Two small earthquakes hit Los Angeles on a Sunday night, and I like to think they are connected in a cosmic way. The second earthquake was a small Rattler (3.9) just north of where the first earthquake hit the Dolby Theater, when “Anola” won the Best Picture. Anora, a fun rampage about exotic dancers who run away with the son of a Russian oligarch, is the latest in several films written by author-director Sean Baker to work in the sex industry. The first thing Baker went to on the same topic was Starlet, a glamorous and engaging drama set in the valley for a long time at the heart of the porn industry.
He was pleased that Baker would win in “Anora.” This is a crude, low-budget independent film that has made Oscars interesting for decades. Each “anora” victory highlighted existential issues in the industry. This was brought by large companies, including the rest of the legacy studios, and embraced the sequel following the expensive franchise and the elimination of the arts. Some of the best photo winners in the last decade or so — what helps to stir excitement and headlines and justify the continuing presence of the Academy Awards have been low-budget features bankrolled for over $20 million, including “Moonlight” and “Pasasite” such as “Anora.”
There is a romantic and comforting story of underdogs that come with the success of these films, but as Baker recently pointed out in his Independent Spirit Award, the economics of indie filmmaking are unsustainable. During the Oscars, Baker once again transformed the awards circuit into a bully pulpit, urging viewers to watch the film in theaters. “This is my cries of fighting,” Baker said as he presented him with the best director award. “Filmmakers, keep making movies for the big screen.” At that point, the show cut the award, another big screen advocate, into a wider shot that encompasses presenter Quentin Tarantino. I hope they cut it to Netflix co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos.
The Academy Awards, of course, reflect what academy voters like, but it also reveals what voters want to talk about themselves. That story on Sunday was a bit depressing. In particular, one of the film giants, Gene Hackman, has recently passed away. However, the entire industry feels hurt because of the remaining trauma of the huge fire that struck Los Angeles County in January. The show repeatedly reported the fire as host Conan O'Brien introduced a group of firefighters who were cheered correctly by the audience. In addition to the pandemic and the workforce in 2023, it is a very rough interlude and there is no end in sight. Don't worry about the worst problem being left in the creative intrusiveness of industry power brokers.
