0:00:01 > 0:00:05Now on BBC News, it's time for a Talking Movies Oscars Special.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Hello from California, I'm Tom Brook, and welcome to this
0:00:32 > 0:00:35special edition of Talking Movies where we look back at the 90th
0:00:35 > 0:00:41annual Academy Awards.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43A recap of what happened on the big night.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45We hear from those who took home top Oscar prizes.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50I'm going back home with these babies.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Director Guillermo del Toro's film, The Shape of Water, won
0:00:52 > 0:00:55four Academy Awards, more than any other picture.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59We bring you his thoughts on his Oscar-winning movie.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03The idea was to make a movie about love and cinema.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08It was a night of inclusion at the Oscars.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10We hear how the Chilean picture A Fantastic Woman made history
0:01:10 > 0:01:18when it won the best foreign-language film trophy.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23And we ask why does the Academy keep giving its top best picture prize
0:01:23 > 0:01:24to little scene films.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28Why doesn't it embrace blockbusters?
0:01:28 > 0:01:30All that and more in this special review of the Oscars
0:01:30 > 0:01:34edition of Talking Movies.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39The Academy Awards really engage the film-making community
0:01:39 > 0:01:42here in Hollywood and this year there were a lot of unanswered
0:01:42 > 0:01:43questions going into the ceremony.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Everybody wanted to know which film would win best picture
0:01:46 > 0:01:49and what impact would the Time's Up movement have on the proceedings.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Let's take a look back at the evening.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58It was not an Oscars in which any one picture made a major sweep.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01The Shape of Water came away with the most trophies,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04four in all, for best picture, original score, production design
0:02:04 > 0:02:06and for best director.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10This story of a mute cleaning lady who becomes involved with an aquatic
0:02:10 > 0:02:12creature had a boldness of vision, a vision that
0:02:12 > 0:02:15came from its director, Guillermo del Toro, a man clearly
0:02:15 > 0:02:18delighted by his victories.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22My next stop is going to see my mum and my dad this week.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26I'm going back home with these two babies.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31At Oscar viewing parties in Hollywood there was the expectation
0:02:31 > 0:02:34that The Shape of Water would win.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Loved the movie, not surprised at all, wonderful film.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41One of my favourites in a long time.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44I knew it was going to be Shape of Water, I would have preferred
0:02:44 > 0:02:47for it to be Three Billboards but I loved Shape of
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Water, it was great.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52So this is one of those silly Academy things
0:02:52 > 0:02:56where they spend a fortune...
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Veteran awards expert and movie lover Anne Thompson had been backing
0:02:59 > 0:03:03The Shape of Water all along as the best picture winner.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07This is a case where you have a beloved director
0:03:07 > 0:03:11in Guillermo del Toro but it's also a movie that happens to tie
0:03:11 > 0:03:15in with the political narrative of the day and so you have a Mexican
0:03:15 > 0:03:17director, he made a movie that was a fairy tale,
0:03:17 > 0:03:22it was sincere, it was romantic and it was inclusive
0:03:22 > 0:03:24in the sense that it was about outsiders who would
0:03:24 > 0:03:25ordinarily be marginalised.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29It fit everything and it was gorgeously made and all the crafts
0:03:29 > 0:03:34loved it and so that's why it got so many nominations and four wins.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37The best actor prize went, as expected, to Britain's Gary
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Oldman for his skilful portrayal of the British wartime
0:03:39 > 0:03:44leader Winston Churchill in the film Darkest Hour.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50Winning an Oscar for playing arguably one of the greatest
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Britons who ever lived, to win it for playing Winston
0:03:54 > 0:03:58makes it doubly special.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00It has been an unforgettable experience and a highlight
0:04:00 > 0:04:04of my career.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07And best actress went to Frances McDormand who gave
0:04:07 > 0:04:11a powerhouse performance as a mother seeking justice for her daughter's
0:04:11 > 0:04:13murder in director Martin McDonagh's dark comedy
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Look around, everybody, look around, ladies and gentlemen.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24Because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26McDormand gave a memorable acceptance speech in a show
0:04:26 > 0:04:30of solidarity, asking all female nominees to stand.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32The plight of women in the film industry, their experiences
0:04:32 > 0:04:34with sexual harassment, the rise of the #MeToo
0:04:34 > 0:04:36and Time's Up movements, were referenced at different
0:04:36 > 0:04:37occasions during the ceremony.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41It was very much an Oscars of inclusion.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44We had Time's Up represented on the stage as part of the show
0:04:44 > 0:04:54and the fact that the Academy integrated that into the show,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00the monologue, addressed a lot of what has been
0:05:00 > 0:05:02going on in Hollywood, I think it was really important
0:05:02 > 0:05:05that the Academy and the Oscars acknowledged this this year.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08But there are those who think that politics at the Oscars telecast may
0:05:08 > 0:05:09have turned off some TV viewers.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12I almost wonder if the political cast of it was a good idea.
