. Furthermore, he has an enormous fan base, particularly in America and India. Despite having received eight Academy Award nominations for his past works, including Memento (2000), Inception (2010), and Dunkirk (2017), the master of independent film has yet to take home a trophy in any category. That will probably change with his 12th feature. Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan is a biographical thriller that follows the life of J Robert Oppenheimer, also known as “the father of the atomic bomb” and is based on the life of the “American Promethues” (Cillian Murphy). It debuted in theaters on July 12 of last year alongside Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, with Barbenheimer becoming a cultural icon and a battleground in movies.
The 2024 nominees for the Oscars Best Picture are…
The 10 Best Picture nominees are The Holdovers (produced by Mark Johnson); American Fiction (co-produced by Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson); Anatomy of a Fall (by Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion); Barbie (David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner); Killers of the Flower Moon (by Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi); Maestro (by Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger); Past Lives (by David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler); Poor Things (by Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone); The Zone of Interest (by James Wilson); and, the most likely to win, Oppenheimer (by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers).
There are notable moments in the movie, such as the victory speech scene and the Nolanesque outward projection of Oppenheimer’s mental/emotional condition and visualisation of the horrors he envisaged. However, there have also been some people who don’t like the film, calling it a Wikipedia-esque chronicling of events or a documentary with acting, or calling it “a History Channel movie with fancy editing,” as Richard Brody wrote in The New Yorker.
Here’s why Oppenheimer has a strong chance of winning:
- Domination of the award season: It has thirteen Oscar nominations. It is also a strong signal, having won numerous important honors, including the AFI (American Film Institute) Movie of the Year, the Critics’ Choice Awards, the BAFTA Awards, the Producers Guild (PGA), the Directors Guild (DGA), and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). In the past, only one movie—Apollo 13—out of ten that accomplished this accomplishment has failed to win Best Picture. These honors indicate that Oppenheimer has a lot of industry support as they acknowledge the three categories of filmmaking, production, and acting that are important for Best Picture nomination.
- Critical praise and popularity: Oppenheimer is well-liked by audiences and experts alike, as seen by favorable reviews from critics and a successful box office run (high ticket sales). The Academy frequently looks for movies that strike this harmony.
- The reputation of director Christopher Nolan: Nolan has a track record of both critical and financial success. His involvement gives the movie more cache and raises the likelihood that it will be recognized.
- Technical achievements: The film’s technical prowess could be further enhanced by news of innovative physical effects that don’t rely too heavily on CGI.
- Preferential voting: A movie like Oppenheimer may profit from this arrangement. Voters who give it high marks on their votes can add to its total score, even though it may not be everyone’s clear favorite. A strong showing overall can result in victory.
Does Oppenheimer fit the new DE&I Standards requirements set by the Oscars?
With this year’s 96th Academy Awards, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Standards were introduced. In order to achieve it, a movie must satisfy a minimum of two of the four criteria that center on audience development, creative leadership, industry access, and on-screen representation (of underrepresented racial and gender groups).
Despite Oppenheimer’s mostly white cast, there may still be a chance to win the Best Picture Award if “it satisfies Standard B due to its executive producer, Thomas Hayslip, and costume designer, Ellen Mirojnick, being Asian and female, respectively, and therefore members of ‘underrepresented groups,'” according to a Reddit post on Nolan’s film at the 2024 Oscars. Because Universal Pictures, the business that distributed the movie, employs a woman, Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, as president of distribution, and an African American, Dwight Caines as president of domestic marketing, Oppenheimer may also meet Standard D.
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