\n\tThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hosted its first members screening on Saturday at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles, presented in 70mm. The roughly 1,000-seat house was near capacity, an early tell in a season where turnout becomes its own form of polling. The U.K. membership, which has become an instrumental voting bloc as AMPAS has gone more international, followed on Monday at the Soho Hotel. And for members in New York City, they enjoyed the journey back to Ithaca on Wednesday in 35mm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tNot surprisingly, the reactions from several members who were in attendance were borderline reverential.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI didn\u2019t think anything could top \u2018Oppenheimer\u2019 and Chris\u2019 [Nolan] first film Following,\u2019\u201d says one veteran Academy member in attendance. \u201cHe is the definitive filmmaker of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat kind of enthusiasm and language matters. Nolan has spent the better part of two decades as the most commercially dominant filmmaker the Oscars<\/a> could not quite bring themselves to reward, until the 2024 historical biopic \u201cOppenheimer\u201d swept its season and took home best picture and gave him his first directing statuette. Voters do not typically hand a filmmaker multiple coronations, especially in close succession. They do, however, reward a body of work that keeps elevating, and \u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d the first feature shot entirely on Imax cameras, is elevated by design.<\/p>\n \n\tNot everyone came away without any reservations, though the caveats were still incredibly affectionate rather than damaging.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI thought it was spectacular,\u201d another anonymous Academy voter says. \u201cA little bit long but massive in scale.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMelinda Sue Gordon<\/p>\n \n\tThe most consequential conversation will be happening inside of the actors branch, the largest voting bloc in the Academy and the one that decides which performances graduate from admired to nominated. Matt Damon<\/a> leads an ensemble that includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong\u2019o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo and Jon Bernthal. At least one branch member who skipped the official screening and bought a ticket instead came away doing the math on the rest of the calendar.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis was like the NBA All-Star game of acting,\u201d the actor says. \u201cMatt [Damon], both \u2018Johns\u2019 [Bernthal and Leguizamo], Rob [Pattinson], Anne [Hathaway] were incredible. Good luck to those of us that have movies coming out the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tEnsembles of this size historically cannibalize their own campaigns, splitting supporting votes into confetti. But a lead is a different equation, and Damon, who has one competitive Oscar for co-writing \u201cGood Will Hunting\u201d (1997) and two acting nominations across a 30-year career \u2014 \u201cInvictus\u201d and \u201cThe Martian\u201d \u2014 is suddenly the beneficiary of the biggest opening of his life.<\/p>\n \n\tA veteran artisan who attended describes crying twice, and the two moments they cite are telling, because neither is a battle sequence.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI became so emotional when he [Matt Damon] hears the Sirens, and when he pets his beautiful dog,\u201d the member says. \u201cI think Matt has to win the Oscar. He has to.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tArgos the dog\u2019s scene landing that hard is also providing the detailed campaign that strategists dream about. Spectacle gets a film nominated, but intimacy and emotion inside them is what gets performers recognized, and a movie ultimately crowned.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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