Oscar winning director Steven Spielberg believes that Christopher Nolan’s 2008 Batman movie The Dark Knight would have “definitely” netted a Best Picture nomination if it were released today.
As spotted by Indie Wire, Spielberg made the remarks in an interview with Deadline while discussing the nominations of the blockbuster movies Avatar: The Way of Water, and Top Gun: Maverick in the Best Picture category for the 2023 Academy Awards.
“I’m really encouraged by that. It came late for the film that should have been nominated a number of years ago, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight,” said Spielberg. “That movie would have definitely garnered a Best Picture Nomination today, so having these two blockbusters solidly presented on the top ten list is something we should all be celebrating.”
The other movies nominated in this year’s Best Picture category are All Quiet on the Western Front, The Banshees of Insherin, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Fabelmans, Tár, Triangle of Sadness and Women Talking.
In the runup to the 2009 Oscars, Nolan’s The Dark Knight garnered nominations in eight Academy Awards categories, including that of Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, but failed to earn a place in the coveted Best Picture group.
In our review, IGN gave The Dark Knight a perfect 10/10, describing it as “the most sophisticated and ambitious work of its kind”, with the late Heath Ledger’s rendition of the Joker being “nothing short of transcendent”.
During the interview, Spielberg also explained that he is optimistic about the future of adult dramas on the silver screen, stating that “I think it will come back, but it’s coming back slowly, especially for dramas.
“We have a social need to be together in the world, I don’t think that will be stopped by a pandemic. It can be frustrated by the pandemic, but eventually we’ll see more adult films doing decent numbers in movie theatres.”
The storied director is currently celebrating his first Oscar nomination in the Original Screenplay category for his work on The Fabelmans, a semi-autobiographical movie based on Spielberg’s life.
Stick with IGN to stay up to date with all of the biggest entertainment news in the build-up to the 2023 Academy Awards, and be sure to check out our full run down on this year's Oscar Nominees.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
source https://www.ign.com/articles/spielberg-the-dark-knight-definitely-would-have-been-nominated-for-best-picture-today