Strip club Cinderella story 'Anora' wins best picture at 97th Academy Awards
Entertainment
“Where did we fall in love with the movies? At the movie theater,” Baker said Sunday
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Anora,” a strip club Cinderella story without the fairy tale ending, was crowned best picture at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, handing Sean Baker’s gritty, Brooklyn-set screwball farce Hollywood’s top prize.
In a stubbornly fluctuating Oscar season, “Anora,” the Palme d’Or-winner at the Cannes Film Festival, emerged as the unlikely frontrunner. Baker’s tale of an erotic dancer who elopes with the son of a Russian oligarch – unusually explicit for a best-picture winner – was made for just $6 million.
But Oscar voters, eschewing blockbuster contenders like “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two,” instead on Sunday added “Anora” to a string of recent indie best picture winners, including “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “CODA” and “Nomadland.” “Anora” went home with five big awards, including four for its scrappy indie director. Baker won best director, best screenplay and best editing.
For a film industry that’s been transformed by streaming and humbled by economic turmoil, Baker and “Anora” epitomized a kind of cinematic purity. On the campaign trail, Baker called for the return to the 90-day exclusive theatrical release.
“Where did we fall in love with the movies? At the movie theater,” Baker said Sunday. “Filmmakers, keep making films for the big screen.”
In personally winning four Oscars, Baker tied the mark held by Walt Disney, who won for four different films in 1954. That Baker and Disney share the record is ironic; his “The Florida Project” took place in a low-budget motel in the shadow of Disney World.
“Long live independent film!” shouted Baker from the Dolby Theatre stage.
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