0:05:12 > 0:05:13They leaned in.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17I understand why, I understand that in Hollywood everyone wants this
0:05:17 > 0:05:20kind of women's agenda, Time's Up, #MeToo, inclusion,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24they really do, but you know what are the Oscars are supposed to be?
0:05:24 > 0:05:26They're supposed to be an advertisement for the movies.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28And back to the movies.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Jordan Peele, Get Out.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34One highlight of the evening was Get Out winning best
0:05:34 > 0:05:36original screenplay.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39This film, a clever fusing of a racial satire with a horror
0:05:39 > 0:05:41movie, has been a critically lauded huge hit.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The Oscar went to the man who wrote and directed it, Jordan Peele.
0:05:44 > 0:05:52These are exciting teams for black film-makers.
0:05:52 > 0:06:00I'm so proud to be part of a time, the beginning of a movement,
0:06:00 > 0:06:06where I feel like the best films in every genre are being brought
0:06:06 > 0:06:08to me by my fellow black directors.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Call Me By Your Name.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Also winning for screenplay was the gay romance
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Call Me By Your Name.
0:06:17 > 0:06:2089-year-old James Ivory was awarded the best adapted screenplay trophy
0:06:20 > 0:06:25for his work on the film.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27He is now the oldest Oscar winner ever.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Gay romance this film might be but Ivory sees it
0:06:30 > 0:06:31as a story of first love.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34It's a universal situation, first love and how we feel about it.
0:06:34 > 0:06:40Whether it has made us unhappy or joyous or whatever,
0:06:40 > 0:06:45that is universal and that is subject matter that everyone
0:06:45 > 0:06:49everywhere can identify with.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52The British war epic Dunkirk did well, winning
0:06:52 > 0:06:55three trophies in sound and film editing categories.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58The Oscars was not without omissions or snubs.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Lady Bird, a strongly liked coming-of-age story
0:07:00 > 0:07:01starring Saoirse Ronan, had five nominations.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03The film, which marked the directorial debut
0:07:03 > 0:07:10of Greta Gerwig, was seen as a big success story but it
0:07:10 > 0:07:17the Oscars empty-handed.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Overall it was an Academy Awards ceremony with few surprises
0:07:20 > 0:07:22with the big prizes generally going the way Oscar experts
0:07:22 > 0:07:27had been predicting.
0:07:27 > 0:07:33For Guillermo del Toro the Oscars provided a great night.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Not only did his film win the best picture trophy but he also
0:07:36 > 0:07:37won for best director.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41So let's hear from the man himself and take a look at his Oscar-winning
0:07:41 > 0:07:42picture in greater depth.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44If I told you about her, the princess without
0:07:45 > 0:07:47voice, what would I say?
0:07:47 > 0:07:50The Shape of Water is set in Baltimore in 1962.
