ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY AND AWARD NEWS  FEBRUARY 03, 2020 Can Parasite Go All the Way? It’s been nearly a year since Bong Joon Ho’s caustic masterpiece Parasite first set the film industry on fire at Cannes—and in less than a week, it just might become the first non-English-language movie to win a best-picture Oscar. But will a gorgeously constructed, significantly safer pick stand in its way? Yohana Desta weighs the state of the race as we head into Oscar week, noting both the factors in Bong’s favor—buzz! Acclaim! All those guild awards!—and the biggest stumbling blocks it may face as its Academy Awards journey draws to a close: Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, another industry favorite that was not eligible for a WGA Award (clearing the way for Parasite to win original screenplay from the guild), and 1917, “the more traditional best-picture candidate: an ambitious war film about noble white men, peppered with prestigious famous faces.” Elsewhere in HWD, Paul Chi chats with Bong about the passion of the #BongHive; Bridget Arsenault reports from the BAFTAs, where 1917 (and Brad Pitt’s joke about Meghan Markle) ruled; Maureen O’Connor lays out the latest twists of the Harvey Weinstein trial; and Richard Lawson dares to dream that 2020’s film slate will give him everything he wants from the movies.

Parasite Rising Bong Joon Ho’s pitch-perfect drama is poised to win big at the Academy Awards—but to get best picture, it’ll have to go through 1917. READ MORE » #BongHive Assemble As Parasite became the first non-English-language movie to win a Writers Guild award, the belle of awards season was pleasantly shocked: “I just checked to make sure that the envelope was correct and not switched.” READ MORE » What a Joker Brad Pitt’s costar Margot Robbie accepted his supporting-actor BAFTA on Pitt’s behalf: “He says he is going to name this ‘Harry,’ because he is really excited about bringing it back to the States with him.” READ MORE » The Witness Jessica Mann returns for a second day of testimony at Weinstein’s trial. Her story is both similar to those jurors have heard before and something else entirely. READ MORE » Wish List What if this is the decade that the movie industry gives us everything we want? Our critic dares to dream. READ MORE »