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‘Challengers’ Courts Oscar Buzz as Zendaya Looks to Net Her First Best Actress Nom
Luca Guadagnino's "Challengers" ignites Oscars buzz for Zendaya in best actress, along with stars Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist.
The delay prompts the question: could Zendaya have joined the best actress fray, competing with Emma Stone, last year’s winner for “Poor Things?” As “Challengers” unfurls its narrative like a multi-faceted Swiss Army knife, you can only imagine Annette Bening (“Nyad”) silently thanking the stars for the scheduling shift. While the Academy has been open to diverse genres lately (i.e., “Barbie” and “Top Gun: Maverick”), promo teams will have to work double-time to have more than 10,000 Hollywood industry professionals see the film that falls in a similar vein as “Cruel Intentions” (which by my measure, should have been an awards darling for Sarah Michelle Gellar). I’m perpetually thrilled by Guadagnino’s work, notably his Oscar-nominated masterpiece “Call Me by Your Name.” His commitment to how he represents Black women in cinema is commendable, as seen in his unique take on the cannibal romance “Bones and All” with Taylor Russell, and now with Zendaya in “Challengers.” In these films, race is acknowledged respectfully without being exploited as the central narrative element.
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