SPIKE LEE WAS not happy about his movie BlacKkKlansman missing out on the Best Picture nod at this year’s Academy Awards.
While he did pick up his first ever with for the movie in the category of Best Adapted Screenplay, The Green Book was awarded the biggest accolade of the night under controversial circumstances.
Seemingly, Lee was annoyed about missing out on the honour, with reports claiming the director tried to storm out of the theatre.
During his post-show interview, Lee made no secret of his disappointment in not winning the coveted category, comparing the situation to a basketball game.
“I thought I was court side at the (Madison Square) Garden, and the ref made a bad call,” he told reporters.
Can you blame him, given that he is so frequently snubbed at the event? Lee was famously nominated in 1990 for his screenplay for Do the Right Thing - but missed out on a nomination in the Best Director category, where he wasn’t nominated at all. He was nominated again in 1998 for his documentary 4 Little Girls, though he did not win.
Then, there’s the criticism of The Green Book itself, which may feed into Lee’s palpable sense of dissatisfaction, over the film’s ‘white saviour’ narrative in a story which focuses on discrimination against black people.
That, on top of Viggo Mortensen’s use of the n-word, Mahershala Ali having to apologise to one of the character’s family and director Peter Farrelly having to apologise for previously flashing actresses including Cameron Diaz.
With that said, Ed Power backed the Academy’s call in his latest piece for the Telegraph – sort of.
“It’s ludicrous Green Book would be regarded as an Oscar upset. It has carried the day because of its perceived flaws, not despite them.
The film is hokey, predictable and unchallenging – just the middle-of-the-road fare the Oscars has always adored.
Green Book is not flawless – but it is perfect for the Oscars. The off-the-shelf outrage being spewed on social media would be better saved for a more deserving target.”
Hmmm. What do you think though? Did The Green Book deserve to win Best Picture at the Oscars this year?
