Is he eligible for an Oscar?

This month, against all odds, legions of fans have managed to push for the release of the iconic Snyder Cut. Justice League by Zack Snyder – a four-hour monster from a movie that represents the director’s true vision for the superhero epic and the rationale for its followers – premiered on HBO Max two weeks ago. But after apparently doing the impossible and releasing the Snyder Cut, could those same fans propel the Snyder Cut to Oscar glory? Can we see Justice League by Zack Snyder at the Oscars next year?

Short answer: No. Long answer: almost certainly not.

To be clear, Warner Bros. did not indicate that he was about to prepare for a massive “For Your Consideration” campaign to Justice League by Zack Snyder for the 2022 Oscars. (Warner Bros. did not respond to comments on the film’s Oscar eligibility.) However, it’s pretty clear that if the studio wanted to throw Snyder Cut’s hat in the ring for the awards of next year he should really, really fight for that. As it is, Justice League by Zack Snyder is not eligible for consideration for rewards, period.

Specific rules for next year’s 94th Oscars have yet to be created and the submission site has not reopened, but the Academy’s awards and credits department told Vulture this Justice League by Zack Snyder is almost certainly ineligible. A big part of the reason is that Justice League by Zack Snyder was already Oscar eligible in 2018, for the 90th Academy Awards, when it was just Justice League. (It wasn’t nominated for nothing in the end.) The Snyder Cut is, as the name suggests, a director’s cut. It’s twice as long and has 100% more “new” footage, but as far as the Academy goes, it’s already out.

“When it comes to director’s cuts, it’s unlikely that a movie will be eligible again, as no more than 10% of the footage can’t be shown until it’s theatrical release,” says the awards and credits department , adding that it doesn’t matter that there is a whole. film’s value of never-before-seen footage. “Regardless of the length, if a large portion of the film was previously distributed (over 10%) it wouldn’t be able to get in, regardless of the new material. If the communicant felt otherwise, we would need to investigate the situation and the request. “

But wait!, you might be thinking. What about specific parts of the Snyder Cut that are totally new? It still doesn’t work that way. Justice League by Zack Snyder has an entirely different score than the theatrical release (of Junkie XL rather than Danny Elfman), and there are actors who weren’t in the original version, like Willem Dafoe and Jared Leto. however, Justice League by Zack Snyder could not only be eligible for Best Original Music or Best Supporting Actor. The way eligibility works for the Oscars, an entire film must be submitted.

“Craft categories are not entered individually,” explains the rewards and credits department. “Feature films (apart from documentaries and international feature films) enter by completing a general registration form. The general entry form allows a film to compete in the Best Picture category, which automatically makes it eligible to be considered in the Craft categories (Direction, Actor, Editing, Costume, etc.). “

In the end, none of this matters, because Justice League by Zack Snyder never played in theaters. Instead, it’s an HBO Max exclusive that premiered on the new streaming service on March 18 in the U.S. It was available on other international platforms (in places where HBO Max didn’t. is not available), but at no time was it a US theatrical release, and it is what matters.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the massive shutdown of theaters across the country, the 93rd Oscars made an exception to its normal rules, allowing films to be eligible if they premiered on streaming services. , provided they have a theatrical release planned. (In recent years, streaming services like Netflix had to make their limited-series debuts in the Los Angeles area in order to qualify for awards, before adding them to the streaming library.) It’s unclear. whether the 94th Oscars will have a similar exception, but that doesn’t seem to matter, because Justice League by Zack Snyder was always going to be an HBO Max Original first and foremost.

“The key to being eligible is that a film must show that it has had a theatrical release in an eligible city or that it has had a planned theatrical release (in the case of theater closures) before going online, ”explains the pricing and credit department. “If there is no proof of this, then everything else is a moot point.”

Snyder, for what it’s worth, said he looks forward to showing the film in Imax theaters once they can safely reopen (one would hope, given that the film is in a four-to-one ratio. three compatible with Imax). These future plans, however, have no bearing on Oscar eligibility.

So there you have it. While the Rewards and Credits Department admits that “this is all hypothetical, and each entry is unique under the circumstances,” barring an extremely unlikely and questionable push on Warner Bros. ” on behalf of, Justice League by Zack Snyder won’t make an appearance at next year’s awards. Maybe that’s a little blessing for the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut crowd. Justice League by Zack Snyder cannot lose the best film if it is never nominated because of (many) technicalities.