The sequel to ‘Pulitzer Prize-winning movie’ ‘Suck It’ won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1995.
A decade later, ‘The Breakfast Club’ made the short list for the Academy Awards.
And then came ‘The Truman Show’ and its sequel, ‘Suffer’, both of which won Oscars in the same year.
What was it about ‘Sucky’ that brought them to the forefront of Oscar chatter?
Was it a film that brought the story of a young African American man to the fore?
Or was it a movie that was inspired by a true story?
“We had a great story, which is the story in the film, that had nothing to do with the film,” says filmmaker and actor Alan Arkin.
“I wanted to tell a story that had real-life consequences, so I thought the best way to tell that story was to make it real, which was why I made the movie.”
“The Truman Effect” is set in 1952 in a New York City where black people are often treated as second-class citizens and they are rarely seen as a distinct group.
“It’s a place where black folks have been treated like second- class citizens for generations,” says Arkin, who says he didn’t expect to see a movie about the plight of black people in a major award show.
“The fact that it was so well received by critics, I think, shows that there’s an appetite for this kind of storytelling.”
A film that resonated with audiences and critics ‘SUCK IT’ is a story of an African American teenager who discovers that he has superhuman powers and is forced to fight for the right to be accepted by society.
It’s a story about the power of a boy’s dream, a dream that leads him to confront racism in a city where he doesn’t fit.
“If you look at the people in power, the things they say, you don’t see anything but power,” Arkin says.
There were all these things going on that made it so important to me. “
That was the premise of ‘Sucked’.
There were all these things going on that made it so important to me.
I wanted it to be about the community, and what we had to do to get back on our feet.”
But there were some hurdles.
“There was no way to make the film as realistic as I wanted,” Arkins says.
That meant that the film was a bit too gritty.
“We were going to shoot the whole movie in New York,” he says.
But then the city decided to take a softer tone and they had more time to get the film to where it needed to be.
“They were going through a lot of the same things that we were,” Arakin says.
It took years of research and the help of filmmakers and actors, but “Suck it” was finally completed in May 2018.
“After two and a half years, it was time to shoot, and that’s when I met with [the] production team,” Arakis says.
The film’s cast and crew were eager to get it made, and he was eager to show the film off to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
“This was the moment that I felt like I could do that, that the Academy felt that I could make it,” he said.
“He’s such a wonderful filmmaker, and I knew I could work with him. “
At that point, I felt so much more confident about the way that we could get it into the Academy,” Araskin says of his collaboration with director Joss Whedon, the two of them having worked together on Whedon’s ‘Buffy’ television series.
“He’s such a wonderful filmmaker, and I knew I could work with him.
And he’s very kind and caring and supportive of the crew.”
“Sucker Punches” was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
“Sucking” was also nominated for four Golden Globes, including Outstanding Cinematography and Best Cinematography by an Actor in a Leading Role.
“Every year, people go to the awards, and they say: ‘Oh, this is so cool,'” Arkin recalls.
“You see people come in and say: “This is what I wanted, and now I can’t get it.
They want to watch us, and to see our work and the way we’re putting it together.” “
People don’t want to see us get nominated.
They want to watch us, and to see our work and the way we’re putting it together.”
“You should’ve seen us,”