Seems older, long-time Oscar voters don’t want to give Get Out the praise it deserves.
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut was one of 2017’s biggest hit films, and despite racking up major Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, some older Academy voters feel Get Out is “not an Oscar film.”
Anonymous Oscar voters recently shared their opinions with Vulture and The Hollywood Reporter, shedding light on what could be a preview to a possible upset at the Oscars.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, one voter shared that they eliminated the comedy-horror film because she felt it “played the race card.”
“It’s a good B-movie and I enjoyed it,” she said, “but what bothered me afterwards was that instead of focusing on the fact that this was an entertaining little horror movie that made quite a bit of money, they started trying to suggest it had deeper meaning than it does, and, as far as I’m concerned, they played the race card, and that really turned me off. In fact, at one of the luncheons, the lead actor [Daniel Kaluuya], who is not from the United States [he’s British], was giving us a lecture on racism in America and how black lives matter, and I thought, ‘What does this have to do with Get Out? They’re trying to make me think that if I don’t vote for this movie, I’m a racist.’ I was really offended. That sealed it for me.”
Another Oscar voter told Vulture that a recent discussion with an older voter revealed that some had already dismissed the film without even seeing it.
The voter dished, “I had multiple conversations with longtime Academy members who were like, ‘That was not an Oscar film.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s bullshit. Watch it.’ Honestly, a few of them had not even seen it and they were saying it.”
Still, the film may have a shot at winning in its major categories after the Academy’s massive push to add new voters. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gained more than 600 voting members over the last year in a huge effort to add more diversity to the organization.
With more than 600 new members and new perspectives, we’re hoping Get Out gets the recognition it deserves.