The producers of Spider-Man: No Way Home are planning to launch an Oscar campaign.
To persuade the Academy to nominate him in the “Best Picture” category. Amy Pascal, Kevin Feige , Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Chairman of the Board Tom Rothman and star Tom Holland set out their views in a lengthy article published by The Hollywood Reporter .
Holland said:
You can ask Scorsese if he would make a Marvel movie, but he doesn’t know what the experience is like because he’s never made one. I’ve done both Marvel films and Oscar-nominated films, and the only real difference is that one type is much more expensive than the other. But the way I develop the character, the way the director outlines the story arc and the characters, it’s the same, only done on a larger scale. This is why I am convinced that they are true art.
Producer Amy Pascal adds:
We all got into this business to make movies that people wanted to see, that made people feel, and I think this movie really does.
For Kevin Feige, “both of these types of films deserve recognition” and hopes Academy members understand how difficult it is to create a work that speaks to so many people on an emotional level:
It’s a good thing when people in the cinema stand up and cheer. It’s a good thing when people wipe their tears because they’re rethinking the last twenty years of cinema and what it meant to them. For me this is a very beautiful thing, and recognizing things like this is the reason the Academy was founded a long time ago.
Tom Rothman echoes Kevin Feige, pointing out how “quality commercial works” are really hard to do. And compares No Way Home to The Return of the King , the third installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (which won eleven Oscars):
Like The Lord of the Rings , this is the conclusion to an epic series, and it’s quality commercial cinema. Black Panther was quality commercial cinema. It is essential that the Academy does not lose touch with quality commercial cinema.
Also because at this moment Spider-Man: No Way Home is doing something new for the era of the pandemic: it is breaking records. It has already grossed $ 800 million worldwide in one week and recorded, in the US, the second best debut weekend ever after Avengers: Endgame , with $ 260 million. Rothman continues:
This is a great big screen movie at a time when the big screen experience is struggling to survive. It is an opportunity for the Academy to break a spear for the silver screen.
Feige concludes:
Making a commercial film capable of saying something and meaning something to many different people around the world is extremely difficult and, I think, too often underestimated. “Well, there’s a superhero inside, that’s the trick to success.” It is not. Wearing a costume is not the secret. The secret is to have artists and storytellers and workers able to lead the audience on a journey. And when the critics and the public recognize this, it seems right to me that we talk about an acknowledgment from the Academy.
In terms of critical acclaim, this is it: the film reached 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the best scores ever for an MCU film. To encourage Academy members to see the film, the production will provide them with free admissions to the cinema. Additionally, the film will be uploaded to the streaming service exclusive to Academy members, and some of the money raised from the film will be used for a variety of posters and advertisements.
Tom Holland and the Oscars
The Hollywood Reporter finally asks Tom Holland if, given his background as a dancer and performer, he would like to host the Oscar Night. Immediately, Holland replies:
Maybe in the future, but in all honesty I’m too busy right now. I don’t have the time.
Then corrects the shot:
Of course I would lead if ***** the Oscars […]. If they asked me, I would, and it would be a lot of fun.