HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (WPVI) — Shock, screams, and silver-screen supremacy.
“Sinners” scored a staggering stack of nominations at the Oscars, already making horror history.
In the 98 years of the Oscars, fewer than a dozen horror films have been nominated for Best Picture, and only one managed to win. This year, it all could change.
Award after award, “Sinners” is making horror history in Hollywood. The Ryan Coogler original is the most-nominated movie in Oscars history with 16 nods.
“Sinners” is also only the 8th horror film to ever get a “Best Picture” nomination.
“It’s as much of a celebration as it is a critique of American history,” said Ashlee Blackwell.
Blackwell is a horror filmmaker who grew up in the Philadelphia area and produced the award-winning documentary “Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror”.
Blackwell has been an adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s University and now teaches a horror class at The Agnes Irwin School.
She is among the many professionals in the horror genre pushing for more visibility and diversity.
“I think diversity definitely exists in the horror genre, it’s just not mainstream, and that’s sad,” said Blackwell.
She loves seeing the Sinners team showered with flowers, but argues horror remains undercelebrated.
“Horror as a genre, it’s so wild and beyond imagination. It seems sometimes all it’s doing is telling us about our human experiences, telling us about our deepest, darkest thoughts, desires.” Blackwell told Action News.
Don’t miss Hollywood’s biggest night: The Oscars on ABC!
Our live Oscar pre-show, “On The Red Carpet at the Oscars,” begins at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT and will feature live interviews with the nominees, red carpet fashion analysis and more!
Watch the 98th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, on March 15 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC and Hulu, followed by “The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose.”
Check your local listings or stream on Hulu and OnTheRedCarpet.com.
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