For the first time, Steven Spielberg could receive Oscar nominations for 2 different movies in the same year

Jeffrey Kare
·4 min read
9
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Currently among Gold Derby’s top 10 films likely to receive Best Picture bids at this year’s Oscars are “The Color Purple” and “Maestro.” What both movies have in common is that they happen to be produced by Steven Spielberg. If they both get in as expected, this would be the first time Spielberg personally received Oscar nominations for two different movies in the same year.

“The Color Purple” follows Celie Harris Johnson (Fantasia Barrino), an African-American woman living in the South during the early 1900s. Spielberg was previously nominated for producing the 1985 film adaptation of Alice Walker‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, which he also directed. This new movie, which is adapted from the 2005 Tony-winning stage musical iteration, is currently in fifth place for Best Picture with 11/1 odds.

More from GoldDerby

SEESteven Spielberg movies: All 33 feature films ranked from worst to best

“Maestro” is a biopic about legendary composer Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper), with a focus on his marriage to Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). Spielberg was recently nominated for producing and directing “West Side Story” in 2021; that film was adapted from the classic musical that Bernstein composed the music for. “Maestro” is currently in seventh place for Best Picture with 16/1 odds. Martin Scorsese also happens to be a producer on “Maestro,” so he too could be a double nominee in this category with that and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which is currently in second place with 15/2 odds.

Six times in his career so far Spielberg has directed two movies released in the same calendar year, but he was never able to get his own Oscar noms for both films. In 1989 he had “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Always.” The former won Best Sound Editing and had additional bids for Best Sound and Best Score. But the latter was completely blanked on nominations morning.

In 1993 he had the one-two punch of “Jurassic Park” and “Schindler’s List.” The former won all three of its bids for Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects. The latter won seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, earning Spielberg his very first Oscars in both categories.

SEE‘Maestro’ teaser trailer: Carey Mulligan and Bradley Cooper star in Leonard Bernstein drama [Watch]

In 1997 he directed both “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” and “Amistad.” The former was nominated for Best Visual Effects while the latter had four bids with Best Supporting Actor for Anthony Hopkins being its only above-the-line nom. But Spielberg himself wasn’t nominated for either film.

In 2002 Spielberg helmed “Minority Report” and “Catch Me If You Can.” The former was only nominated for Best Sound Editing while the latter did slightly better with bids for Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken) and Best Score. Neither earned a nom for Spielberg.

In 2005 he had “War of the Worlds” and “Munich.” The former received three nominations for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects. The latter got five noms, including Best Picture. There was also “Memoirs of a Geisha,” which Spielberg produced for director Rob Marshall; it had six bids, but they were all in below-the-line categories, winning half of them. Of these three, only “Munich” earned nominations for Spielberg.

SEE2024 Oscar predictions: ‘The Color Purple’ musical will get same 3 acting nominations as 1985 original

In 2006 he produced two World War II movies directed by Clint Eastwood: “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima.” The former was nominated for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. The latter had four nominations, including Best Picture for Spielberg.

2011 was probably the closest Spielberg came to Oscar noms for two movies. “War Horse” received six bids overall, including Best Picture. Meanwhile, “The Adventures of Tintin” (which had its nationwide release just four days earlier) was widely expected to get in for Best Animated Feature. It not only had noms from all the major precursors, it also won Golden Globe and PGA Awards. Yet on Oscar nomination morning it was surprisingly overlooked.

So will the legendary filmmaker get two Best Picture bids for both “The Color Purple” and “Maestro” this year?

PREDICTthe 2024 Oscar nominations

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

Best of GoldDerby

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.