By: Scott Johnson on July 9, 2012
While The Dark Knight Rises has yet to officially debut in theaters, early positive reviews already have people talking about the possibility of multiple Oscar nominations. Back in 2008, the Academy came under fire when they failed to nominate The Dark Knight for Best Picture and Christopher Nolan for Best Director. Even though Heath Ledger was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for which he posthumously won, many felt the Academy had slighted a very deserving movie in various other categories just because it was a comic book movie.
Now, with some critics having seen The Dark Knight Rises, and the early buzz being overwhelmingly positive, Oscar speculation is already starting. The Oscar talk for The Dark Knight Rises seems to have first started with a Twitter post from Marco Gennuso, which he attributed to an anonymous reviewer who had seen the film. The tweet said, “If this does not break the mold and win Best Picture, no comic book movie ever will. #TDKR” The quote has since been re-tweeted numerous times.
News organizations have even picked up the tweet. Hollywood.com posed the question, “Could Dark Knight Rises Win Best Picture Oscar?” Cinemaspy.com posted “Oscar Talks Follows Screening Of The Dark Knight Rises Plus New 13 Minute Featurette.”
While it might be pre-mature to label The Dark Knight Rises as an Oscar contender based on a handful of tweets, the Oscar talk will surely explode if the reviews hold up as more people see the movie. After the controversy surrounding The Dark Knight, The Academy expanded the number of films that can be nominated for Best Picture. The expansion has led to the nomination of more blockbuster films like Avatar and Toy Story 3.
With The Academy potentially nominating up to ten films for Best Picture, The Dark Knight Rises isn’t the longshot that it once would have been. In fact, given the cast filled with Oscar nominees and winners, a well-reviewed Dark Knight Rises could almost be guaranteed a Best Picture nomination. The bigger question might be whether The Academy will also recognize Christopher Nolan with a Best Director nomination, given they have overlooked him in the past.
