It’s been six months since “Michael” opened, and you’d think the awards conversation would’ve moved on. It hasn’t. Lionsgate has been pushing this one hard and held an FYC screening of Antoine Fuqua’s biopic at the DGA last night. It was standing room only, with applause breaking out throughout and a standing ovation at the end.
This absolutely matters. That room was practically all Oscar voters. The fact remains: “Michael” was always going to contend for a Best Picture nomination; you just had to set your biases aside.
Fuqua — known here as Vantoine — was in attendance, along with Nia Long (Katherine), Colman Domingo (Joseph) and Juliano Valdi (young Michael). Jaafar Jackson then went on to the Academy Museum Gala, which is exactly where you want your Best Actor hopeful to be seen.
Let’s remember: this film is “Bohemian Rhapsody” on steroids, and its Oscar chances should never be shrugged off. Critics slammed it as sanitized, and it sits at 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. Fuqua telling The New Yorker he wasn’t convinced Jackson did what he was accused of also triggered an uproar among some. That should have been the end of the awards story — but it turns out it was just the beginning.
You see, audiences just don’t care. In July, “Michael” became the first biopic ever to cross $1 billion. I believed then that Oscar nominations would come next, and I haven’t changed my mind since. Gold Derby, which initially wrote that neither Jackson nor Valdi would be in the Oscar mix, now has the film at No. 16 for Best Picture — too low, if you ask me — with Jackson in the Top 10 for Best Actor and Domingo sitting comfortably in Supporting.
We’ve seen this before. “Bohemian Rhapsody” got middling reviews, made a fortune, landed a Best Picture nomination, and Rami Malek walked away with the Oscar. Academy members love a transformative music-biopic turn, and they love a box-office phenomenon even more when the industry needs one. Jackson, a first-time actor playing his own uncle, is the kind of narrative bait Oscar voters tend to get suckered into.
So yeah, deny all you want. If you think “I Play Rocky” is the only Oscar villain you need to worry about this season, get ready. “Michael” might be coming, whether you like it or not.
This absolutely matters. That room was practically all Oscar voters. Fact remains, “Michael” was always going to contend for a best picture nomination, you just had to set your biases aside.