Paul Schrader is back, and this time he’s aiming for the Oscars.
The “Taxi Driver” and “Obsession” screenwriter, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for “First Reformed” (incredibly, his first nomination), is targeting what he feels is an awards show and membership base. confused. “OSCARS NOT HOLLYWOOD. By diversifying the membership, recalibrating how votes are counted, these changes have transformed the Hollywood Oscars into the international Oscars,” Schrader wrote on Facebook (via Twitter). “I like the provincial origins of the Oscars better: Hollywood coming together to celebrate theirs.”
Schrader continued, less coherently: “Barry Diller is right. If the Oscars want to be saved, they must return to their origins. The Oscars mean less every year. The reasons for this are clear: the need for income compounded by the museum’s debt and reduced income from films and the struggle to awaken.
It’s not clear why, exactly, Schrader is so out of shape. “All Quiet on the Western Front”, which is in fact an international feature film, picked up four awards last night. It is the fourth foreign film to take home as many Oscars, after “Fanny and Alexander,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Parasite.”
Instead, Schrader’s rant feels outwardly racist, as he was clearly upset by the number of wins for “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” which features a predominantly Asian cast and is directed, in part, by an Asian-American filmmaker. .
What is especially strange about Schrader’s comments is how deeply influenced he is, as a director, by foreign filmmakers. “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters,” arguably his greatest achievement as a director, is shot entirely in Japanese while embracing the Japanese film style; in other parts of his filmography one can feel the influence of directors such as Michael Antonioni and Bernardo Bertolucci.
When he sent out his 2022 Sight & Sound poll (which he also spoke out loudly against), less than half of his picks were the “Hollywood” movies he cries about today.
