“La La Land” did what 800-lb gorillas are supposed to do: dominate the Oscar nominations tally, pulling down 14, including actor, actress, director and picture. That ties the record shared only with “All About Eve” and “Titanic. ”
“Arrival” and “Moonlight” each came away with eight nominations. Ava DuVernay’s “13th” joins “O. J.: Made in America” among best documentary feature nominees, continuing our ongoing conversation about race in the United States. Speaking of which, with Viola Davis, Dev Patel, Octavia Spencer, Denzel Washington, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and Ruth Negga getting acting nominations, the 89th Academy Awards will definitely not be so white.
In the Oscars’ animated short category, one film, “Pearl,” brings a new technical twist to the party: the Google 360 experience.
“Pearl,” the story of a father and daughter who travel the country in pursuit of their dreams, takes place entirely inside the family car, which the viewer experiences sitting passenger side throughout the whole story.
The immersive, 360-degree animated Google Spotlight Story, which allows a viewer to look up, down and all around to see different parts of the story, was directed by Patrick Osborne.
If you’re watching “Pearl” in two dimensions — perhaps via the video embedded above — be careful how you navigate, or you might wind up staring out the hatchback’s sunroof for most of the 5 minutes and 38 seconds.
For a more seamless experience, download the Google Spotlight Stories app and change your point of view while watching the short by moving your phone around in three-dimensional space. It’s trippy.
Psst: Bonus points from us if you spin around in your office chair while you’re watching it.
