Thursday, February 04, 2010

Oscar firsts:: Kathryn Bigelow & Lee Daniels

OK, the Oscar nominations have been announced. And maybe Hollywood has decided to join the rest of U.S. society. But it's clearly easier to elect a Black President than for a Black or female director to win an Oscar.

The best picture fight is between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. As I said earlier, Kathryn Bigelow is the fourth woman to be nominated for Best Director (Lina Wertmuller, Seven Beauties ; Jane Campion, The Piano,; and Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation). Only The Piano was nominated for Best Picture. Bigelow would be the first woman to ever win for Best director.

But there is another important award to focus on. Lee Daniels (Precious) is the second African American to be nominated for Best Director (John Singleton, Boyz N the Hood, was the first). But Daniels has already made Oscar history, because Precious is the first film by a Black director to be nominated for a Best Picture award.

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