0:07:50 > 0:07:59Much of the action taking place in a top-secret government
0:07:59 > 0:08:02laboratory where a mute cleaning lady played by Sally Hawkins falls
0:08:02 > 0:08:04in love with an aquatic creature from South America being held
0:08:04 > 0:08:09in captivity at the facility.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Part of the reason for the film's Oscar successes is its ambition.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14It draws from many different genres.
0:08:14 > 0:08:15Fantasy, horror, Cold War, noir thriller, science-fiction.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Guillermo del Toro welcomed the challenge
0:08:19 > 0:08:21of bringing it all together.
0:08:21 > 0:08:28I thought the movie could be very risky because it combined,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30comedy, melodrama, musical theatre, creature feature, you know.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32It is all these things at the same time and I thought,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35that's difficult but that's why you should make it.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36Is she deaf?
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Mute, sir, she can hear you.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43The film's silent star attraction is Sally Hawkins who,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45except for one singing scene, doesn't utter a word
0:08:45 > 0:08:46in this two-hour film.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Del Toro wanted his leading lady in this romance to be
0:08:49 > 0:08:52a complex and real character.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54She's not a pure princess waiting for the prince
0:08:54 > 0:08:56to kiss her for the first time.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00She has a life.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Sally is a woman that is beautiful and luminous but at the same time
0:09:04 > 0:09:08you can find her on the street.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Inspiration for The Shape of Water came from the 1954 film
0:09:14 > 0:09:15Creature From The Black Lagoon.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Part of Del Toro's childhood memories.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22That movie had an amphibious humanoid monster.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24The director wanted his monster to be a more developed,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26multidimensional being.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30If you do a monster monster, all you need is for it to be scary
0:09:30 > 0:09:31or creepy in one or two scenes.
0:09:31 > 0:09:37But here you have a guy who is going to be sad,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39vulnerable, innocent, brutal, fierce, an animal, a god,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42all these things he needs to be.
0:09:42 > 0:09:48You need to give the tools to your actor to create this creature.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51The Shape of Water provides a critique of militaristic Cold War
0:09:51 > 0:09:53era America and its patriarchal culture, which is seen
0:09:53 > 0:09:56to marginalise women, African Americans and gay people.
0:09:56 > 0:10:05By contrast, Del Toro has put together a very inclusive work.
0:10:05 > 0:10:12The idea was to make a movie about love, and cinema.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15So I wanted about loving the other because right now everybody
0:10:15 > 0:10:17says the other is guilty of your unhappiness.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19The immigrant, whatever you want to call it,
0:10:19 > 0:10:24they point fingers and I find it very difficult.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Compared to his previous films such as Pan's Labyrinth or Crimson Tide,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Guillermo del Toro strikes a more optimistic tone in The Shape
0:10:29 > 0:10:32of Water with a powerful love story, one that clearly satisfied
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Oscar voters.
0:10:35 > 0:10:41The movies I've done, nine movies before this,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43are movies about nostalgia and loss.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45They are tinged with a sadness.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50This movie is the first movie that is almost life affirming,
0:10:50 > 0:10:55you know, it like full of beauty.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59You come out of the movie energised to face the real world
0:10:59 > 0:11:08as opposed to sort of heartbroken and destroyed because the real world
0:11:08 > 0:11:10destroyed something precious.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12I think it's the first time I dared to be hopeful.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13Eliza, honey.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16He's coming for you.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19What's it like to be a nominee from a distant land and come
0:11:19 > 0:11:21to Los Angeles to participate in Hollywood's biggest
0:11:21 > 0:11:24night of the year?
