A week or so ago, it was revealed that the Oscars were planning to create a new category for “Best Popular Film”. Most people, including us, saw it as a blatant attempt to stop Black Panther from getting a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
However, it sounds like Disney and Marvel Studios don’t really care about the new category at all. In a report by the Los Angeles Times, numerous sources have stated that Marvel has already invested a lot of time and money into a full-fledged Oscars campaign, including hiring a veteran Oscars campaign strategist to help them seal the deal.
This was all done before the new award was announced, and it appears that the news hasn’t diminished Disney’s ambition.
Another interesting addition is that, according to the LA Times’ sources, it sounds like the people who are the least keen for Black Panther to get the “consolation prize” of a Best Popular Film nomination, are the Academy themselves.
Reason being that, after years of controversy over representation at the Oscars, it’d be seen as a slap in the face to a film that became a cultural touchstone for People of Colour worldwide.
An unnamed Oscars consultant said that “I think [academy Chief Executive] Dawn Hudson would crawl in a hole if Black Panther gets snubbed for best picture and winds up landing in the popular film category.”
This all bodes well for Black Panther’s chances at getting one of those little golden bois, come next February.
Captain Marvel already has one, why can’t Black Panther have one too?
Of course, this could all change if the traditionally conservative Academy body ends up voting for a bunch of dramas about families and cancer and war or some shit again. Only time will tell.