Barry: Oscars get it wrong
VETERAN fi lm critic Barry Norman has hit out over the upcoming Oscars claiming Academy Awards juries too often pick the wrong winners.
There has already been controversy over the awards, which will take place in Los Angeles this Sunday, after snubs for fi lms acclaimed by the critics such as Martin Luther King biopic Selma and Mr Turner, Mike Leigh’s movie about the great British painter JMW Turner.
The 81- year- old writer tells Radio Times: “It always seems to me that the Oscars are much more interesting at the nominations stage than in the fi nal analysis. Apart from best picture, all the nominees are chosen by their peers – actors by other actors, directors by other directors and so on. Personal likes and dislikes come into play. You might vote for someone simply because he or she was nice to you on set.”
He also argues that jury members will often not even watch nominated works. “There’s the question of whether all the voters actually saw all the fi lms. It’s not unknown for some, especially the elderly, to get their maids to watch them on DVD and deliver their opinions.”
British actor Eddie Redmayne won the Best Actor award at the Golden Globes and Baftas but Barry is sceptical he will add an Oscar to his collection. “The bookies’ favourite is Michael Keaton. He’ll probably get the home team decision.”