Katie Rich

By the time the Oscars come around, they'll realize they can watch it at home.

I think the Oscar race is in support of great movies.

You're getting people like Jafar Panahi, a filmmaker who's been in prison in his native Iran twice, still getting out there, making these movies in secret.

He's been everywhere.

He is going to all these campaign stops.

I saw him at the Middleburg Film Festival.

Middleburg?

Where is that?

Virginia.

I feel like he had a look at it about it being like, how am I here?

What is going on?

And I've gotten to interview him multiple times.

It feels kind of like a miracle.

Or like the secret agent, you know, Kleber Mendoza Filho, who's the director, has made odd experimental films in Brazil and is now on this huge national stage and people love to talk to him.

So there's this ability to lift up genuinely great art that gets really,

Really overlooked with like when you talk about wine scene tactics or when you are watching someone chit chat at a reception for the 10th time that day.

But it is in the service of this greater good that I can't ever let go of that being part of it.

And I think most of the people who participate in the system do believe on that in some level as well.

Yeah, it's employing caterers, florists, hairstylists, drivers, set builders.

Like, I mean, after the fires last year when they had to postpone all these awards season events, I think it was something that was really discussed is that the L.A.