American film director Alex Ross Perry loved “Avengers: Endgame” so damn much that he’s decided to write an op-ed about its deserving to win the Best Picture Oscar. His IndieWire writeup, a dangerous one in my opinion, is an attempt to, I presume, bridge the gap between the Indie world and Hollywood. It’s an uneasy marriage between two fairly different cinematic mindsets, which has the intention of legitimizing the MCU as irrevocable art.
Perry does have to mention at the very beginning of his op-ed that ‘Endgame,’ was produced by Disney, for whom he worked on the screenplay of “Christopher Robin” from 2015-2018. With all that said, he goes on to claim “I love Disney movies, Disney theme parks, and Disney clamshell VHS tapes. So unlike (apparently) a lot of people, I actively root for Disney’s success” OK, thanks for the warning, Alex. At least there’s the acknowledgement of his background and why he would even dare utter the words “Avengers” and “Best Picture” in the same sentence.
After that, Perry reveals that he would “like to see “Avengers: Endgame” win best picture at the 2020 Oscars.” Comparing it to an MCU-achievement award, similar to what the Academy did in honouring “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” in 2004, he claims that, if taken as a singular accomplishment, compromising its 22-film run, there can be no other winner but the MCU.
He doesn’t necessarily examine or bring a critical eye to the mix here — this is more about “nerd culture,” than anything else; or, as he pointedly states, “what was once “nerd” culture [being now known] as the sole remaining representation of anything resembling a monoculture.”
Perry is basically telling naysayers of the superhero genre that [my translation] “TOUGH, this is our moment now, the nerds have won, this is what and should be constituted as cinema for millions of Americans, learn to live with it, embrace it, because it’s here to stay.”
It feels almost like a therapeutic op-ed about a once nerdy, bullied kid, whose tastes in “nerd culture” are finally being acknowledged and warmed up to by the mainstream. He decides to quote Aisha Harris’ NYT essay in which she acknowledged “that it’s good that “nerds” have their day now. Things that people used to get made fun of for 20, 30 years ago now everyone loves and accepts that it’s cool.”
I won’t protest further at this point. I very much liked “Avengers: Endgame.” It was an above-average action picture that, somehow, managed to also feel brainy and consummately cinematic. Given the slim pickings thus far this year, in terms of high-quality studio fare, sure, ‘Endgame’ being at the Oscars is not a far-fetched prediction, but winning? I just don’t think there are enough people within the voting body to be inclined to warm up to a superhero movie, let alone ever watch it.
For Schrader, AI solves the curious practical filmmaking problem he had. How about just creating Black people? No casting calls, no agents, no actors turning down the roles.