A Golden Showing for Sports on Hollywood’s Biggest Night
Did your favorite sports movies make the cut?
The Academy loves a particular type of dramatic feature, and movies about sports rarely make the cut. However, this year sports movies took center stage and left a lasting impact on the award show. Two films, King Richard and Queen of Basketball, took home major awards.
King Richard was nominated for six academy awards, including best picture, best actor, best film editing, best-supporting actress, and best original screenplay. Will Smith won best actor for his role as Richard in the drama about Serena and Venus Williams and their father, Richard Williams. This was the first time an actor in a leading role in a sports movie took home the award. Smith was in a familiar position as it was the second time he was nominated for portraying a sports figure. The actor was also nominated for his role as Muhammad Ali in the 2001 film Ali.
Queen of Basketball won best short subject documentary. The 22-minute film details the life of Lusia “Lucy” Harris, the first and only female selected in the NBA draft as well as the first to score in Women’s Olympic Basketball History. Harris passed away just two months before the film was nominated, so she was not able to witness the win. Star basketball players Stephan Curry and Shaquille O’Neal followed in Kobe Bryant’s footsteps and earned Oscars as executive producers on the film. Bryant won an Oscar in 2017 for his work on the best animated short film, Dear Basketball.
The films did not only inspire on the big screen, but also in the various acceptance speeches. The director of Queen of Basketball, Ben Proudfoot, shared his thoughts on the state of the sports industry and the power of women’s sports when he said, “If there is anyone out there that still doubts whether there’s an audience for female athletes, let this Academy Award be the answer.” Proudfoot ended his speech by asking President Biden to “bring Brittney Griner home.” Griner, a WNBA star, remains in Russian custody after being detained in February after customs found vape cartridges in her luggage containing the “marijuana concentrate hashish oil.”
Audible, a 39-minute coming of age story, was also nominated for best short subject documentary. The story follows Amaree McKenstry—a high school athlete at Maryland School for the Deaf—as he and his teammates fight to protect their winning streak on the football field while also navigating the tragic loss of a close friend.
Despite the major success the sports films saw this year, these are not the first of their kind to be recognized at the Academy Awards. Only 16 films have ever been nominated for best picture, and only three took home an award: Rocky (1976), Chariots of Fire (1981), and Million Dollar Baby (2004). Similarly, 15 men have been nominated for best actor and six women for best actress, yet only three of the 21 actually won an award.
The Academy may not appreciate sports films, but we sure do. In case you are looking for something to watch on your next movie night here are the 16 sport best picture nominees:
The Pride of the Yankees
The Hustler
Rocky
Heaven Can Wait
Breaking Away
Raging Bull
Chariots of Fire
Field of Dreams
Jerry Maguire
Seabiscuit
Million Dollar Baby
The Blind Side
The Fighter
Moneyball
Ford v Ferrari
King Richard
Sources: USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News