What Makes for an 'Oscar Movie' Is Changing Fast
The fact that <em>The Shape of Water</em> was considered the “safe” choice out of the 2018 Best Picture contenders is revealing.
As the 90th Academy Awards drew close, , like last year, an upset was at hand. The shocking triumph of over at the 2017 ceremony hadn’t just been great television; it had also been an indication that the Academy’s push to its member rolls was working. Could something similar happen this year? Could a horror movie like or a coming-of-age teen story like triumph over voters’ perceived genre bias? Even though the other major awards—Best Director and all four acting categories—seemed locked, that the biggest prize remained .
