A still from The Artist, the 12th non-American film to win an Oscar
New Delhi:
It's officially called the Academy Awards but American Awards would be a far more accurate name for Hollywood's biggest night.
Every year, with few exceptions, Americans have dominated the Oscar nominations with Britain lagging behind a distant second and other countries either woefully under-represented or not at all. Till date, there are only 12 non-American films which have won the top Oscar for Best Film. Of these, 11 happen to be British films - Hamlet (1948), Tom Jones (1963), Oliver! (1968), The Deer Hunter (1978), <i>Chariots Of Fire</i> (1981), <i>Gandhi</i> (1982), Shakespeare In Love (1998), Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and The King's Speech (2010). The 10th non-American film is Bernardo Bertolucci's Chinese/Italian co-production The Last Emperor, which won in all nine of its nominated categories in 1988. In 2012, French romantic comedy The Artist became the 12th non-American film to ever win the Oscar for Best Film. The most Oscar-successful British film to date is Richard Attenborough's epic biopic Gandhi, which scooped eight awards in 1983, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor.
Just a handful of 'foreigners' have won Best Director so far - Britishers David Lean (for The Bridge On The River Kwai and Lawrence Of Arabia), Tony Richardson (for Tom Jones), Richard Attenborough (for Gandhi), Anthony Minghella (for The English Patient), Sam Mendes (for American Beauty), Danny Boyle (for Slumdog Millionaire) and Tom Hooper (for The King's Speech); Italian Bernardo Bertolucci (for The Last Emperor); Polish-French Roman Polanski (for The Pianist); New Zealander Peter Jackson (for The Lord Of The Rings: Return of the King) and French Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist. If Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron takes home the prize this year, he will be the first Latino winner.
Of course, many 'foreigners' have won Oscars in the acting categories. Notable names include Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman and Peter Finch from Australia; Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ben Kingsley, Rachel Weisz and Emma Thompson from England; Roberto Benigni, Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani from Italy; and Sir Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones from Wales. However, only two years - 1965 and 2008 - stand out in Oscar history when all four acting awards were won by non-Americans. Three Brits - Rex Harrison (for My Fair Lady), Julie Andrews (for Mary Poppins) and Peter Ustinov (for Topkapi) - won Best Actor, Actress and Supporting Actor and Greek Lila Kedrova won Best Supporting Actress for Zorba The Greek. In 2008, Britishers Daniel Day-Lewis and Tilda Swinton won Best Actor for There Will Be Blood and Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton, French star Marion Cotillard won Best Actress for La Vie En Rose while Javier Bardem, who won Best Supporting Actor for No Country for Old Men, was the first Spanish performer to win an Oscar.
The Academy can also often be biased towards 'American' subject matter. Of the nine Best Picture nominees, two depicted American operations on foreign soil - Argo (which won) and Zero Dark Thirty - while Lincoln offered a slice of American history and Django Unchained recast the subaltern story in typical Tarantino style. Of the nine nominees this year, one has the word American in its title (American Hustle), two have American state names (Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club), one has the financial heart of USA in its title (The Wolf Of Wall Street), and yet another one examines slavery and race relations in the cotton-picking America of the 1800s (12 Years A Slave). It is true that in 2011, the as-British-as-it-gets The King's Speech triumphed over the as-American-as they-get The Social Network, True Grit and Winter's Bone. Then again, just the year before, modern American war film The Hurt Locker had an easy win over Brit drama An Education and South African alien film District 9.
The good news is that this year the acting categories are crammed with 'foreigners.' From Britain, there are five hopeful - Best Actor nominees Christian Bale and Chiwetel Ejiofor are up for American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave, Best Actress nominee Dame Judi Dench for Philomena, Best Supporting Actor nominee Michael Fassbender for 12 Years A Slave and Best Supporting Actress nominee Sally Hawkins. Australian Cate Blanchett will most likely take home Best Actress for Blue Jasmine. Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o is a strong contender for Best Supporting Actress for her debut role in 12 Years A Slave. And the five directors competing for the top prize include Britisher Steve McQueen for 12 Years A Slave and, of course, Alfonso Cuaron.
