France’s Cannes Winner BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR Won’t Be Headed For Oscar?

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Oh, AMPAS. The stupidity of your Foreign Language Film Oscar rules knows no end.

Now it looks like this year’s Palme D’Or winner Blue is the Warmest Color won’t be France’s official entry in the Foreign Language Film race due to a technicality. According to Nancy Tartaglione over at Deadline, the film’s distributor plans a French national release in October, but any film contending for Oscar must be released in its home country before September 30.

Really? Really?!

It’s times like these that I wish we could fall back on simple accusations of homophobia in the Academy for Blue is the Warmest Color missing its chance at the Foreign Language Film Oscar. I’m used to that kind of stupid. But missing a rather arbitrary deadline?

Hopefully the film’s French distributor changes the date to appease the Academy. Or instead, releases the film when if feels like it and then uses its American counterpart to run the film in every category that it’s eligible for. Best Actress? Best Supporting Actress? Best Picture? Best Director? Nothing says eff you to the Academy’s Foreign Language Film arm like getting the branches to support a film in spite.