MaXXXine writer/director Ti West has shared his thoughts on great horror movies and performances being overlooked for major awards.
There have been a fair few examples of celebrated horror movies not getting the recognition come awards season. In recent years, snubs for Toni Collette in Hereditary and Lupita Nyong’o in Us riled up the horror community, and indeed, even in Ti West’s own Pearl, the performance of Mia Goth as the titular character went unrewarded in that regard.
Jordan Peele’s Get Out did bag a few Oscar nominations six years ago, and even won Best Original Screenplay. But it’s been largely crickets for the genre in the past decade, and beyond that, it wasn’t much better.
But does it matter? Well, when the Inside Total Film podcast spoke to Ti West recently, he sensibly claimed it’s a subjective issue.
MaXXXine’s Ti West discusses horror awards recognition
“You know, I think that kind of depends on how much awards mean to you. I think it’s a subjective thing that one award might mean something to somebody but it might not mean anything to someone else. Like the Oscars might be very important for one group of filmmakers and then the Palme d’Or might be very important to others. So, it’s hard to really encapsulate what any of that really means, because it’s different for everybody.”
West goes on to say he appreciates fan recognition for Mia Goth’s performance in X, Pearl, and MaXXXine, and that would be enough even if Goth did get Oscar recognition.
”Having been close to Mia [Goth] for nearly five years now, I would be happy if she was recognized, which she has been. So, whether or not she’s recognized by a certain organization, it’s here or there. Of course it’s always nice to be liked by everybody, but it’s okay when people in general are enthusiastic about the work that you’re doing.”
In MaXXXine it’s 1980s Hollywood, and adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.”
In MaXXXine, Goth reprises her role as Maxine from X, the lone survivor of the massacre in Texas. MaXXXine’s cast also stars Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon.
MaXXXine arrives in theaters from A24 on July 5, 2024.
