According to recent interviews with anonymous Oscar voters, there may be a surprising change in the best picture Oscar race. The Zone of Interest, a Holocaust drama directed by Jonathan Glazer and based on the novel by Martin Amis, could potentially defeat Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Following the end of the voting period for the Academy Awards on Tuesday, there is now a period of time before the results are revealed on the following Sunday. During this time, there is a lot of enthusiastic guessing and discussion happening. A major contributor to this buzz is the release of anonymous interviews with Oscar voters, referred to as the Brutally Honest Oscar Ballots. These interviews feature real members of the Academy who openly discuss their decision-making process and provide insight into how certain films and actors may have been helped or hindered in the competition.
Scott Feinberg, a columnist for the Hollywood Reporter, came up with the idea for the Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot. This goes against Academy regulations, as members are not allowed to share their voting decisions with anyone, including the press. However, this feature has been a part of the Oscars tradition for over ten years. Some shocking truths have been revealed on the ballot, such as a studio executive admitting to not seeing Mad Max: Fury Road and an actor expressing fatigue with Meryl Streep. The ballot also reveals that The Zone of Interest is a surprising contender for the top award at the 2024 Oscars.
After winning five Golden Globe awards and being named the top nominee for the upcoming Oscars, Christopher Nolan’s biographical film, “Oppenheimer,” is widely expected to win the best picture prize according to industry experts. The Oscars’ vote-transfer system is still predicted to secure a victory for “Oppenheimer,” however, some enthusiastic endorsements from anonymous voters suggest that “The Zone of Interest” should not be underestimated in the competition. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, one Academy voter described “The Zone of Interest” as a prime example of what exceptional filmmaking should be, and admitted to placing it above “Oppenheimer” on their ballot. “Variety” magazine also conducted their own anonymous interviews, with two out of five participants choosing “The Zone of Interest” as their top pick for best picture, tied with “Oppenheimer.” One voter even stated that the film has stayed with them long after watching it.
“The Zone of Interest” is a film that is primarily in German and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. It is being considered the top contender to beat out other foreign films such as “Society of the Snow” from Spain and “Perfect Days” from Japan, which respectively focus on an air crash and a toilet cleaner. The film’s chances in this category were boosted after its main competitor, “Anatomy of a Fall,” did not qualify for consideration as France, its country of origin, chose to submit “The Taste of Things” instead.
The relationship between The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall is projected to have a connection in the success of actress Sandra Hüller. Hüller is nominated for best actress for her role in Anatomy of a Fall, where she portrays a woman on trial for her husband’s death. She also appears in The Zone of Interest as Hedwig Höss, wife of Rudolf Höss (played by Christian Friedel), the commandant of Auschwitz. However, Hüller did not receive a nomination for her supporting actress role in The Zone of Interest. The strength of both performances earned Hüller recognition by Brutally Honest voter for best actress in The Hollywood Reporter, competing against Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon and Emma Stone for Poor Things, and by two of Variety’s anonymous interviewees.
Due to the small number of participants, the opinions expressed in the Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot cannot be considered a definitive poll. However, it does suggest that the competition is still ongoing and not yet decided.
The 96th ceremony of the Academy Awards will occur at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 10th.
Source: theguardian.com
