The upcoming Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concert theatrical films shape up as cinema blockbusters, but neither is expected to be eligible for Oscar consideration under current Academy Awards rules, according to a Variety story.
The problem is these are self-made films crossing a line into self-promotion, and not from independent documentarians. Both concert films fall into the documentary category. In addition, they did not meet an Oct. 2 deadline to register documentary films for consideration.
At issue is the following Oscars rule from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences: “Works that are essentially promotional or instructional are not eligible, nor are works that are essentially unfiltered records of performances.” Eligible documentaries are made by filmmakers with independence from the subject matter.
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” premieres Friday (Oct. 13) with AMC Theatres serving as distributor and is audience rated PG-13. Meanwhile, “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” is being teed up, again by AMC for cinemas. Tickets to the Swift concert tour range from $50-500 face value, so the $19.89 movie admission is a bargain; Swift selected that price because the number is her year of birth.
These two out-of-nowhere concert films are god-sends to fill gaps in movie flow. The cinema industry is battered by Covid shutdowns and disruptions of movie pipeline from striking Hollywood actors (writers just ended their 148-day strike).
Cinema’s viability gets underlined because both music superstars opted for the big screen, and not licensing the first window to a video streamer or TV outlet. A cinema ticket allows one person to view at one time, so there’s no mass viewing as with streaming or TV.
Says a Variety article by its awards guru Clayton Davis, “This isn’t the first-time music icons have released behind-the-scenes footage of their tour in longform and garnered some awards buzz. ‘Madonna: Truth or Dare,’ chronicling the entertainer during her controversial Blond Ambition tour in 1990, premiered out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival before its limited release. Despite a third-place mention from the National Society of Film Critics, it was ultimately considered as a TV documentary contender for that year.”
Beyoncé is already an Oscar nominee for working on the original song in 2021 theatrical “King Richard.” Earlier theatrical films that she worked have been nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards.
Oscars would be welcome career achievements as both artists could eventually join the rarefied EGOT club … talent that has earned at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and stage Tony award. It’s rarefied because only 18 people have achieved EGOT status, including Whoopi Goldberg, Audrey Hepburn and Mel Brooks. Music composers dominate, because their work naturally flows across film, TV, music and live stage.
Some online posts indicate fans are angry about no Oscar consideration. But shed no tears for Taylor Swift. She’s won 12 Grammys and her current Eras concert tour that is the underlying source of the movie is expected to gross $2 billion.
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