‘Drive My Car’ Director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi ‘Never Imagined’ He’d Be Going to the Oscars
variety.comClayton Davis Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” defied expectations last week when it nabbed Oscar nominations for best picture, director, adapted screenplay and international feature.
The Japanese movie, released domestically by venerable art-house distributor Janus Films, surpassed titles with more robust campaigns, including Amazon’s “Being the Ricardos” and Netflix’s “Tick, Tick … Boom!”Even Hamaguchi was surprised by the noms.“I could have never imagined that I would be a realistic contender,” he tells Variety, speaking through Stacy Lee, a Japanese interpreter. “In terms of the campaign, it was a steady effort where people at Janus made these recommendations.
They also have very strong connections with the critics and other parts of the community.” Hamaguchi tells the story of being on a plane with no internet when the nominations were announced, and receiving about 60 text messages when it landed.Recent changes to the Academy’s membership and voting methods have given smaller international films like Hamaguchi’s a greater chance for recognition.
Until a year ago, those releases had to be watched on the big screen in order for members to vote for them, but now they are accessible online.
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