Sir Roger Deakins is a legendary cinematographer who has lent his talents to movies like The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, Skyfall, Blade Runner 2049, and 1917, with the latter two earning him well-deserved Academy Awards.
He was even nominated at this past weekend's ceremony for his work on Empire of Light, and while he didn't pick up another Oscar, Deakins also didn't shy away from criticising the Academy prior to the show taking place. In fact, he went so far as to argue that the year's "best cinematography hasn’t been nominated."
The movie he's talking about? The Batman.
"It’s The Batman. That’s the best work in my view," he tells Deadline, adding that Greig Fraser's "extraordinary" work should have made him a contender. As for why he believes it was overlooked, Deakins adds: "The reason it wasn’t is pure and simple: snobbery. There’s this unfair tendency to avoid the Marvel universe and the other popular universes."
He'd also go on to highlight Claudio Miranda, Top Gun: Maverick's director of photography "[as] another one that was shut out...It comes down to the work. Good work is good work whatever the genre."
The Batman was released to rave reviews last year, but appeared to be largely forgotten in the months that followed. There's also been a fair bit of upset surrounding the decision to snub Michael Giacchino's breathtaking score and while the movie wasn't necessarily "Best Picture" material, we can surely all agree it was better than Avatar: The Way of Water.
Unfortunately, the Academy's apparent dislike of superhero movies looks set to continue, and many fans on social media continue to rage over the fact Jamie Lee Curtis took home the "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar in place of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Angela Bassett.
Do you think The Batman deserved a little more recognition at the Oscars?
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