If “The Power of the Dog” wins Best Picture, you know at least one person who did not vote for it: Sam Elliott. The actor went off on the Oscar frontrunner earlier this week on Marc Maron‘s WTF podcast, calling it, among other things, a “piece of shit.” Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng are here to discuss how, if at all, this will affect “The Power of the Dog’s” Oscar chances, whether “West Side Story” will get a streaming bump, and more.
Elliott’s long rant included him blasting the 12-time nominee for its “allusions to homosexuality,” likening characters to Chippendales dancers, and taking umbrage with Jane Campion — “this woman from down there” — shooting the Montana-set movie in her native New Zealand. But there’s no such thing as bad publicity, right? Netflix has already tweeted the perfect response. We explain why Elliott’s comments — reminiscent of Ernest Borgnine and Tony Curtis slamming “Brokeback Mountain” 16 years ago — and the subsequent backlash are more likely to help this “Dog” have its Oscar day than not.
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If you’re a “Dog” doubter, though, Elliott’s tirade is another argument for why it could win on a preferential ballot. Following its two Screen Actors Guild Awards wins on Sunday, “CODA” has been been rising up the Best Picture odds, but can a film with no directing or below-the-line nominations really win Best Picture? And if that’s not the alternative everyone is looking for, could it be “West Side Story”? Steven Spielberg‘s reimagining of the 1961 Best Picture winner finally hit streaming Wednesday, on Disney+ and HBO Max, days after the “dance at the gym” clip went viral over the weekend. But is it just too late for it to make a legit push?
Elsewhere, we go over the expectedly chaotic #OscarsFanFavorite top 10 and react to AMPAS doubling down on the telecast changes.
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