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Why the Oscars need The Hunger Games

It may be three months away, but Oscar buzz is slowly starting to bubble.

It may be three months away, but Oscar buzz is slowly starting to bubble.

One key talking point has been the Best Picture race. Since the Oscars snubbed Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight for Best Picture in 2009, the Academy has tried to dodge accusations of elitism. The argument goes that Oscars voters, made up of a bloc of 6,028 Hollywood insiders, aren’t in touch with the general public’s movie tastes. As the New York Times film critic AO Scott wrote in a column that year: “It may be that the more movies matter, the less the Oscars do.”

But there’s one way to fix that problem. The Academy ought to invite Katniss Everdeen to next February’s ceremony. The fact that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 isn’t being mentioned as a contender in the Best Picture race is ridiculous. The box office juggernaut, which opened to US$123 million (S$160 million) over the weekend, is precisely the reason the category was expanded in 2010 to include up to 10 nominees.

Yes, Mockingjay is the third movie based on a popular three-book series divided into two parts for financial gain, but director Francis Lawrence pulls it off. And the Academy owes the franchise, after it foolishly didn’t nominate last year’s Catching Fire for anything. Not even best song.

The truth is, the Oscars need The Hunger Games more than the series needs the Oscars. It’s not that the Oscars should mimic the MTV Movie Awards. But at the same time, the ceremony is at risk of looking like a day-late shadow of the Independent Spirit Awards. Last year, every major winner at the Oscars (with the exception of Alfonso Cuaron) had picked up a Spirit Award right before the telecast.

In the past decade, the Academy has given the Best Picture Oscar to a studio film only three times. Despite the expansion of the Best Picture race to include more populist titles, Oscars voters frequently give those extra slots to arthouse favourites such as Nebraska, Tree Of Life and Amour. So far, this year’s Best Picture competition is again shaping up to be another indie race, with Boyhood, The Imitation Game, the Theory Of Everything, Birdman and Foxcatcher leading the pack. This is a problem, because fewer hits among the list of nominees generally means fewer viewers watch the Oscars.

Mockingjay is a blockbuster that’s good enough to be considered art. It’s an impressive accomplishment to keep a beloved franchise so fresh, from the script (by Peter Craig and Danny Strong, which delicately builds on Suzanne Collins’ final book) to the special effects, cinematography and sound. In an industry that rarely allows women to headline blockbusters, Jennifer Lawrence delivers yet another layered performance as Katniss — every bit as rich and nuanced as her Oscar-winning role in Silver Linings Playbook. In a weak year for lead female performances in movies, why isn’t she being talked about like Meryl Streep (Into The Woods) or Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)?

The supporting actors are also great. As Alma Coin, Julianne Moore brings to life a politician that could give Sarah Palin a run for her money. Donald Sutherland continues to build President Snow into a vengeful monarch and Philip Seymour Hoffman, appearing in one of his final screen roles, looks overjoyed now that it has been revealed that Plutarch Heavensbee isn’t all bad. It’s the kind of role, as a benevolent and protective father, that the Oscar-winning actor didn’t get to play often in films or onstage.

It’s a mystery why some hit films — such as Lord Of The Rings and Avatar — manage to break into the Oscars race while others, including the Harry Potter series, don’t. The Best Picture race oughtn’t include only Mockingjay, but also a combination of Interstellar, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Lego Movie. Then it would really feel like a celebration of all of this year’s best movies — not only the small ones. REUTERS

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