Cannes' Oscar Impact
Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 11:03PM 
The Cannes Film festival is not usually a bellwether for Oscars. That happens with the trifecta of late August / early September of Venice, Telluride and Toronto. However this year several movies that premiered in the main competition and in adjacent sections have been nominated for Oscars. Two of them - Parasite and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - scored multiple nominations and are expected to win a few and are considered favorites for the big prize, Best Picture...
Parasite
Bong Joon Ho’s masterpiece was called just that seconds after its world premiere at Cannes. The adoration was instant and humongous and started at the Croisette. It went on to win the Palme D’or and eight months later add six Oscar nominations to its big tally of awards.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
This multiple nominee left Cannes with no prizes but rather a controversy. Quentin Tarantino refused to answer a question from the New York Times about the scarcity of Margot Robbie’s lines as Sharon Tate telling off the reporter "I just reject your hypothesis." Oscar remedied that no prizes outcome with 10 nominations and the controversy has since died. Though perhaps that was one of the reasons Robbie campaigned exclusively for her nominated performance in Bombshell.
Pain and Glory
Pedro Almodovar’s film was a favorite for the Palme D’Or going into the festival, buoyed by ecstatic reviews from its March debut in Spain. Ultimately it was Anotonio Banderas who won the best actor prize starting his months long journey to a best actor Oscar nomination. That journey took him through the Fall festivals and to the trifecta of critics awards; NYFCC, LACFA and NSFC. It also landed a nomination in the Best International Feature Film category representing Spain.
Les Misérables
Cannes movies always figure in the Best International Film category. Three Cannes premiers were nominated last year (Capernaum, Cold War and Shoplifters) and another three this year. In addition to the aforementioned Parasite and Pain and Glory there’s Les Misérables. The Ladj Ly directed intense action thriller won the Jury Prize or 3rd place and is a nominee for France.
I Lost My Body
This animated movie about the life and trials of a severed hand debuted in the Critics Week section. Director Jeremy Clapin won the Grand prize and the film is a nominee for Best Animated Film.
Reader Comments (12)
I wonder if Cannes will start having a bigger impact on a regular basis. BlacKkKlansmen's run started there last year too.
Very happy for the French people. This post will give them confidence, they usually have very low self-esteem
Once upon got 10 nominations not 11....
thanks MG, corrected
Venice hasn't been a ding-dong for Oscars for years
I know it's not about CANNES, but UGH at Venice for giving JOKER an air of awards legitimacy so early on. Look at where we are now because of it.
Did he really say "I just reject your hypnosis?" Because that would be a bizarre thing to say, and kind of cool at the same time.
Didn't The Lighthouse and Rocketman also premiere at Cannes last year?
I thought he said "I just reject your hypothesis" according to the article I read at the time, but he's Tarantino, so the strange wording may be correct.
Omg so funny- obv I misspelled hypothesis and my autocorrect changed it to hypnosis and I didn’t notice. I might just leave it.
Cláudio - I never claimed this to be a comprehensive list but rather a snapshot of Cannes’ impact in the main categories. And aren’t you including those two you mention in another list? No need for repetition.
Murtada -- I'm sorry if my comment sounded critical. You're right about repetition since I already wrote about The Lighthouse and then there's the Soundtracking piece about Rocketman and the other Best Original Song nominees. Thanks for the lovely article and, once again, I'm sorry for the silly question.