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Sam Mendes said he was in favor of the establishment of gender-neutral awards at the Oscars, an “inevitable” decision and in tune with the times for the British filmmaker.
CINEMA – The director of Paths of Perdition shares the hope of the actress of The Crown. With the movie world’s awards season fast approaching, Sam MendesBritish director to whom we owe Sky Fall and American Beauty expressed support for the establishment of non-gendered pricesin particular for the awards for interpretations at the Oscars.
During an interview for the bbc published this Saturday, January 7, the 57-year-old filmmaker joined the recent statements of actress Emma Corrin, interpreter of Lady Diana in the series The Crown. And for Sam Mendes, this evolution in the film industry “will be inevitable”.
“That’s how the world is changing and I think it’s a really good idea,” advances the director, almost two months after the speech of the british actress to ask for more inclusiveness during the award ceremonies. The one who had come out non-binary in 2021 had declared in a BBC interview : “I don’t think the categories are inclusive enough at the moment. Everyone should feel heard and represented.”
Director Sam Mendes says gender-neutral categories at the Oscars are ‘inevitable’ Actor Emma Corrin previously sai… https://t.co/wP0I2sqrJh
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Regretting the lack of diversity and representation of LGBTQ+ community in works of fiction, Emma Corrin clarified her thinking by explaining that “when these roles are created, more people play them, and then it will be more urgent to find a solution to these questions “.
“We don’t talk about us, we sell films”
As for the filmmaker, awarded three Oscars in 2020 for his film 1917he rather relativizes the value of these prizes: “ People see (prizes) as something very important when in truth it is primarily a TV show. These awards are there to promote the films “.
A simple promotion for the cinema industry which should therefore not glorify individuals so much, but rather highlight the works. Sam Mendes believes that awards like the Oscars or the Bafta are ” a store window “, but not ” the thing itself “.
” If a film wins an award, it will make me want to go see it. That’s exactly what we do with these ceremonies. We don’t talk about us, not our art in particular, but we sell films “, adds Sam Mendes, accustomed to golden statuettes since the one received at the Oscars in 2000 for American Beautyas best director.
In recent years, the most striking example of the evolution of award categories in cinema has been the Berlin Film Festival. In 2020, the Berlinale had taken a clear position on this debatechoosing to set up an interpretation prize ” gender neutral » for men and women in order to lead to “a more gender-equitable awareness in the film industry”.
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Sam Mendes calls gender-neutral Oscars ‘inevitable’