www.indiewire.com
Being a flop certainly isn’t going to help.
I think In The Heights' biggest problem is it came out half a year ago. If it flopped in December, there's a chance that it would have still gotten some nominations but being "old" probably means it'll be lucky to get even a music nomination of some kind.
I'm not sure why we got onto In the Heights in the West Side Story thread, but it has one original song over the credits. We know that West Side Story doesn't have anything new because Bernstein wasn't able to contribute anything, so it won't be eligible in the original song category. However, Lin-Manuel Miranda also has an eligible song from Encanto which is a lot more current and has already outgrossed the total of In the Heights. I loved In the Heights but I think the more recent movie musicals are going to overshadow it. If West Side Story is good, I will be happy to see it win things.
variety.com
I don't think it would. I mean, yes, it is a remake of a previous Best Picture winner. But still. Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner have collaborated multiple times before on highly acclaimed movies that were nominated for Best Picture. Spielberg has won Best Picture before and remains one of the most respected filmmakers working today. If the 1961 film didn't exist, everyone would be anticipating this to get in. I am not surprised that the combination of a world-class filmmaker and a classic work of musical theatre resulted in a movie that is (so far) highly acclaimed.
I'm not going to try to speak for Spielberg and his choices. But the original material was written in English. Therefore, it isn't that much of a surprise that he stuck to it. It would have been a legitimate choice to use some more Spanish, but I think it is also a legitimate choice to keep the material in its original language. In one of the interviews I posted yesterday, he said that he always referenced the original Broadway album and not the 1961 film when making this one. If he wants to keep it close to the original, then it makes sense for it to be in English.
I loved Belfast too and didn't see Spencer. But I think you hit the nail on the head below.
There is always a lot of good work, and this year is no exception. There are more worthy performances than there are awards. It is very possible that Belfast or Spencer could win, and it is also very possible that West Side Story will win. You never really know which way the awards groups are going to go.
One of the year's most tedious films in my opinion. I am a huge fan of musicals but this one left me cold.
