but is it the year of power of the dog? i think it s netflix s power of the dog, and this could be the year that netflix finally wins the best picture category. we ll find out next month. katie razzell, bbc news. a short time ago, i spoke to scott feinberg, awards columnist for the hollywood reporter and i asked him how confident he felt about picking an oscar winner. this is a particularly interesting year because it s the return to guaranteed ten best picture nominees so it s been a while since we ve had that many in the running which obviously makes it a little bit trickier. there are constituencies for a lot of these movies and at least within the industry, not many of them are box office hits that the general public feels very invested in so we may have an issue with television ratings. but within the business, i think there are a handful of these that have a real shot for best picture, certainly the power of the dog with 12 nominations, only ten movies have ever had more than t
minorities, it s a much more diverse group voting for the oscars and this makes the oscar race much more wide open than before and it s not the usual predictable context, since the 94th oscars but with a wider voting field and we could be seeing some surprises in a few hours. so do you think it does become a bit more popular and box office orientated than perhaps has been traditionally? this is the academy s next great challenge, the idea of having ten best picture nominees and it s normally five in the other categories is to give the opportunity for more of the club crowd pleasing favourites to find their way in. and i think this really needs to happen if the academy awards is to have a future. for example, spider man is notjust the biggest hit of the pandemic comments one of the biggest box office hits of all time but is a rank outsider in the oscars
the numbers, you change the game and so did the academy and five years ago there were 6000 voters for the oscars and now there are nearly 10,000 and the majority of those new members are women and minorities, so it s a much more diverse group voting for the oscars and this makes the oscar race much more wide open than before and it s not the usual predictable contest, so this is the 94th oscars but with a wider voting field and we could be seeing some surprises in a few hours. so do you think it does become a bit more popular and box office orientated than perhaps has been traditionally? this is the academy s next great challenge, the idea of having ten best picture nominees and it s normally five in the other categories is to give the opportunity for more of the crowd pleasing favourites to find their way in. and i think this really needs to happen if the academy awards is to have a future.
that many this time? maybe it will. i know you love west side story - that many this time? maybe it will. | i know you love west side story and i know you love west side story and i love the power of the dog. looks beautiful, sensational acting. i mean ijust think it s a really terrific piece of work. and we talked about. lets talk more about diversity. we are still in an era where it is notable, should a woman go on and win best director but it could happen with this film. it could happen with this film. it could happen withjane campion, she could happen with jane campion, she has a lot of pedigree in terms of awards. oscars still need to redress that balance of parity in the directing category. there are not a lot of female film makers but the holder of that award from last year, is a balance has changed. don t forget, parasite, it s not long since that won. so looking in the ten best picture nominees, perhaps some international feature films, getting a much more international spread
making their choices, determining what this awards season will look like. 0ddsmakers predict that among the ten best picture nominees will be steven spielberg s west side story, jane campion s the power of the dog, paul thomas anderson s licorice pizza, denis villeneuve s dune, and kenneth branagh s belfast. but on hollywood boulevard in conversation with movie fans, it s clear that there isn t much familiarity with this year s likely 0scar contenders. movies like belfast will probably get multiple nominations, what do you know about that? what movie? belfast. i ve never heard of that in my life. what about west side story? nothing, don t know that. so what movie do you think should get nominated for best picture? best picture? i don t know spider man. ever since i got bit by that spider. spider man: no way home has been a huge hit. it could earn a best picture nomination, but it s not thought likely. its fans would love to see it included. the academy has long favoured