Oscars 2024: Are films now 'too long' as Hugh Grant suggests? - BBC News

Actor Hugh Grant recently questioned film runtimes - but have they changed and if so, why?

14 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsBafta AwardsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Christopher Nolan's three-hour nuclear epic, Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy (right), may dominate the Oscars this weekendBy Alex TaylorBBC Culture reporter"Oompa-loompa, doompity-dee, now the best director categor-ee. Oompa Loompa doompity-dong, most of these films were frankly too long."

Fresh from starring in Wonka, Hugh Grant's (life-size) onstage appearance at the Baftas not only saw him revive his inner Oompa Loompa when delivering the award for best director, but also openly question the length of this year's awards season contenders.

He may have been thinking of the evening's eventual winner, Christopher Nolan's three-hour epic Oppenheimer, which is also expected to sweep the Oscars this weekend.

But three of the five other Bafta nominees - The Holdovers, Maestro, and Anatomy of a Fall - likewise Oscar contenders, also clock in at over two hours each.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Hugh Grant revived his inner Oompa Loompa to swipe at film runtimes when delivering the Bafta award for best directorGood thing, perhaps, that Grant didn't have to confront Martin Scorsese's American introspective, Killers of the Flower Moon, an Academy favourite despite its 3hr 26min runtime - the longest of this year's best picture contenders.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68379592

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