Another year, another Spielberg loss. It seems to be its own annual Oscar tradition these days.
After it premiered at TIFF, many believed that Spielberg and “The Fabelmans” were going to be hard to beat come Oscar time. Then it was released a few months later, crashing and burning in the process.
What happened? Possibly just voters being underwhelmed by the film, and more intrigued by hot dog fingers and multiverses than any kind of personal statement from a revered filmmaker.
It’s hard to believe this, but Spielberg has been stuck in an Oscar rut now for nearly 25 years. He’s won Directing Oscars for 1993’s “Schindler’s List” and 1998’s “Saving Private Ryan.” That’s it.
What should have been Spielberg’s third Oscar? I’m a big fan of “Munich,” that would have probably been a worthy win, but that was the year Ang Lee won for Brokeback Mountain.
Spielberg’s received nods for “Munich,” “Lincoln,” “West Side Story” and “The Fabelmans.” He was also snubbed for celebrated works such as “AI: Artificial Intelligence,” “Minority Report” and “Catch Me If You Can.”
For someone whose been seen as the most celebrated mainstream filmmaker of the last 40-odd years, Spielberg’s had a rough go with Oscar these last three decades.
We’re not really sure what his next film will be, but chances are he’ll again be in contention. While we’re at it, Scorsese only has one Oscar. Just to tabulate the score, Scorsese: 1, The Daniels: 1.
So there's a script. That's something. It looks as though “The Movie Critic” really is dead and buried, and that this is a brand-new project, and title, but the premise is unknown.