Common is revealing “Depraved” to Academy voters and media because the movie adaptation of the worldwide musical juggernaut lastly heads for screens November 22. On Sunday afternoon, the Academy screening on the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre on Wilshire drew some 900 attendees, the very best exhibiting since final yr’s “Oppenheimer,” and drew a rousing standing ovation because the credit rolled.
On Friday night time, when the DGA hosted a screening and Q&A for SAG and Academy members in addition to press, attendees had been additionally ebullient. (Sandwiched between the 2 was the movie’s Hollywood premiere.)
With successful present whetting appetites for the display screen model, many followers turned up at these screenings. Nonetheless, it is not going to be boosted by critics teams at yr’s finish. They are going to need to help different, much less industrial prospects. When opinions are available and field workplace numbers climb, we’ll see the place “Depraved” winds up within the Oscar race.
The endurance of producer Marc Platt (“La La Land”), a three-time Finest Image nominee, paid off. He waited a decade, letting the musical present play out all over the world, earlier than going ahead with the film directed by Jon M. Chu (“Loopy Wealthy Asians”). It stars Broadway musical vet and Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”), who meets expectations, and pop star Ariana Grande, who exceeds them. Each may land Oscar nominations for Finest Actress and Supporting Actress, respectively, and the movie shall be bolstered by the musical class on the Golden Globes. Canny entertainers Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, and Jeff Goldblum spherical out the solid.
Does “Depraved” make it to Finest Image? It may land a slot together with some craft nods, but it surely has mighty competitors from “Dune: Half Two,” “The Brutalist,” “Blitz,” “Conclave,” “Gladiator II” and different visible spectacles.
Musicals have a storied Oscar pedigree: the ten Finest Image winners are “The Broadway Melody,” “The Nice Ziegfeld,” “Going My Means,” “West Facet Story,” “An American in Paris,” “The Sound of Music,” “Oliver!,” “Chicago,” “Gigi,” and “My Truthful Woman.”
Whereas Steven Spielberg’s tackle “West Facet Story” racked up seven nominations together with Finest Image in 2022 and gained Finest Supporting Actress for Ariana DeBose, it’s been 22 years since “Chicago” gained Finest Image. Final yr’s “The Shade Purple” solely mustered a Supporting Actress nomination for Danielle Brooks. That would occur once more right here with Grande.