taxi driver And wild bull Writer Paul Schrader has criticized the Oscars for becoming “more awake”, which he says has made them mean “less and less every year”.
The 76-year-old Hollywood screenwriter and director took to Facebook to share his thoughts on the current state of the film industry and what the Oscars have become over the years.
Schrader posted his opinion online hours after the film Everything Everywhere at once cleaned up at the Oscars and won seven Oscars at the awards ceremony on Sunday.
“So no Oscars [Hollywood]’ Schrader began. “By diversifying membership and recalibrating vote counting, these changes transformed the Hollywood Oscars into the International Oscars. I rather like the provincial origins of the Oscars: Hollywood comes together to celebrate its own.”
He further pointed out that other countries have their own national awards mostly celebrating their own films, such as the UK BAFTAs, the French Césars and the German Lolas.
Schrader said that Barry Diller, ex-Paramount CEO, was right when he recently said the film industry as a whole is “broken and will never come back.”
Schrader continued, “Barry Diller is right. If the Oscars are to save themselves, they must return to their origins. The Oscars mean less every year [academy’s] Museum and falling film revenues and scrambling to be woken up.”
For movies to be “woken up” is likely an increase in diversity and inclusivity, Schrader said.
news week turned to Schrader to explain his points.
The screenwriter-director answered questions and comments from people who replied to him on Facebook.
A Facebook user shared his stance on the museum, saying it was “a much bigger financial success than anyone expected.” Schrader replied, “That’s not the problem. The problem is the debt.”
Another person’s response prompted a rebuttal from Schrader. “Shame Mr. Schrader, fame and fortune keep you from feeling it?” One person commented on his post. Schrader replied almost poetically, “I was born in shame, raised in shame, and will die in shame.”
Schrader’s comments continued to be discussed on social media, particularly on Reddit, where they became a topic of discussion.
Some people speculated that he was “insane” because of this Everything everywhere at once Gained so much despite the fact that the movie is “made in California, directed by a bunch of US-born guys, and distributed by A24,” said one user.
Another user suggested that he might have been mad at the inclusion of nothing new in the West, the German-language anti-war film nominated in several categories. Edward Berger’s Netflix epic won four awards after being nominated for nine.
In the comments of his first Facebook post, Schrader addressed such claims and shared his feelings Everything everywhere at once.
Anita Li, a journalist and founder of TheGreenLine.TO, said that while she’s a longtime Schrader fan, she was “incredibly” disappointed to read his comments. “Everything everywhere at once is a quintessentially American immigrant story, and both directors and much of the cast are American-born.” Li wrote. “I hope I’m misinterpreting this comment, so I look forward to your response.”
“[Everything Everywhere] didn’t hit a nerve with me, but that wasn’t my point. Just confirming what Diller said recently,” Schrader wrote in response to Li.
Schrader was behind such classic films as Taxi driver, Raging Bull And The Last Temptation of Christall collaborations with Martin Scorsese, but his only Oscar nomination came for his 2017 psychodrama First reformedstarring Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried.
