Gwyneth Paltrow broke silence on Oscar discourse of Shakespeare in Love and Saving Private Ryan. Like the controversy between La La Land and Moonlight, there was Saving Private Ryan versus Shakespeare in Love during the 71st Academy Award in 1999.
The rom-com, starring Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, shocked the audience by winning the race against presumed favourite Steven Spielberg’sSaving Private Ryan.
Saving Private Ryan won five awards including Best Director, meanwhile Shakespeare in Love won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Paltrow.
After almost three decades later, Paltrow, who is now starring in Marty Supreme, in conversation with Gerrad Hall on The Awardist podcast was asked if she and her godfather Spielberg have ever talked about the upset before.
She said, “Well, it was so funny because Steven won for director and I won. And Steven has been at this rodeo for a very long time and even 25 years ago had already been at the rodeo a very long time.”
Paltrow went on to reflect the complex system of the film industry. She while citing La La Land versus Moonlight as an example, she said, “You know what? Both of those could have won.”
“So it’s like to say, I think awards are designed, I think, yes, to acknowledge people’s amazing achievements, but it’s also a monetization tool for a broader industry,” Paltrow said.
Paltrow continued, “And so I think you have to understand them also from that perspective too and know that even if your film is in the conversation, that in itself is an honour. That in itself is wonderful for a movie and for this business model of cinema, which I hope is going to continue to be viable.” Marty Supreme was released on December 25.