Mia Goth is calling out the Academy for not recognizing horror movies.
On Wednesday, the actress — who recently starred in Ti West's slasher, Pearl — commented on the Academy's lack of recognition for horror films while promoting her latest scary flick, Infinity Pool, with Alexander Skarsgård at the Sundance Film Festival.
"I think that it's very political," Goth told Jake Hamilton of "Jake's Takes" when asked her opinion on why she thinks the Academy generally shuts out horror movies from award nominations.
I spoke with Mia Goth about not getting a (very deserved) Best Actress Oscar nomination for PEARL — and why the Academy doesn’t take the horror genre seriously enough. pic.twitter.com/9EKPN2fB2N
— Jake Hamilton (@JakesTakes) January 25, 2023
On Tuesday morning, nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were unveiled by Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams. This year's ceremony — emceed by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel (who also hosted in 2017 and 2018) — will be held on Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC.
"It's not entirely based on the quality of a project per se. There's a lot going on there and a lot of cooks in the kitchen when it comes to nominations," Goth said. "Maybe I shouldn't say that, but I think that's true. I think a lot of people know that."
"A change is necessary," Goth, 29, added. "A shift should take place if they wanted to engage with the wider public. I think it would be of benefit, really, [to nominate horror movies]."
Despite their big releases last year, Pearl and Jordan Peele's Nope did not receive any nods from the Academy.
As the second film in West's horror trilogy, Pearl received a rave review from industry legend Martin Scorsese, praising Goth's performance, according to Variety.
Meanwhile, Nope was met with major critical and commercial acclaim, boasting over $100 million at the box office, according to IMDb's BoxOffice Mojo, with some calling Peele the "best horror director of all time."
The horror genre has historically been overlooked by the Academy, with only a few films nominated and even fewer winning their respective categories. The 1991 psychological horror The Silence of the Lambs is the first and only horror movie to win Best Picture at the 63rd Academy Awards. Peele previously won Best Original Screenplay for his debut feature film, Get Out.
Other filmmakers have spoken out about films they thought should have been nominated. Women Talking writer/director Sarah Polley showed support for Till after the Chinonye Chukwu-directed film was not nominated for any awards for the upcoming 95th Academy Awards, re-tweeting two videos of Till actress Danielle Deadwyler speaking at a National Board of Review Awards Gala on Jan. 8.
"This is how Danielle Deadwyler gives a speech…. Would have loved to see her give one that was broadcast to millions," Polley, 44, wrote.
Deadwyler, 40, was shut out of the Academy Awards' Best Actress conversation as nominations were announced Tuesday, though she was nominated at the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards and 2023 BAFTA Awards while also receiving the Gotham Award for outstanding lead performance at the start of awards season late last year.
Black actors were shut out of the Academy Awards' Best Actress race this year, including Viola Davis, who had scored a Golden Globe and SAG Award nomination for The Woman King, which received no nominations. Polley highlighted Woman King as well, tweeting, "Today is a good day to rewatch this history-making movie - The Woman King - by the incredible @GPBmadeit and her brilliant team."
This year's ceremony will be held Sunday, March 12, and will be televised live on ABC.
