Whitney Friedlander The term “passion project” is thrown around a lot in Hollywood; usually as a reference to a personal story that means a ton to its writer, director or star.
But what kind of pressure does that put on the rest of the cast and crew? This Oscar season, there are a lot of so-called passion projects that have received accolades.
Among them: “The Fabelmans,” a family story that was inspired by director and co-writer Steven Spielberg’s own parents; “The Banshees of Inisherin,” a script that writer-director Martin McDonagh spent years perfecting set in an era in Irish history that few outsiders might know about; and the Marvel movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” for which director and co-writer Ryan Coogler had to follow the success of the film’s predecessor, 2018’s “Black Panther” while doing justice to its late star, Chadwick Boseman. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” from the writing-directing team of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, meanwhile, leaned into diverse storytelling and the power of refusing to be ignored; the past struggles of stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan to get roles in Hollywood added poignancy to their performances.
All four films scored acting nominations and three of them — “The Fabelmans,” “Banshees” and “Everything Everywhere” — scored best picture nominations as well.
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