“That was the beginning of a new day”: Quentin Tarantino on the movie that changed the Oscars
The decisions made by the esteemed Academy have been famously controversial over the years, with sometimes insane and nonsensical awards given to projects that are distinctly undeserving of praise.
Whether it be Bohemian Rhapsody winning an Oscar for ‘Best Editing’ or Green Book winning for ‘Best Picture’, the Academy has continuously proved that they have a fading grasp on what counts as being genuinely creative by giving the prestigious prize to offensively average projects. However, among all their obvious misses and mistakes, they have made some choices that signal a shift in the industry, all before reverting back to being a pedestal of mediocrity. When asked about the Oscars, Quentin Tarantino had extensive thoughts on the times they actually got it right.
While Tarantino is one of the most well-known directors working today, with an intense cult following that religiously analyses his work and reveres his unique style, he has been the recipient of only two Academy Awards. The filmmaker won an Oscar for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ for Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained, but surprisingly has never won for ‘Best Director’ or ‘Best Picture’. Who knows whether this has tainted his perception of the voting body, but regardless of these snubs, he revealed his thoughts on the films he thought most deserving of being awarded and the surprising progressiveness of the writing category.
American Beauty was famously awarded the Oscar for ‘Best Picture’ in 2000, winning against The Sixth Sense, The Green Mile, The Insider and The Cider House Rules. Directed by Sam Mendes, the film follows a middle-aged man who is grappling with an existential crisis. While his life seems picturesque on the outside, he is desperately miserable, leading him to become infatuated with his teenage daughter’s best friend. It is intensely dark, melancholic and dystopian, with Mendes commenting on the disturbances of suburban life and the hidden inner worlds of the people who live all around us.
While it may seem like an obvious choice compared to the other films in this category, this type of film would not typically succeed at the Oscars, which is why Tarantino was so thrilled when it won and saw it as a sign that the times were changing and Hollywood was breaking free of the tired traditions that had held it from moving forwards.
When discussing this, Tarantino said, “Here is a fact, or an observation, or something I’ve just noticed about the Oscars: when American Beauty won best picture, that was the beginning of a new day. The underdog movie, the cool movie, finally won. Before that — and this is a generalization, but I think a true one — you’d have the favourite, the more Hollywood movie, and you’d have the cooler movie. You know, the critical darling. But the status quo Hollywood movie always got big respect from the middlebrow critics, the Rex Reeds of the world”.
In addition, the director believes that there is one category that has always been ahead of the curve, saying, “The cool movie would always win the screenplay award. That was its consolation prize for being cool. And what this highlights is obvious: the writing branch of the Academy is much hipper. There’s no two, three, four ways about it. The progressive branch of the Academy is the writing branch”.
While this may just be influenced by the fact that Tarantino has only ever won for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ and he desperately wants to be perceived as being cool, perhaps he is onto something. Maybe the writers are secretly the most daring people in Hollywood.
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