Alejandro G. Iñárritu Compares Oscars To McDonald’s, Finds Entire Awards Season Absurd


Even though he left the Oscars ceremony on Sunday evening with three gongs, Birdman director Alejandro G. Iñárritu clearly hasn’t been altered by his success.

In fact, he even compared the Oscars to McDonalds as he looked to insist that there wasn’t any competition between himself and his fellow filmmakers.

Iñárritu made these remarks while talking to Variety, where he asked, “How do you compare so many beautiful movies to one another? How do you put Foxcatcher against a Grand Budapest?”

The Mexican filmmaker added that he finds the entire idea of trying to force these movies and its directors into competition completely absurd.

“I hear about people spouting statistics or journalists who obsessively measure the worth of a film in its opening box office weekend. Is that really what these films should be, who has the bigger d***? In that case, the best restaurant in the world is McDonald’s.”

Iñárritu added that he was completely perplexed by the fabricated “environment” that suggested it was Boyhood vs Birdman. The filmmaker then explained that just before the Best Director accolade was announced, he immediately dispelled this “ridiculous” myth by hounding down Boyhood director Richard Linklater and wishing him luck in his own inimitable fashion.

“We were sitting there before best director was announced, and I said, ‘Richard, it would be a f****** honor to lose to you.’ And he said he felt the same.”

After Iñárritu’s name had been read out, both Richard Linklater and Bennett Miller, who was also nominated in the category for his work on Foxcatcher, the trio shared a warm hug, which Iñárritu explains was a sign of their “true friendship.”

“We’re all lucky guys making what we want, and sharing this together,” he added. “And that is what I will remember most.”

During his in-depth discussion, Iñárritu, who also admitted that he is much more used to being a loser “than a winner,” revealed that even though he’d never met Linklater, after watching Boyhood last summer, he felt the need to reach out and email the filmmaker because he was so astounded by it.

“I didn’t know him, but I had to reach out,” Inarritu explained. “I told him I had just seen it with my son and said, ‘Thank you for giving us this incredible gift’.”

In the end, Alejandro G. Iñárritu walked away with the Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director for his work on Birdman at the 87th Academy Awards on Sunday.

[Image via Reflex]

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