Academy Members, nominate The Last Jedi for an Oscar already. Please?
And not just for one of those technical sound editing type Oscars, though, don’t get me wrong, I believe all components of filmmaking are important and should be valued. 
Nominate it for Best Picture. Why not?
As a devoted Academy Awards junkie and Star Wars fan, I have been keeping a close eye on the horse race leading up to the January 23rd announcement of nominees. The Last Jedi has made it as a “dark horse” possibility on a few lists. But that’s it.
How is it possible that The Last Jedi, one of the best-reviewed films of the year, is barely scratching the surface of the conversation?
Most critics agree that Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Post, and Lady Bird are probably a lock for Best Picture nominations. Other likely contenders are The Shape of Water, Dunkirk, Get Out, Call Me By Your Name, and I, Tonya. Less likely but not-out-of-contention: The Florida Project, The Darkest Hour, and The Big Sick.
So why has The Last Jedi, so far, barely entered the discussion?
Its box office dominance doesn’t help. The Last Jedi ended 2017 having earned more than $1 billion worldwide, after being in theaters for just a little over two weeks, and it is still going strong.
A MarketWatch.com article (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-movies-that-make-the-most-money-rarely-win-best-picture-oscar-2017-02-24) demonstrates how The Last Jedi’s financial dominance is probably working against it. For the past twenty years, the Academy has favored the films that earn less, such as in 2010, when the low-grossing The Hurt Locker bested mega-hit Avatar.
The only three exceptions to this rule have been 1998’s Titanic, 2003’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire. To underscore this trend, with a domestic gross of $22.2 million, last year’s Best Picture winner, Moonlight, was the lowest grossing among the seven films nominated, and among the lowest grossing Best Picture winners ever.
More specifically, according to Market Watch, no Best Picture winner since 2003’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, “has come close to grossing $378 million domestically.” The Last Jedi, meanwhile, had earned more than $444.6 million domestically by the end of 2017.
I get it. Everyone loves an underdog. Even me. I’m all for championing smaller films that often have more interesting and challenging storylines than the latest churned out blockbuster sequel.
But sometimes, sometimes the box office giant is not evil. Sometimes the box office giant is awesome. Sometimes it is filled with a thought-provoking narrative, and excellent acting, and thrilling cinematography, and a fantastic score—and this is one of those times.
Academy members, please do not ignore The Last Jedi. In the year of #metoo, consider the vision we are given of female leadership in the characters of Jedi-in-training Rey, and General Leia, and Vice-Admiral Holdo, and maintenance worker Rose. And diversity. The latest Star Wars films have made good efforts to assure us that Lando Calrissian was not, in fact, the only non-white person in a galaxy far, far away. At a time when politics and government are . . . complicated, consider the resonance of the questions this films asks about individual sacrifice, about our loyalty to institutions, and about governance. About leadership, and faith, and bravery. One of the narrative undercurrents running throughout the film is even a melancholic meditation on mortality; do not disregard it just because it has crystal foxes, and porgs, and explosions, too.
Surprisingly, though it is a part of a franchise that began forty years ago, The Last Jedi is, in every way, a film for our time. Is there any question, really, that, looking back, The Last Jedi will have been THE movie of 2017?
The list of contenders is strong, of course. But many of its offerings also feel a little too quirky. A little too precious. Or, in some cases, very accomplished, but stale. The Last Jedi, by comparison, feels fresh. Visionary.
Academy, do not overlook The Last Jedi because it is popular. See it for what it is—a remarkable movie: serious and crowd-pleasing. Action-packed and funny. Timely and timeless. Give it the Best Picture nomination it deserves.