You Won’t Believe What This Oscar Nominee Just Said About the Film Industry

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This year’s top five directors nominated for the Oscar in the Best Director category – Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Pérez”), Sean Baker (“Anora”), Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”), Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”) and James Mangold (“A Complete Unknown”) – had a discussion at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Monday. They talked about their films, both individually and collectively.

In a conversation led by Scott Feinberg from The Hollywood Reporter at the Arlington Theatre, Audiard began the discussion by briefly talking about his film, Emilia Pérez. He mentioned that it had a smaller budget compared to most American musicals and referred to it as a “modest musical.” This was his first time working on a musical, but also his first experience of working entirely in a studio, which he found both surprising and exciting. He enjoyed the process because working in a studio enabled him to achieve a level of stylization that would have been impossible with real locations.

Afterward, Baker discussed his fascination with narrating the lives of sex workers. He mentioned that during his work on the 2012 film “Starlet“, he formed friendships with some adult film stars and caught a glimpse of their everyday, ordinary lives. This made him want to create a story centered around them as individuals rather than their profession, which is often how they are perceived. He felt this representation was unfair, so he began to befriend more sex workers and listen to their stories. Over time, he heard countless tales. However, he didn’t want this focus on sex workers to become a gimmick; instead, it developed naturally.

Corbet discussed his fascination with the post-World War II era for the movie, “The Brutalist”. He pondered, “It’s intriguing to me that in the 1950s, people were discouraged from expressing themselves, especially men and definitely not children. This repression is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. It’s strange how some want to return to this conservative era, considering it was such an unhappy time in American history.” Furthermore, the filmmaker shared his views on the modern movie industry, stating that “filmmakers are making predictable choices and these films are easy to endorse at meetings. However, audiences aren’t attending because they’re too familiar. It’s a pattern, it’s content based on algorithms.

This year’s collection of films is exceptionally bold, innovative, and unique, according to Corbet, who commented on this year’s Oscar nominees. He believes that regardless of whether people admire our movies or not, it’s hard to deny that this group of contenders is one of the most intriguing in a while. The majority of these films are independent productions directed by daring filmmakers, and he finds that very invigorating. Although he’s generally not an optimistic person, tonight he feels somewhat hopeful.

As a passionate gamer, I’d say that during our chat, Fargeat revealed an interesting insight about her movie, The Substance. She explained that Hollywood symbolizes what’s happening universally, suggesting this story resonates with every woman across the globe since time immemorial. Interestingly, she shared a humorous anecdote about how Dennis Quaid’s character’s aggressive shrimp-eating scene made quite a few folks on set uncomfortable, leading to requests for it to be toned down. On the other hand, the blood and gore scenes were considered acceptable.

Wrapping up things – prior to the five directors appearing together on stage to praise each other’s movies and share their strategies following the awards season – Mangold commented about “A Complete Unknown“. He mentioned, “In truth, I desired to delve into the bond of a person lacking that inner turmoil [represented by Pete Seeger], who might be exceptionally imaginative and intellectually astute, but it’s simply not accessible for them [similar to Bob Dylan]. Additionally, I addressed those who aim to capitalize on it or generate profits from it, those who despise it, those who are captivated by talent merely to get closer to it.” He further stated that during the filmmaking process, he discovered with regards to Dylan, “It’s incredible to be gifted, but it’s also isolating because that implies you’re separated from everyone.

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2025-02-12 00:25