It isn’t often we get a glimpse behind the scenes as possible Oscar nominees sit and wait to hear their name called… or not. Then, once the nominations have been announced email inboxes are inundated with reactions from nominees, sometimes they say something like, “I was in bed and they woke me up to tell me.” Well, Ruben Ostlund, director of Foreign Language contender Force Majeure wasn’t sleeping, he was in New York City, glued to a computer monitor with producer Erik Hemmendorff, watching as the nominations were announced and recording the moment. They’ve made that video available for you to watch and it’s fascinating and sad at the same time as not only was Force Majeure one of the more celebrated foreign titles of the year, it was expected to get a nomination and, in fact, won Best Foreign Language Film at the Critics Choice Awards last night.
[amz asin=”B00Q2WGOAA” size=”small”]Subtitles are provided as the two Swedes talk back and forth, patiently waiting to hear the nominees announced. “Foreign film comes after best hairstyling,” Ostlund says while they both see Ida‘s Best Cinematography nomination as a sign the film will win Best Foreign Language Feature. Then comes the moment the nominees are announced, Force Majeure isn’t one of them.
As they pace around the room the phone rings. “Should I answer it?” Hemmendorff asks. “Turn it off!!!” Ostlund shouts only seconds before you can hear him crying off screen. Given the darkly comedic nature of Force Majeure many are assuming Ostlund’s reaction is staged, much like a similar scene in the film itself. Either way, the reaction appears genuine and slightly uncomfortable, but could they have staged the whole thing for their (and our) own amusement?
The mere fact the video itself was posted with “Worst Man Cry Ever” in the description pretty much convinces me it was staged as Ostlund has admitted in interviews how much YouTube influences his films, especially Force Majeure.
Nevertheless, it’s a fascinating watch, give it a look and make up your own mind and, on that note, I’ve also included the 1975 video Steven Spielberg learning he didn’t receive a Best Director noimnation for Jaws, a video that most definitely was not staged.
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Oh, and for that ultimate man cry from the film, it’s the last clip in this following video Magnolia released along side the film earlier this year.
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