Showbiz History: Oscar-nominated sequels and 'the Death of Queen Jane'

We announced on twitter that we were going to quit these history posts because of lack of return on investment -- people just dont seem that into them. And then some people complained because they love them. So, hmmm. Perhaps we'll rejigger the concept to make them much less time consuming or chalk it up to too niche even for TFE. Anyway, one last one?

4 random things that happened on this day, December 6th, in film history

1945 The Bells of St Marys premieres. Here's a trivia note you might not know about. This was the first sequel ever nominated for Best Picture...

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"Better Days" and China & Hong Kong at the Oscars

by Nathaniel

Hong Kong has selected Better Days (available to rent on Amazon), to represent them at the 93rd Oscars. Its director Derek Tsang (also known as Tsang Kwok Cheung) first entered the movies as an actor. But for the last decade the now 41 year old talent has been moving behind the camera. (He's the son of the director Eric Tsang who followed a similar path working both sides of the camera). His film is a contemporary crime drama about a bullied teenage girl and a mysterious thug who protects her. It won 8 prizes at the annnual Hong Kong Film Awards.

The Academy Awards have been notoriously resistant to Asian cinema, apart from a 20th century fixation on Japan. Most Asian countries have somewhere between zero to two Oscar nominations, usually not a number that accurately reflects their status in global cinema. Only in the 1990s when Chinese cinema was all the rage at US arthouses, did Oscar come around and then only for a few short years. After the jump at look at China and Hong Kong's track record with Oscar. We're grouping them together, despite how problematic that is politically, because when it comes to the film industries it can be hard to separate them for us Americans across the ocean. That's because the two countries often share the same directors and movie stars. That's reflected in their Oscar submissions... 

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Italy chooses "Notturno" (Plus Italy's robust Oscar history)

by Nathaniel R

Italy has chosen Gianfranco Rosi's highly acclaimed documentary Notturno (which we reviewed at the AFI fest) to represent them at the Oscars from 25 Italian films that were submitted for consideration. Italy previously submitted his 2016 documentary Fire at Sea (which was not nominated for International Film but did score in Documentary Feature). Perhaps emboldened by Honeyland's double nomination last season for Best Documentary and Best International Film, more countries than usual have submitted documentaries this year hoping to repeat that historic double. That said, only three docs have ever been nominated in this particular category: Waltz with Bashir, The Missing Picture, and Honeyland.

As we've seen in past Oscar seasons, Italy skipping over The Life Ahead for their submission entry is not at all a deterrent for Sophia Loren's Best Actress campaign. Movie stars and world famous directors operate by different rules, if you know what we mean...

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Hungary and Oscar and "Preparations to be together..."

by Nathaniel R

Preparations to be together for an unknown period of time (2020)

Hungary has announced its submission to the Oscar race. They have chosen the sophomore feature from new director Lili Horvát called Preparations to be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time. We love a memorable distinct title so this is up there with Lesotho's submission as the best-titled contender for Best International Feature this year. It's a romantic drama / mystery about a female surgeon that won prizes at several festivals including Philadelphia, Chicago, and Warsaw. Horvát began making short films in the Aughts and earlier this decade worked as a casting director, including on the acclaimed Hungarian Oscar submission White God (2014). This is the 29th announced submission that's from a female filmmaker so we're going to hit an all-time high percentage that's nearing gender parity. At this writing 42% of the entries come from female directors.

Let's look at Hungary's Oscar history after the jump. It might surprise you how many Hungarians Oscar voters have honored over the years, especially during the Golden Age of Hollywood... 

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It's "Two of Us" for France. With so many Oscar nods will they ever win again?

by Nathaniel R

In something of a surprise move, France has selected the lesbian seniors drama Deux  (or Two of Us) for Oscar submission rather than their higher profile titles Summer of '85 with its EFA director nomination or Cuties with its hot potato festival run and Netflix controversy. This suggests that Two of Us might do very well in a month or three at the César Awards but for now let's talk France and Oscar as there's a LOT to discuss.

France is of course a total powerhouse at the Oscars. The Best International Feature Film category has existed as a competitive category for 64 years (as of last season) and France has been nominated in 59% of those races.

What's more they've tried to factor in to the competition 100% of the time! In point of fact, France is the only country that's never skipped an Oscar submission year.

FRANCE'S OSCAR STATS and key submissions after the jump...

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