Jane Campion Explains Why ‘CODA’ Beat ‘The Power of the Dog’ for Oscars Best Picture Win
Jane Campion impressed critics and audiences with The Power of the Dog. As a result, the movie made a huge splash over the course of the award season. However, The Power of the Dog ultimately lost out on the Best Picture Oscar to CODA. Campion recently gave an explanation as to why she believes The Power of the Dog didn’t manage to take home the top prize of the evening.
Jane Campion’s ‘The Power of the Dog’ earned 12 Oscars nominations, ‘CODA’ earned 3
Campion landed a massive impact at the Oscars with The Power of the Dog with a staggering 12 nominations. Many predictions put Netflix’s Western at the top of the list for taking home the Oscar for Best Picture. However, The Power of the Dog only took home one win out of its 12 nominations, which was for Best Director for Campion.
Meanwhile, Apple TV+’s CODA only earned three nominations. Nevertheless, it managed to score all three wins – Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Some predictions guessed that CODA could be the big winner of the night, but Campion’s The Power of the Dog remained the likely winner of more than the Best Director category.
Jane Campion said ‘The Power of the Dog’ lost to ‘CODA’ because it’s ‘easier to understand’
BBC interviewed Campion to talk about The Power of the Dog and her experience over the course of award season. The director hasn’t discussed her feelings toward losing to CODA for Best Picture until now. However, Campion hit back with a “diplomatic” response as to why she believes the Oscars went the way that they did.
“With the Academy, it seemed that CODA really captured the hearts of people,” Campion said. “It was an easier film to understand and, you know, that’s the way it went and I’m happy for them.”
Campion’s The Power of the Dog leaves many questions left unanswered and many ambiguous character developments. Meanwhile, CODA is an uplifting crowdpleaser that left many audiences with tears in their eyes. Biopics and films with heavy subject matter often fill the categories at the Oscars, making CODA stand out from the pack.
Netflix could change its acquisition and programming strategies
BBC also reported that Campion admitted that there might not be a whole lot more projects like The Power of the Dog on Netflix in the future. The streaming platform had several rounds of employee lay-offs and plans on limiting its film programming to “bigger, better, but fewer movies.”
“I do think they’re going to be more picky about other projects or, maybe, what’s sad is not taking risks on people without names,” Campion said.
As a result, there could be fewer slow-burn award contenders. Meanwhile, Netflix may find worth in tackling more guilty pleasure titles, such as Red Notice, which scored huge numbers with their subscribers.
