A Kansas Citian’s guide to watching the Oscars: These 3 contenders have local ties
The Academy Awards will be presented Sunday night. Here’s what Kansas Citians should watch for:
▪ “Nomadland,” the front-runner for the best picture Oscar, was produced by Kansas City native Peter Spears, who was raised in Overland Park and graduated from Shawnee Mission South High School. He and best actress nominee Frances McDormand optioned the Jessica Bruder book it’s based on. He told The Star last month that he and McDormand met over coffee with director Chloé Zhao to discuss the film, and she ran with it. (She’s expected to win best director.) “Nomadland” is up for six awards.
▪ “Minari” is director Lee Isaac Chung’s semi-autobiographical tale of a Korean family who move to rural Arkansas to grow crops used in Korean cooking — including the vegetable of the title, similar to parsley. Chung told The Associated Press that he planted the film location with minari plants his father had been growing in Kansas City. Chung told the Arkansas Times that when he was young, his family grew Asian pears on their farm outside Lincoln, Arkansas, and they “would go to Kansas City and Dallas and try to sell these pears.” He told NPR that his father still farms in Arkansas and has become somewhat of a tourist attraction. “Minari” is up for six awards.
▪ “Da 5 Bloods,” the Vietnam veteran drama co-written by Kansas filmmaker Kevin Willmott and director Spike Lee, was snubbed in the major categories. It received one Oscar nomination, for Terence Blanchard’s score.
Where to watch
The Academy Awards will air at 7 p.m. April 25 on ABC.
This story was originally published April 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "A Kansas Citian’s guide to watching the Oscars: These 3 contenders have local ties."
