Oscar Night is coming up! A night celebrating the hard work and achievements of many artists and filmmakers. Last year, we highlighted the historic accomplishments of BIPOC and queer filmmakers of 2022. This year, we asked #TeamMediaJustice what movies this season impacted them!
And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to…..
Which movie nominated for Best Picture do you predict will win?
Glendaliz Camacho, Director of Development: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Cynthia Degros, Finance Manager: I want “Everything Everywhere All at Once” to win so much but think it will be “The Fabelmans”. They’ll probably give EEAAO best original screenplay and/or best director but not picture.
Eteng Ettah, Narrative Director: We’re clearly huge fans of Everything, Everywhere, All at Once at MJ so rooting for that while bracing for either The Banshees of Inisherin or The Fabelmans to win.
Michelle Yeoh is making history as the first Asian-identifying Actress nominated for Best Actress in Everything, Everywhere, All At Once— by why “Asian-identifying”? Years after her death, it was revealed that the great Merle Oberon was the first biracial actress to be nominated in the category, as an Anglo-Indian. To avoid criticism from the press for being mixed race, she would bleach her skin to be white-passing on screen and refuted any claims to being of Eur-Asian descent.
_____________ should have been nominated.
What movie did you watch this year that really stood out to you?
Daniela Santiago, Comms Coordinator: Nope, written and directed by Jordan Peele. I don’t think many people are able to fully encapsulate the horror of modern day spectacle, and Jordan Peele does it flawlessly. A sci-fi western with Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer?? Snubbed!
Cynthia Degros, Finance Manager: Nope, and Matilda the Musical.
Which nominated movies are you most excited about?
Cynthia Degros, Finance Manager: “Women Talking: A film you want to see but a hard one to sit with, but a director/producer who budgets for an on set therapist gets my support.”
Director Sarah Polley says the film “wasn’t just about the harms that had been done. It was about, how do we find a way forward? How do we build a better world?” Polley prioritized the mental health of the whole production team while filming, stating “better work is done on sets where attention is paid to those basic principles of a decent place for people to work.”
Daniela Santiago, Comms Coordinator: “Pinocchio for Best Animated Feature. I love Guillermo del Toro’s work as a director with these political period backgrounds and his iconic whimsical, gothic aesthetic.”
Guillermo del Toro is no stranger to the Oscars, garnering 7 total Oscar wins for Pan’s Labyrinth and most notably 2018’s Best Picture and Best Director win for The Shape of Water. His support of Mexican animation studios has been going strong since the 1980s, and Pinocchio was no exception. Guillermo’s stop-motion passion project took 15 years of collaboration and development, with animation studios from the UK, the USA, and Mexico.
__________ is on my watch list, I swear!
What movie is getting a lot of hype but you haven’t seen yet?
Brandon Forester, Organizer: “I really wanted to watch Pixar’s Turning Red.. I’m in love with stories that give us very specific perspectives and that let us do that thing that art is meant to do, let us step into someone else’s story. In a moment rife with misogyny, hate and ongoing attacks on our youth, I think it’s particularly beautiful to have a film for young folks that leans into a metaphor about menstruation and the emotional and (a specific) cultural context of that. Unfortunately, as much as I love great stories like Turning Red, I also hate media consolidation and just can’t give Disney my money.”
Steven Renderos, Executive Director: “I hate to admit this, but I haven’t watched Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. From what I’ve heard, it’s incredible but I honestly have not been to the movies these last three years (thanks pandemic!) but I swear it’s on my list!”
Cynthia Degros, Finance Manager: “Marcel the Shell— When it came out they got buzz and I never saw it. But I don’t want to cry so avoiding it.”
Eteng Ettah, Narrative Director: “I was a huge fan of the Shrek franchise growing up so I feel compelled to check out Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. From an appearance on Hot Ones to a partnership with Blue Apron, the film’s marketing team has found so many creative ways to garner buzz around it.”
Glendaliz Camacho, Director of Development. “The Whale, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
If MJ were to direct an Oscar-winning film about our movement, what would our movie be about?
Steven Renderos, Executive Director: “Typically, superhero movies don’t fare well at the Oscars. That said, it would be called the Media Justice League (shout out to an former member organization in San Antonio that went by this name) and it would be the story of how our network came to form. Like any great origin story it’ll reveal the double threat posed by Big Media and Big Tech that drove our members to build a powerful network to fight for our current and future generations.”
Stay tuned for more of Pop Culture Quiz! Don’t worry— “We will be back!”