Perhaps 2014 will be the year the Academy Awards really lives up to its moniker.
Every year, with few exceptions, Americans have dominated the Oscar nominations with Britain lagging behind a distant second and other countries either woefully under-represented or not at all. Till date, there are only 12 non-American films which have won the top Oscar for Best Film. Of these, 11 happen to be British films - Hamlet (1948), Tom Jones (1963), Oliver! (1968), The Deer Hunter (1978), <i>Chariots Of Fire</i> (1981), <i>Gandhi</i> (1982), Shakespeare In Love (1998), Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and The King's Speech (2010). The 10th non-American film is Bernardo Bertolucci's Chinese/Italian co-production The Last Emperor, which won in all nine of its nominated categories in 1988. In 2012, French romantic comedy The Artist became the 12th non-American film to ever win the Oscar for Best Film. The most Oscar-successful British film to date is Richard Attenborough's epic biopic Gandhi, which scooped eight awards in 1983, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor.
Just a handful of 'foreigners' have won Best Director so far - Britishers David Lean (for The Bridge On The River Kwai and Lawrence Of Arabia), Tony Richardson (for Tom Jones), Richard Attenborough (for Gandhi), Anthony Minghella (for The English Patient), Sam Mendes (for American Beauty), Danny Boyle (for Slumdog Millionaire) and Tom Hooper (for The King's Speech); Italian Bernardo Bertolucci (for The Last Emperor); Polish-French Roman Polanski (for The Pianist); New Zealander Peter Jackson (for The Lord Of The Rings: Return of the King) and French Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist. If Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron takes home the prize this year, he will be the first Latino winner.
Of course, many 'foreigners' have won Oscars in the acting categories. Notable names include Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman and Peter Finch from Australia; Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ben Kingsley, Rachel Weisz and Emma Thompson from England; Roberto Benigni, Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani from Italy; and Sir Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones from Wales. However, only two years - 1965 and 2008 - stand out in Oscar history when all four acting awards were won by non-Americans. Three Brits - Rex Harrison (for My Fair Lady), Julie Andrews (for Mary Poppins) and Peter Ustinov (for Topkapi) - won Best Actor, Actress and Supporting Actor and Greek Lila Kedrova won Best Supporting Actress for Zorba The Greek. In 2008, Britishers Daniel Day-Lewis and Tilda Swinton won Best Actor for There Will Be Blood and Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton, French star Marion Cotillard won Best Actress for La Vie En Rose while Javier Bardem, who won Best Supporting Actor for No Country for Old Men, was the first Spanish performer to win an Oscar.
The Academy can also often be biased towards 'American' subject matter. Of the nine Best Picture nominees, two depicted American operations on foreign soil - Argo (which won) and Zero Dark Thirty - while Lincoln offered a slice of American history and Django Unchained recast the subaltern story in typical Tarantino style. Of the nine nominees this year, one has the word American in its title (American Hustle), two have American state names (Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club), one has the financial heart of USA in its title (The Wolf Of Wall Street), and yet another one examines slavery and race relations in the cotton-picking America of the 1800s (12 Years A Slave). It is true that in 2011, the as-British-as-it-gets The King's Speech triumphed over the as-American-as they-get The Social Network, True Grit and Winter's Bone. Then again, just the year before, modern American war film The Hurt Locker had an easy win over Brit drama An Education and South African alien film District 9.
The good news is that this year the acting categories are crammed with 'foreigners.' From Britain, there are five hopeful - Best Actor nominees Christian Bale and Chiwetel Ejiofor are up for American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave, Best Actress nominee Dame Judi Dench for Philomena, Best Supporting Actor nominee Michael Fassbender for 12 Years A Slave and Best Supporting Actress nominee Sally Hawkins. Australian Cate Blanchett will most likely take home Best Actress for Blue Jasmine. Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o is a strong contender for Best Supporting Actress for her debut role in 12 Years A Slave. And the five directors competing for the top prize include Britisher Steve McQueen for 12 Years A Slave and, of course, Alfonso Cuaron.
Perhaps 2014 will be the year the Academy Awards really lives up to its moniker.
