Jordan Peele’s horror film “Get Out” has won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
“Get Out” topped Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird,” Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor for “The Shape of Water,” Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani for “The Big Sick,” and Martin McDonagh for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
“I stopped writing this movie about 20 times because I thought it was impossible,” Peele said in his acceptance speech. “But I kept coming back to it because I knew if someone let me make this movie, people would hear it and people would see it.”
Peele, who is the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, thanked Universal, Jason Blum, the cast and crew, and his wife and mother.
“To everybody who went and saw this movie, everybody who bought a ticket, who told somebody to buy a ticket — thank you!” Peele said.
Peele’s script centers on a young black man, portrayed by Daniel Kaluuya, who has to deal with an array of strange behavior and supernatural horror at the family home of his white girlfriend. The screenplay has been widely praised for providing a nuanced view of racism in contemporary America.
“Get Out” won the Writers Guild of America’s award on Feb. 11. The film also received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director for Peele, and Best Actor for Kaluuya.
“Get Out” was by far the most successful box office performer in the category for Universal, with more than $250 million in worldwide grosses.
The Spirit Awards have predicted the winner of Best Picture at the Oscars four years running
Get Out has triumphed at the Spirit Awards, picking up Best Feature – a significant honour given that the pre-Oscars ceremony has predicted the winner of Best Picture at the Oscars for the past four years.
Jordan Peele’s landmark horror film has been lauded since its release early last year, with the movie being nominated for a host of awards – including four Academy Awards.
Get Out received a significant pre-Oscars boost last night (March 3) at the Spirit Awards, which honour low-budget films and are traditionally held the night before the Oscars. The awards have predicted the winner of Best Picture at the Oscars for the past four years, after awarding Best Feature to 12 Years A Slave (2013), Birdman (2014), Spotlight (2015) and Moonlight (2016).
Taking home Best Feature and Best Director for Peele’s work on the film, Get Out‘s success at the Spirit Awards has now led many to believe that it has an enhanced chance of picking up Best Picture at tonight’s Oscars.
Asked if his film could win big tonight (March 4) after its success at the Spirit Awards, Peele said: “It’s Saturday. Tomorrow’s tomorrow.”
“I think it’s clear to everybody in this room, across the country and across the world, that we’re at the beginning of a renaissance right now,” Peele told those in attendance at the awards.
“Our stories from the outside, stories from the people in this room – the same stories that independent filmmakers have been telling for years – are being recognised and honoured.”
Asked about the possibility of a sequel, Peele opined: “We are not closed off to a sequel. The producers and I agree this is not the kind of movie you make a sequel to just to make a sequel, to make money.
“If we can get a story that feels worthy as a follow-up in this world, then we’ll do it.”
See the full list of winners from last night’s Spirit Awards below.
Some older Academy voters apparently think “Get Out,” one of the most profitable movies of 2017 and Best Picture nominee, is not Academy Awards material.
In an interview with Vulture, newer academy voters revealed that their older colleagues hadn’t even seen the film. While the 14 newcomers interviewed reflect an extended effort on behalf of the academy to diversify its voters room, the remaining voters are older and have much narrower views on what makes a film worthy of a statuette.
“I had multiple conversations with longtime academy members who were like, ‘That was not an Oscar film,’” said one new voter. “And I’m like, ‘That’s bullshit. Watch it.’ Honestly, a few of them had not even seen it and they were saying it, so dispelling that kind of thing has been super important.”
“Get Out” wasn’t the only film passed over this awards season. Jada Pinkett-Smith said that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association “wouldn’t even watch” “Girls Trip” after the summer blockbuster was snubbed by the Golden Globes.
Last year’s Best Picture winner, “Moonlight,” had a majority black cast, marking a win for representation. Unfortunately, #OscarsSoWhite is still a thing. In 2015 and 2016, no black actors were nominated for major awards.
Older academy members’ dismissal of films like “Get Out” shows there is still a long way to go. The new members of the academy are hoping to lead the change.
