Apple Making a Big Push for Jennifer Lawrence’s ‘Causeway’ to Take Gold at the Oscars

Reports indicate that Apple is already looking for Oscar gold by beginning to push Jennifer Lawrence’s new film Causeway for the 2023 Academy Awards.
Seeing release this past Friday, the new film is likely to be a strong contender at the 95th Academy Awards, which takes place March 12, 2023.
Apple Pushing Lawrence’s ‘Causeway’ for Oscar Season
As spotted by AppleInsider, Deadline is getting a head-start on Oscar season by introducing Contenders Film: New York. According to Deadline, Contenders Film: New York is a means to show both audiences and voters some of the highlights from the year’s largest films. For this year’s Contenders Film: New York, eight movies saw a feature alongside “casts and creatives joining in for panel discussions about the stories behind their work”.
Alongside Lawrence’s film Causeway, the Apple TV+ film Sidney also saw a feature. Arriving from producer Oprah Winfrey, the film takes a look at the life of actor/filmmaker/civil rights activist Sidney Poitier.
In terms of panel attendees for Apple, both the director for Sidney, Reginald Huddling and Causeway producer Justine Ciarrocchi were both able to attend the conference virtually.
Additionally, other studios that took part in Deadline’s Contenders Film: New York include Universal Pictures, Variance Films, Breaking Glass Pictures Netflix and Orion Pictures/United Artists Releasing.
A Brief Look at the 2023 Award Season
While it seemed like a sure-fire bet to say that Apple is looking to heavily-push Causeway for award season, it was also interesting to see that Contenders Film: New York went with Sidney over Will Smith’s new film Emancipation. While Will Smith’s Oscar-ban does not prevent him or his films from receiving nominations, many may be hesitant about Emancipation receiving nominations due to Will Smith’s fiasco at this year’s Academy Awards.
With Deadline helping legitimize both Sidney and Causeway as Oscar contenders, Apple Original Films may find itself with three different movies capable of pulling in some awards next year. Since Apple was the first streaming service to win Best Picture for CODA, it would likely be an incredible boost for the platform to win Best Picture two years in a row.
You can view the streaming site for Contenders Film: New York here.
What do you think will win big at the next Academy Awards? Let us know in the comments.
Tags: Apple TV+, streaming, television