Ti West is still proudly banging the “Oscar for Mia Goth” drum
“In my opinion she deserved [an Oscar], but at the same time, I don’t feel that it takes anything away from what she did,” the Pearl director says
Aux News Mia Goth
Let Ti West be the first to say it: Please, Mia Goth is a STARRRR! Although the 2023 Oscars are already fading into the rearview mirror, West is still standing strong in his belief that Goth deserved a Best Actress nomination for her work in his Scorsese-approved stylized horror romp Pearl. (Of course, Michelle Yeoh ultimately clinched the award this year for Everything Everywhere All At Once)
In a new interview with The Independent, West further opines that his muse deserved a little bit more recognition for her work as the axe-wielding, stardom-starved Pearl—perhaps in the form of a certain prestigious gold statuette.
“In my opinion she deserved [an Oscar], but at the same time, I don’t feel that it takes anything away from what she did,” West shares with The Independent’s Annabel Nugent. “It would have just been a nice addition.”
Goth herself hasn’t directly addressed missing out on a Best Actress nomination. But in a January interview, she did touch on the Academy’s relationship to horror cinema in general, calling it “very political.”
“It’s not entirely based on the quality of a project per se,” Goth said about the nominations process. “There’s a lot going on there and a lot of cooks in the kitchen when it comes to nominations… A change is necessary. A shift should take place if they wanted to engage with the wider public. I think it would be of benefit, really.”
Sure, Oscars don’t always make it into the hands of the most deserving films, but according to West, the perceived egregiousness of that disparity “depends on how seriously you take something like the Oscars.”
“If you take it very seriously, then maybe you’ll notice that a certain kind of movie isn’t there as much, but also maybe the Oscars see themselves as more about movies that are representing a different message in a way,” West muses. “It’s hard to say.”
29 Comments
Deserved a nomination at least. Awards for art are stupid anyways. There is no ‘best’.
Is Meg White a good drummer?
The best.
Does the Pope wear the tallest hat?
They’re industry awards. They’re not really awarding art per se, so much as they’re awarding each other. That’s why, as much as I understand why people dismiss them as bullshit because of the politics involved, I don’t really understand why people outside of the industry get so worked up about them one way or the other.
“Hollywood is like high school with money” : Martin Mull
Goth is having quite a run. She was outstanding in Infinity Pool and we are super excited for Maxxxine. So a nomination is still a possibility. Lobby, Ti! Get Greta Gerwig to assist!
Her best performance is pretending Shia LaBeouf would be a good father.
Here’s the thing: “X” was a horror film. “Pearl” is a dramatic character study with violence, NOT a horror film. Did anyone ever call “Taxi Driver” or “American Psycho” a horror film when they were released?
I didn’t think X was anything super special, just a slightly (very slightly) above average genre flick. Is Pearl much better?
Pearl is a whole ‘nother beast. I only liked X, but I loved Pearl. If you’re on fence, it’s worth watching for Goth’s performance alone.
She does nothing for me, which is why I didn’t watch Pearl right after X. I couldn’t hang with that much Mia Goth in a sitting.
Understood. Not sure her performance would sway you one way or another, but if the actress does nothing for you in general, then you probably wouldn’t enjoy it. If it’s a matter of genre, while X could be considered a slasher movie, Pearl is a escalating fever dream.
Pearl is much better than X. Watching it first makes X a little more enjoyable too.
There is nothing special about Pearl.
A lot of people significantly prefer Pearl, which is more of a character study and less of a slasher. Personally, I think 70s slasher is much more West’s forte, so I preferred X.
Yeah, I just was all “this is just going to be more of his girlfriend in more outfits”, and noped out. I’ll probably get killed for this, but I also though whoever the blonde from X was did a way better job in that movie.
Goth isn’t West’s girlfriend, she’s married to Shia LaBeouf.
My bad. I just assumed because he spent the whole movie camera fucking her that they were screwing like rabbits.
Then you missed out on the joke that Goth’s craziest performance is the one where she thinks Shia would make a good husband/father.
I don’t think she & West worked together prior to X, and then they made the prequel because they were stuck in NZ due to COVID.
I haven’t seen either, but did see her in Infinity Pool and thought she was great in it. An extremely deranged, wild performance in a movie that really invited that interpretation.Get Mia Goth, Paz de la Huerta, and Chloë Sevigny into sort of Expendables for art film chaos girls.
Big surprise that the guy who wrote and directed the films thinks his muse should be nominated for an Oscar. I bet he thinks Pearl should have been nominated for Best Picture and he for Best Director. Truth is Ti West couldn’t direct himself out of a paper bag.
“I bet he thinks Pearl should have been nominated for Best Picture and he for Best Director.”
I mean, he doesn’t.“Truth is Ti West couldn’t direct himself out of a paper bag.”
Oh, so your shitty, ignorant opinion is “the truth”, is it?
Bang the Goth slowly.
I have no idea why horror, a genre that has historically flourished on the margins of the film industry, has suddenly become so desperate for the Academy’s approval. Even if Mia Goth was objectively better than Michelle Yeoh or Cate Blanchett (which she wasn’t, because objectivity doesn’t exist past a certain level of quality), horror doesn’t *need* Oscars.
There was not a single special thing about X or Pearl.Goth was fine in Pearl, but an Oscar nomination? Give me a f*cking break.
If Toni Collette didn’t get nominated for Hereditary, the Academy just won’t give nods to horror acting.
He’s not wrong. Lupita Nyongo (Us), Florence Pugh (Midsommar), and Rebecca Hall (Resurrection) also deserved nods.