Oscars Still in Love With Indie Movies Barely Anyone Sees

The Academy Awards saw a big change last night, but maybe not the one they wanted. In nabbing Best Director, Kathryn Bigelow shattered the glass ceiling in an industry where only 7% of directors are women. But Bigelow’s historic win also showed that the Academy had failed in its attempt to break the indie stranglehold, writes Sharon Waxman for The Wrap.

"Once again, small movies like Precious, and even smaller ones like Crazy Heart, The Last Station and An Education, were those that drew nominations in the main categories." And despite the expansion of the Best Picture race, Bigelow’s Hurt Locker, “a tiny arthouse film with no movie stars that barely anyone saw,” dominated, while Avatar was relegated to technical awards. “You can’t engineer the Oscars,” concludes Waxman. “The voters will choose the best movies in their eyes—and much of the time those come from small places.” (More Kathryn Bigelow stories.)