The single most significant public event in the possible Oscar season to come happened today. Disney and Lin-Manuel Miranda moved Hamilton into 2020.
No, I am not saying that Hamilton is a lock to win Best Picture. It is possible that it won't be nominated. It is possible that it will be nominated and lose. Etcetera. That is not my point.
Cannes and Venice are dead for 2020. Telluride, Toronto and New York are iffy, regardless of what they say now. For there to be an Academy Awards as is traditional in February, at least three of the six months of the year, starting in July, will have to have movie theaters open and operating in a relatively traditional way, in terms of movies being released and non-industry audiences being able to see them in relative safety. And I believe that two of those three months have to be some combination of October, November and December.
The festivals are the festivals. They are the ignition to the season. They are not The Season.
The Hamilton decision is mult…
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