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Well, to find out, we asked two German film-makers
0:11:26 > 0:11:28and their Kenyan production team to document their trip
0:11:28 > 0:11:30to the Oscars.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35They have been nominated for the live short action film
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Watu Wote, All Of Us.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50My name is Katja Benrath, I'm from Hamburg, Germany and I'm
0:11:50 > 0:11:54here in LA because we got nominated for an Oscar for our short film,
0:11:54 > 0:12:01Watu Wote, for the short film Oscar.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03The story is about about a terrorist attack.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08A bus was travelling to the border region of Kenya to Somalia
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and the al-Shabab attacked the bus with the aim to kill the Christian
0:12:12 > 0:12:13passengers on the bus.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18And on the bus there were Christians and Muslims.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21During the attack the Muslims just gave hijabs to the Christian women
0:12:21 > 0:12:24and clothes to the Christian men so that they could not
0:12:24 > 0:12:25be divided any more.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28And they said to the terrorists, kill all of us or none of us.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Until the terrorists fled at the end.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37You know, when we found out we were nominated for an Oscar
0:12:37 > 0:12:40we were showing the short film for the first time in Kenya,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43a lot of the cast members were there and we watched
0:12:43 > 0:12:46the announcement together and what was the reaction?
0:12:46 > 0:12:48I think it was screaming, jumping, flipping!
0:12:48 > 0:12:51It was crazy and it was amazing because there were so many people
0:12:51 > 0:12:54in the room who were part of this and it was a challenging process.
0:12:55 > 0:13:01Congratulations, congratulations.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05For me it means to be nominated for an Oscar that it's especially
0:13:05 > 0:13:09an honour to the whole team and crew who worked on the project.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15The time we spent here in LA is like we...
0:13:15 > 0:13:20It's the craziest time I've ever experienced.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23We had a lot of interviews, you have to promote your film,
0:13:23 > 0:13:24you have to do campaigning.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27I also have a few appointments because some companies want to speak
0:13:27 > 0:13:30with me because they liked the short film.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33The film already opened doors for us where we never ever thought
0:13:33 > 0:13:39about knocking on them before.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Now they are open and going to the Oscars now, mainly for us
0:13:42 > 0:13:47it is kind of really a great honour, especially to the team.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14It was just amazing being there on the red carpet.
0:14:14 > 0:14:15Really experiencing everything.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16It was great.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Also the preparations before were amazing because we had a lot
0:14:19 > 0:14:22of fun with hair and make-up and so many people running around,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25very chaotic but great.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Despite not having won the Oscar it's great being nominated,
0:14:33 > 0:14:38it's just winning as well.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40The one thing I realised during the last days,
0:14:40 > 0:14:47it's totally possible, it totally possible to just make
0:14:47 > 0:14:49good films and tell good stories to receive that honour
0:14:49 > 0:14:52because people are interested in films like that and stories
0:14:52 > 0:14:54like that so just think about the next story,
0:14:54 > 0:14:55the next film.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59I was a little bit surprised how little at all I was disappointed.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02It's just, I'm the same Katja as before and it's great
0:15:02 > 0:15:04we were nominated and I will be a nominated director
0:15:04 > 0:15:08for my whole life.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21The Chilean film A Fantastic Woman made history at the Academy Awards
0:15:21 > 0:15:23by becoming the first Oscar-winning picture to be led by
0:15:23 > 0:15:29a transgender actress.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32It also marked the first time that Chile won in the best
0:15:32 > 0:15:35foreign-language film category.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Tristan Daily reports.
0:15:38 > 0:15:44Set in Santiago in Chile, Marina is at the centre of this picture.
0:15:44 > 0:15:51Her older boyfriend has died suddenly.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53As a transgender woman, she faces hostility
0:15:53 > 0:15:54from doctors and the police.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Her partner's family rejects her, they don't want her at the funeral.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59She retains her dignity, she holds her ground
0:15:59 > 0:16:00and she doesn't give in.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Marina is portrayed by the transgender Chilean
0:16:02 > 0:16:03actress Daniela Vega.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06She plays a woman who inhabits a world very different from her own.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Of course I'm transgender but my life it's completely different.
0:16:09 > 0:16:10I have the opportunity to study.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12My family supports me, my friends support me.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16And I have a lot of love around me.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20And I think it's completely different.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Not only has A Fantastic Woman won an Oscar and received
0:16:27 > 0:16:29accolades from critics, but it's brought inspiration to
0:16:29 > 0:16:33the transgender community as well.
