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Column: The Doc Oscar Race’s ‘Will’ Wild Card

The Hollywood Reporter
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los angeles
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Story by Lexy Perez
from The Hollywood Reporter
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The Oscars' documentary branch faces scrutiny over its bias against populist titles, as the will-they-or-won't-they decision on Will Ferrell's trans-focused doc 'Will & Harper' could shake up the race.
beat sheet
  • The documentary branch has a history of overlooking acclaimed, crowd-pleasing docs in favor of more obscure titles, snubbing the likes of 'Good Night Oppy,' 'Apollo 11,' and 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?'
  • While the branch leans towards LGBTQ-focused docs, its nomination of Ferrell's 'Will & Harper' could be a 'Trojan horse' that breaks through their bias, as the film has widespread acclaim and may resonate with the post-election climate.
call sheet
Will Ferrell, Harper Steele, Warner Bros., Netflix, Producers Guild, Cinema Eye Honors, International Documentary Association, Berlin Film Festival, Gotham Film Awards, L.A. Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, European Film Awards, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, Martha, I Am: Celine Dion, Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid, Music by John Williams, Good Night Oppy, McQueen, Quincy, Amazing Grace, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Val, Sr., Apollo 11, Three Identical Strangers, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Life Itself, Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, American Symphony, Knock Down the House, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Jane, Moonage Daydream, Will & Harper
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