In Contention
From ‘Green Book’ to ‘Roma,’ nearly every serious Oscar contender has met with controversy
Controversies dogging Oscar hopefuls mar awards season
he furor that has flared around virtually every major Oscar rival this year has turned the ongoing awards season into a particularly ugly one. As the proceedings continue to devolve into a fit of collective rage aimed at any and all, it’s worth a recap.
Just before the season kicked off at the Venice and Telluride film festivals, the first fracas struck, though it ultimately amounted to little more than a filmmaker beef. On Twitter, outspoken “Sorry to Bother You” director Boots Riley slammed “Blackkklansman” for inaccuracies, and accused director Spike Lee of promulgating disingenuous pro-law- enforcement propaganda. The feud lasted at least to the Governors Awards in November, where Riley said Lee shouted to him, “I’m Miles Davis; you’re Chet Baker!”
The next controversy was an utterly bogus one stoked by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Twitter: “First Man,” an account of the Apollo 11 moon-landing mission, did not explicitly depict the raising of the American flag on the surface of the moon. Clutch the pearls! The complaint seemed too silly to stick (the film is utterly patriotic), but it may have actually limited heartland box office dollars; the film wound up a commercial disappointment.
“A Star Is Born” was targeted soon after for its association with producer Jon Peters, who has a long history of sexual harassment allegations. Warner Bros. and director Bradley Cooper dealt with the charge swiftly, citing contractual obligations to include Peters’ name in the credits. But he did not receive the official Producers Guild mark on the film and would not share in a possible best picture nomination.
This was all before the Toronto Film Festival had even come to a close with its annual People’s Choice Award, which went to “Green Book.” That film, too, would weather a storm — multiple ones, in fact.
First came Viggo Mortensen’s un-malicious N-word gaffe at a Q&A session, which was quickly addressed with an apology. However, the incident stoked general feelings in some quarters that Peter Farrelly’s film is outdated in its handling of race relations. Later, the family of Don Shirley, the character played by Mahershala Ali, called out the movie, alleging fabrications. Surely that would be enough