Roughly two weeks after Paul Schrader lamented the recent international sprawl of the Oscars while cheering their once-provincial nature and longing for a return to the idea of “Hollywood coming together to celebrate its own.”
And now Cannes topper Thierry Fremaux has said the exact same thing.
In a 3.27 chat with Variety‘s Elsa Keslassy, Frémaux said that “the Oscar for best film must go to an American film, like the Cesar for the best film goes to a French film and the Goya goes to a Spanish film.”
The Cannes president conveyed a similar sentiment three years ago with IndieWire‘s Eric Kohn. “Maybe it would be good for America to celebrate its own cinema,” he said.
Kneejerk wokesters didn’t like Schrader’s comment earlier this month. TheWrap‘s Drew Taylor wrote that “it’s unclear what, exactly, Schrader is so bent out of shape by,” and declared flat-out that his “screed feels outwardly racist, as he was clearly miffed by the amount of wins for Everything Everywhere All At Once, which features a predominantly Asian cast and is directed, in part, by an Asian-American filmmaker.”
If Schrader’s remarks were motivated by racism, the same goes for Fremaux also…right, Drew?