Guys, Vin Diesel is really, really confident about Furious 7. In fact, he's so confident (some might prefer the phrase "delusional") about the latest installment in the long-running franchise, he thinks it can be the next Birdman or 12 Years a Slave, and win a Best Picture award at the Academy Awards.
While there's little arguing that Furious 7 will clean up at the box office, the idea that it might be nominated for Best Picture is mildly ridiculous. That's especially true when one considers that the most prestigious award that the franchise's most critically acclaimed film, 2011's Fast Five, could lay claim to was the 2011 Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Action.
"Universal is going to have the biggest movie in history with this movie," Diesel told Variety. "It will probably win best picture at the Oscars, unless the Oscars don't want to be relevant ever."
As Variety explains, the Academy has traditionally ignored franchised series for Best Picture, regardless of their critical claim – Harry Potter, the Batman trilogy, and the Alien series have all failed to score a Best Picture nod. That's not stopping Diesel, though, who vehemently reiterated his argument for the entertainment publication, saying, "This will win best picture. There is nothing that will ever come close to the power of this thing."
While it's fair to say the cue-balled star is just doing his part to promote a film he believes in, according to Variety, initial responses to the seventh installment in the franchise have actually been remarkably positive. Following its debut at SXSW, Furious 7 is enjoying an 85-percent "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For the record, the next closest film in the franchise, the aforementioned Fast Five, is sitting pretty at 77-percent "Fresh."
We'll all be able to judge Diesel's prediction for ourselves, when Furious 7 hits theaters on April 3.
While there's little arguing that Furious 7 will clean up at the box office, the idea that it might be nominated for Best Picture is mildly ridiculous. That's especially true when one considers that the most prestigious award that the franchise's most critically acclaimed film, 2011's Fast Five, could lay claim to was the 2011 Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Action.
"Universal is going to have the biggest movie in history with this movie," Diesel told Variety. "It will probably win best picture at the Oscars, unless the Oscars don't want to be relevant ever."
As Variety explains, the Academy has traditionally ignored franchised series for Best Picture, regardless of their critical claim – Harry Potter, the Batman trilogy, and the Alien series have all failed to score a Best Picture nod. That's not stopping Diesel, though, who vehemently reiterated his argument for the entertainment publication, saying, "This will win best picture. There is nothing that will ever come close to the power of this thing."
While it's fair to say the cue-balled star is just doing his part to promote a film he believes in, according to Variety, initial responses to the seventh installment in the franchise have actually been remarkably positive. Following its debut at SXSW, Furious 7 is enjoying an 85-percent "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For the record, the next closest film in the franchise, the aforementioned Fast Five, is sitting pretty at 77-percent "Fresh."
We'll all be able to judge Diesel's prediction for ourselves, when Furious 7 hits theaters on April 3.
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