0:16:33 > 0:16:40To see a trans identified woman portraying a trans identified
0:16:40 > 0:16:42character in a movie that took the storyline seriously
0:16:42 > 0:16:48is ground-breaking.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Honestly, I related from it I think right from the beginning and that's
0:16:51 > 0:16:58just one of many experiences of trans women out there.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02To be able to sit in a movie theatre and watch a movie with a trans woman
0:17:02 > 0:17:06about a trans woman and be able to connect with it right away, yes.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Daniela Vega sees the movie as asking more questions than it
0:17:15 > 0:17:16does supply answers.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Who is normal and what is normal?
0:17:18 > 0:17:25What kind of bodies you can inhabit?
0:17:25 > 0:17:30And what kind of love you can live and what kind of love you cannot
0:17:30 > 0:17:31and who says that or not?
0:17:31 > 0:17:34While A Fantastic Woman may pose questions, it also presents
0:17:34 > 0:17:38audiences with a piece of cinema that is hard to categorise.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40There are moments of fantasy amid reality.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Admirers see it as a very satisfying film.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46I like to think as a trans-genre film about a transgender character.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51So the film flirts with...
0:17:51 > 0:17:54It's like a romantic film that becomes a thriller that
0:17:54 > 0:17:59becomes a ghost story, it has moments of fantasy and it
0:17:59 > 0:18:03sounds like a musical.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07And then it's a character study, something about a woman,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10a film about humiliation and revenge but at the heart of everything
0:18:10 > 0:18:20it is a document of someone real.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25In recent years the box office takings of films that win best
0:18:25 > 0:18:27picture at the Oscars have been relatively small.
0:18:27 > 0:18:28The Academy seems to shun blockbusters.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31What is driving this trend and does it matter?
0:18:31 > 0:18:32We have been finding out.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37The Shape of Water.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42In handing out the best picture Oscar to The Shape of Water,
0:18:42 > 0:18:47the Academy has perpetuated a trend of often giving the top Academy
0:18:47 > 0:18:53Academy Award not to a big, commercial hit,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56but to a less well seen, independent or arthouse film.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57The Shape of Water's takings have been modest
0:18:58 > 0:18:59compared to a blockbuster.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00Less than $60 million in the US.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Moonlight, which won best picture last year, took in just
0:19:03 > 0:19:04$28 million domestically.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06The year before it was Spotlight which grossed $45 million
0:19:06 > 0:19:08at the US box office.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10None of these films are blockbusters, they are movies
0:19:10 > 0:19:16with modest box office ambitions made on small budgets.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20I think that movies that do really well at the Oscars are original
0:19:20 > 0:19:22movies and original movies are risky and risky movies tend
0:19:22 > 0:19:24to get low budgets.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29So small budgeted films tend to do well at the Oscars.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32The last time the Academy gave the best picture prize to a true
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Hollywood blockbuster was with The Lord Of The Rings
0:19:34 > 0:19:38The Return Of The King back in 2004.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43Many Academy voters work on Hollywood blockbusters
0:19:43 > 0:19:46but perhaps one reason they tend to vote for smaller films
0:19:46 > 0:19:48is because these movies conform to the image
0:19:48 > 0:19:53of what an Oscar-winning film should be.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55It's always best to look at the awards as a reflection
0:19:55 > 0:19:58of Hollywood, as how it wants to think of itself.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01It wants to see itself as socially and politically engaged.
0:20:01 > 0:20:07It wants to see itself as doing serious acting,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10sometimes in all quotes!
0:20:10 > 0:20:14It wants to see itself as making films that will last through time.
