Oscar-nominated Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve spoke Saturday of his exasperation at the Academy overlooking Amy Adams’s acclaimed performance in sci-fi thriller \u00ab\u00a0Arrival. \u00a0\u00bb
The alien invasion drama, re-released in US theaters this week, has eight nominations for February’s Oscars, including for best film and for Villeneuve’s direction.
But Adams, widely expected to get a sixth Oscar nomination for \u00ab\u00a0Arrival\u00a0\u00bb — and perhaps another for \u00ab\u00a0Nocturnal Animals\u00a0\u00bb — was left off the list, leaving the trade press and many leading industry figures bewildered.
\u00ab\u00a0I was very disappointed, because she is the soul of the movie. She was my biggest ally. She gave everything, she gave a tremendous, very complex performance,\u00a0\u00bb Villeneuve, 49, told AFP at the Producers Guild Awards (PGAs) in Beverly Hills.
Taking its cue from classics such as \u00ab\u00a0Close Encounters of the Third Kind\u00a0\u00bb (1977) and \u00ab\u00a0Contact\u00a0\u00bb (1997), \u00ab\u00a0Arrival\u00a0\u00bb was filmed in Villeneuve’s native Quebec for a relatively small $50 million.
Adams, 42, was universally lauded for her portrayal of Louise Banks, a linguist enlisted by the army after alien pods pop up worldwide, to help figure out what their occupants want.
The picture pairs Adams with fellow \u00ab\u00a0American Hustle\u00a0\u00bb star Jeremy Renner, playing against type as a shy, soft-spoken mathematician.
The best actress Oscar nominations went to Emma Stone (\u00ab\u00a0La La Land\u00a0\u00bb), Natalie Portman (\u00ab\u00a0Jackie\u00a0\u00bb), Ruth Negga (\u00ab\u00a0Loving\u00a0\u00bb), Isabelle Huppert (\u00ab\u00a0Elle\u00a0\u00bb) and Meryl Streep (\u00ab\u00a0Florence Foster Jenkins\u00a0\u00bb).
Villeneuve told AFP he had spoken to Adams several times since the nominations and that she had been nothing but magnanimous.
\u00ab\u00a0Amy Adams is the incarnation of grace,\u00a0\u00bb said the director, who made \u00ab\u00a0Sicario\u00a0\u00bb (2015) and has just finished filming the much-anticipated sequel to iconic sci-fi favorite \u00ab\u00a0Blade Runner. \u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0She just said to me, ‘Danny — it’s all right. The movie is nominated, you are nominated, it’s all good. Don’t think about it, please just celebrate.'\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Arrival\u00a0\u00bb was competing for best film at the PGAs alongside \u00ab\u00a0Deadpool,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Fences,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Hacksaw Ridge,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Hell or High Water,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Hidden Figures,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0La La Land,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Lion,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Manchester by the Sea\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0Moonlight. \u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Blade Runner 2049\u00a0\u00bb — which comes out in October, some 35 years after the cult neo-noir original — sees Harrison Ford reprising his role as Rick Deckard, this time opposite Ryan Gosling.
\u00ab\u00a0It was like the most powerful and intense cinematic experience of my life. It’s tough to talk about it — I’m still in it — but it was a very powerful experience,\u00a0\u00bb Villeneuve told AFP.
Describing his 74-year-old star as his \u00ab\u00a0childhood hero,\u00a0\u00bb he admitted to being in awe of Ford when filming began last summer in Budapest, Hungary.
\u00ab\u00a0A good thing is that Harrison is a very humble, very funny, generous human being. He broke the ice,\u00a0\u00bb Villeneuve said.<\/p>\n

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