Gothams snub ‘You Can See Everything’ for Best Feature

"You Can See Everything," Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, could become the first documentary ever nominated for Best Picture. Awards watchers are less sure that the Academy's documentary branch will accept it. On Tuesday, October 27, the Gotham Awards nominated the film for Best Documentary Feature and the Audience Award but left it out of Best Feature.thegotham.org

A test for the doc branch

The New York Times, in a story republished by DNyuz, reported that the film made $45 million in its first two weeks in theaters. It also reported that two people close to the production expect A24 to campaign for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and Best Documentary. If Amanda Seyfried is nominated for playing Holmes in the film's recreated scenes, she would be the first actress nominated in the supporting category for a role in a documentary.dnyuz.com

Some people who follow the race think a Best Picture nomination is more likely than a nod from the 770-member documentary branch. Critics say the branch has a habit of passing over hit films, films built around celebrities and films with unusual formats. Davis Guggenheim, who directed "An Inconvenient Truth," said the film "is going to be a real test for the doc branch because it pushes the boundaries of what a documentary is." Joe Berlinger pointed to "an anti-commercial-success bias among some of my peers in the branch." Documentarian Marina Zenovich went further: "I so applaud the film, but it's not a documentary." The Academy declined to comment.dnyuz.com

Odds climb at Gold Derby

The film is still eighth on Gold Derby's Best Picture chart, but its odds rose 34 percentage points in five days as it expanded into wide release. That was the biggest jump of any contender. Gold Derby now gives it a better than 61% chance of becoming the first documentary nominated for Best Picture. "The Odyssey" leads the chart with a nearly 96% chance.goldderby.com

Gotham weighs in

People have argued over how much of the film is really documentary since it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September. The Gotham nominations gave one answer: besides skipping Best Feature, voters also left the film out of Best Director and Best Supporting Performance. The Audience Award is back after a six-year break, and its nominees are picked partly on box office and Letterboxd ratings, two places where the film has done well. Its Best Documentary Feature rivals are "Closure," "A Fox Under a Pink Moon," "NAZA" and "Once Upon a Time in Harlem". Winners will be announced on November 30 in New York.yahoo.com+2

The documentary branch has missed popular films before. It overlooked "Hoop Dreams," "The Thin Blue Line" and "Won't You Be My Neighbor?". Berlinger said he hopes the film's box office will "help break through what I fear is some built-in resistance."dnyuz.com