Director James Gunn unhappy that Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director went to two different films

Filmmaker James Gunn has expressed his displeasure over the best picture win of journalism drama Spotlight at the 88th Academy Awards.

Shortly after the winner of the coveted prize was announced at the ceremony, the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 filmmaker took to Twitter to express his feeling about the results of the awards show.

His post prompted responses from other users. Sela Shiloni commented, "The Revenant was an incredible achievement in directing. After it got through editing, though, not the greatest movie...." Gunn wrote back, "The director also directs the editor. That is what a director does. And THAT is the misunderstanding." 

I fucking hate when Best Picture goes to a different film than Best Director. Does our own industry not understand what a director does?

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 29, 2016

NO.But the director directs ALL of those people; you can judge a director's performance in 1 way: by the film itself https://t.co/3XWXXcWUNk

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 29, 2016

Directing is a collaborative thing by its very nature. And that's really all it is. So you can't detach the two. https://t.co/DB2sJj6DoI

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 29, 2016

It has nothing to do with the auteur theory. You can only judge a film and a director by the totality of a film. https://t.co/XGoX6GqQaQ

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 29, 2016

It’s not about idolizing one guy. But you can separate out other artists: you can’t do that with the director. https://t.co/vuayVFckMc

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 29, 2016

The split is simply because you vote different ways: You vote for one director and rank your picture choices. https://t.co/SorOtMk7PA

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 29, 2016

Gunn later clarified why he had made the comments.

So there’s a new string of articles out with the headline “James Gunn Unhappy with Spotlight Win” - strange, considering I loved Spotlight.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

So let me explain more fully when I say Best Picture and Best Director Oscars should be synonymous…

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

It’s NOT that a director is solely responsible for a film’s quality. It’s that you cannot separate a director’s job from the film itself.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

A director’s job is to guide the overall creative direction of the film and give guidance to ALL departments.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

Sometimes good movies are made with bad directors, great crews, great producers. But we can’t see that unless we’re on the inside.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

So, again, we can’t judge a director except by the overall quality of the film - as fair or unfair as that may be.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

So to say one film is ‘Best’ but another director is ‘Best’ makes no sense to me. I don’t know how you can separate evaluation of the two.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

A producer makes sure the film gets made and runs smoothly. A director is in charge of the creative side. https://t.co/1kSnkqcIpT

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

Considering I worked as a professional screenwriter for most of my life I doubt I undervalue a great script. https://t.co/k9ShZRFzwK

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

It’s hard to make a great movie with a bad script. But a director can easily botch a great one. https://t.co/k9ShZRFzwK

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

True. The reason it happens is because we Academy voters RANK Best Picture and vote for ONE Best Director. https://t.co/wIUGoMUGbq

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

Usually director or producer or the studio, depending on the project. https://t.co/LxHUwjPrI8

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

That’s a common misconception. But we all vote for everything. https://t.co/JwcDqbdobU

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 1, 2016

With PTI inputs