Just when I thought Get Out was done shocking the public, I'm proven wrong once again. It looks like the film is ahead of the game when it comes to trying to win that Oscar. While Oscar campaigns usually take off around Labor Day, with many film festivals premiering films that are hopeful contenders, that doesn't mean you can't plant the seed early and watch it grow.
That seems to be exactly what Get Out is doing, and we aren't mad at you.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal Pictures will host a conversation with director Jordan Peele and a “garden party” at the studio lot to celebrate the May 9 release of Get Out on iTunes and Amazon. While sources insist that this is not an awards ploy, the guest list has people giving that idea a side eye. Members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which oversees the Golden Globes, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association, which puts on the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, are invited to the event, among others. Perhaps Universal doesn't mean it as a campaign move, but it definitely seems that way.
It does make sense because it's hard for films from the first quarter to make a splash nearly a year later when Academy voters are completing their ballots. Get Out was released in February. Most studios are actively chasing their nominations in November, December and January.
Get Out grossed over $171 million at the box office, received rave reviews, and sparked conversations that needed to be had. All of this points to it being remembered when the Oscar season haste truly begins. Good luck, we're rooting for you.