“The Power of the Dog”
The big loser of Oscar night
Jane Campion was able to secure the Oscar for best director – and with it the only golden boy for “The Power of the Dog”.
© imago images/Future Image
“The Power of the Dog” was a big favorite in the Oscar race. With just one award, the western is the big loser of the gala.
It should have been a historic evening for Netflix: The western drama “The Power of the Dog” by Jane Campion (67) was the clear favorite at the Oscars on paper. He started the race with twelve nominations – but in the end it was only enough for a single golden boy.
The big losers
Instead, the streaming competitor Apple TV + secured the award for best film with “CODA”. Leading actor Benedict Cumberbatch (45) had to admit defeat to Will Smith (53, “King Richard”); Jesse Plemons (33), Kodi Smit-McPhee (25) and Kirsten Dunst (39) lost to Troy Kotsur (53, “CODA”) and Ariana DeBose (31, “West Side Story”) in the supporting actor categories. Ari Wegner (38) was also about to write history for the western. She could have been the first woman to be awarded “Best Camera”. In the end, however, only Campion was honored for best director.
The Netflix film “Don’t Look Up”, on the other hand, went completely empty-handed. The satire with Leonardo DiCaprio (47) and Jennifer Lawrence (31) was nominated four times – including best film. Even in the categories screenplay, film music or editing, it wasn’t enough for a golden boy.
Instead, actor, director and screenwriter Kenneth Branagh (61) was awarded his first Oscar for “Best Original Screenplay” for the film “Belfast”. In this category, in addition to “Don’t Look Up”, “Licorice Pizza” was also one of the favorites for many film lovers. But “Belfast”, like the musical remake “West Side Story”, is also one of the losers of the evening. Both films were nominated seven times, but each won only one Oscar.
Of six nominations, “King Richard” was only able to convert one into a golden boy: Will Smith was awarded “Best Actor”. But the Hollywood star’s first Oscar triumph was overshadowed by a scandal. After comedian and actor Chris Rock (57) cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith (50), the Oscar winner stormed onto the stage and slapped Rock. The comedian shouldn’t “put the name of Smith’s wife in the damn mouth,” he raged.
Surprise at the Fan Oscar
The winner of the Oscar for the fan favorite probably also raised the eyebrows of many a connoisseur. The newly introduced audience award, for which users could vote online, seemed certain in advance of the extremely successful “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. At least here, however, Netflix was able to assert itself. Zack Snyder’s (56) streaming zombie strip “Army of the Dead” with Matthias Schweighöfer (41) was surprisingly popular with users.
Some had also speculated that the three-time nominated animated documentary “Flee” would win an Oscar. However, the Japanese drama Drive My Car won Best International Film. Meanwhile, Disney’s “Encanto” won Best Animated Feature and “Summer of Soul” Best Documentary.