0:20:14 > 0:20:15Some believe Oscar voters even harbour a prejudice
0:20:15 > 0:20:21towards commercial blockbusters.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23They cite Wonder Woman, critically acclaimed,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25it made millions, but failed to get a single nomination.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28The film's detractors would argue that it just did not
0:20:28 > 0:20:29merit Oscar recognition.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33But not everyone agrees.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Wonder Woman was the big commercial movie that should have been
0:20:36 > 0:20:39nominated for best picture this year but it got skunked because it
0:20:39 > 0:20:42didn't have snob appeal.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46In recent years movies like Interstellar, The Hunger Games,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50should have been nominated for best picture but they missed out
0:20:50 > 0:20:53because voters are still going for the little snob movies
0:20:53 > 0:20:58even though the race has been expanded to eight, nine, ten films.
0:20:58 > 0:21:03The Academy is often accused of being elitist with its best
0:21:03 > 0:21:06picture picks but there are other reasons why it may not give its top
0:21:06 > 0:21:07award to big commercial hits.
0:21:07 > 0:21:13I think that it's not necessarily that there is a prejudice
0:21:13 > 0:21:16against commercial fair so much as when you look at a lot
0:21:16 > 0:21:18of the commercial films of the last few years,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21the last decade even, they have been a lot of franchise
0:21:21 > 0:21:23films and sequels and reboots and they have been mostly action.
0:21:23 > 0:21:30And I think that, for a lot of people, that is a separate
0:21:30 > 0:21:34category than the best film of the year in terms of an award is.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36The Academy's favouring of less widely seen pictures creates
0:21:36 > 0:21:40a problem in generating ratings for the Oscars telecast,
0:21:40 > 0:21:47vital to its livelihood.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49More viewers will tune in if blockbusters
0:21:49 > 0:21:50have been nominated.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52I think the Academy would love to have more popular
0:21:52 > 0:21:53films be nominated.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56The Academy, the people who run it, have no control over that
0:21:56 > 0:21:59because it's up to the voters.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01In their democratic institution, the people, the films that get
0:22:01 > 0:22:04the most votes are the ones that are selected and they have
0:22:04 > 0:22:06no control over that.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Is the Academy going to continue to bestow best picture honours
0:22:11 > 0:22:18on relatively low profile movies?
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Industry economics dictate that to maximise profits and reach
0:22:20 > 0:22:22a broad global audience, blockbusters need to be
0:22:22 > 0:22:23artistically cautious.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27In other words, films unlikely to win Oscars.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32So as long as that is the case, more original, smaller movies
0:22:32 > 0:22:36will probably continue to take home Oscars biggest award.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Well, that brings our programme to a close.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46We hope you have enjoyed the show.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Please remember you can always reach us online
0:22:50 > 0:22:54at bbc.com/talkingmovies and you can find us on Facebook too.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58So, from me, Tom Brook, and the rest of the Talking Movies
0:22:58 > 0:23:02production team here in Los Angeles, it is goodbye as we leave
0:23:02 > 0:23:05you with this year's Oscar-winning best original song.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07# If you close your eyes and let the music play
0:23:07 > 0:23:09# Keep our love alive, I'll never fade away
0:23:09 > 0:23:13# If you close your eyes and let the music play
0:23:13 > 0:23:18# Keep our love alive, I'll never fade away
0:23:18 > 0:23:22# Remember me
0:23:22 > 0:23:23# For I will soon be gone
0:23:23 > 0:23:27# Remember me
0:23:27 > 0:23:32# And let the love we have live on
0:23:32 > 0:23:36# And know that I'm with you the only way that I can be
0:23:36 > 0:23:40# So, until you're in my arms again
0:23:40 > 0:23:41# Remember me
0:23:41 > 0:23:44# Que nuestra cancion no deje de latir
0:23:44 > 0:23:46# Solo con tu amor yo puedo existir
0:23:46 > 0:23:47# Remember me
0:23:47 > 0:23:49# Que nuestra cancion no deje de latir
0:23:49 > 0:23:51# Solo con tu amor yo puedo existir
0:23:51 > 0:23:55# Remember me #.