The Oscar race got a little less cloudy in Feb. 8 following awards from the Producer’s Guild and Director’s Guild. Anora took home both, cementing its status as this year’s Best Picture frontrunner.
“My imposter syndrome is skyrocketing right now, as well as my cortisol levels,” director Sean Baker said as he accepted the DGA prize for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film “It’s such an honor to be recognized by my peers.”
After thanking his team and the folks at Neon who produced the film, he acknowledged that they were able to film the film on location in New York City for just $6 million. He also called out the film’s cast, especially star Mikey Madison, who he said changed the way he’ll be working with actors moving forward.
“Working with [Madison] has changed the way I will be directing actors in the future, because of what she gave,” Baker said. “Hearing her incredible ideas … a year before production, what she wanted to bring to the production and what she did bring to it. [She has] an incredible career ahead.”
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Anora‘s wins cement its frontrunner status. 25 of the past 34 PGA Theatrical Motion Picture winners have gone on to repeat in Best Picture, and 19 of the past 22 DGA winners have repeated in Best Director at the Oscars. While there are certainly years that buck this trend, it’s an auspicious sign for a movie that emerged as a potential frontrunner all the way back at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
While some pundits worried that Anora might be too controversial or spiky, given that it’s about an erotic dancer who marries a wealthy Russian boy only to see the marriage fall apart, it seems like there are people in Academy who are ready to reward it. The only question remaining is whether the movie will be able to keep up this momentum.