Should 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' get a best picture nod? - Los Angeles Times
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Will you be voting for ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ for best picture?

An illustration of Spider-Man
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is in the Oscar conversation for best picture.
(Photo illustration by Nicole Vas / Los Angeles Times; Sony Pictures)
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“Spider-Man: No Way Home” has grossed more than $1.6 billion globally — in the middle of a pandemic! — and has audiences roaring their approval as the movie brings back a host of familiar faces from the franchise’s past.

Now its producers are angling for more rewards, launching a best picture Oscar campaign. Does “Spider-Man: No Way Home” leave your senses tingling enough to vote for it? Let’s “Scooby-Doo this s—” by taking the following quiz to find out.

1. Age:
18-34 (10)
35-54 (5)
Old enough to know better than to vote for a comic book for best picture (0)

2. Number of Spider-Man movies you’ve seen:
All 8, plus “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (which is absolutely the best one!) (10)
Stopped after the Tobey Maguire entries (3)
There have been other Spider-Man movies??? (1)

3. Thoughts on fan service in movies:
We insist! (10)
Please resist! (0)

4. That proposed popular film Oscar category from a few years ago was ...
Much needed (10)
Cynical pandering. These are not the People’s Choice Awards! (2)

5. The Oscars have a responsibility to ...
Reflect the tastes of moviegoers (8)
Prop up the film industry (8)
All of the above (10)
None of the above (0)

6. You voted for “Black Panther”:
Yes, of course! Wakanda forever! (8)
Over “Green Book”? You’re kidding, right? (0)

7. You voted for “Avengers: Endgame”:
Absolutely. It was a brilliant and moving culmination to a decades-long tapestry of inventive storytelling. (10)
IP movies do not belong in the Oscar conversation. (0)

8. You are Martin Scorsese:
Yes (0)
No (5)

9. You watched “Spider-Man: No Way Home”:
In a theater. On opening night. Wearing a costume. (10)
At home, on the academy’s streaming portal. (6)
I have no plans to watch it, but my kids tell me it’s “fun.” (0)

10. The highest goal of cinema is:
To convey emotional, psychological experiences from one group of human beings to another group of human beings. (0)
Cross-corporation synergy! (10)

11. Favorite movie studio:
Warner Bros. (2)
20th Century Fox ... no, wait ... Disney! (5)
PlayStation (8)

11. At 148 minutes, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” felt:
Overlong, like all Marvel movies (0)
Just right (6)
I’m waiting for the three-hour director’s cut! (10)

12. Tom Holland:
Movie star! (10)
Eh ... he’s no Michael J. Fox. (1)

13. Favorite ensemble:
The one with Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire (10)
That other Benedict Cumberbatch movie, the one where he plays a banjo, castrates a bull and wears a cowboy hat (2)

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14. Favorite Spider-Man:
Tobey Maguire (4)
The other guy, the one from “Tick, Tick ... Boom” (2)
Tom Holland (8)
“No Way Home” doesn’t make us choose. Why do I have to choose? (10)

15. Favorite Spider-Man series moment:
The upside-down kiss in “Spider-Man” (3)
Spider-Man, a.k.a. “Underoos,” swipes Captain America’s shield in “Captain America: Civil War” (6)
“Mr. Stark ... I don’t feel so good” in “Avengers: Infinity War” (8)

16. Favorite wizard:
Stephen Strange (8)
Albus Dumbledore (2)
Gandalf (4)
The Wizard of Id (0)

17. Lessons learned from “No Way Home”:
If a Lizard Man from another universe suddenly appears in your universe, you should not try to “fix him.” Just send him back home. (2)
Zendaya improves every movie she’s in. (7)
Teenage superheroes make really dumb choices ... just like real teens. Kids! (6)

18. Number of times you cried watching “No Way Home”:
Every time they said goodbye, I died a little (7)
I mean, the whole “brothers” thing got to me. Strong men also cry. (8)
Once. When I realized it was 2½ hours long. (0)

19. Your approach to Oscar voting:
With great power comes great responsibility. (3)
The Oscars should be fun! We need more movies like “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (9)

20. Reaction should “Spider-Man” be nominated:
Wooo-hooo! (10)
If it came at the expense of “House of Gucci” or “Don’t Look Up,” I’m OK with that. (5)
May God help us all. (0)

SCORING:
130 and above: It feels weird but you’ll allow it. You’ll be voting for “No Way Home.”
70-129: Eh. Why not?
Below 70: Marvel has its money. They don’t need any further reward.

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