“It’s a tough competition”: Shelper
Samson & Delilah producer Kath Shelper is enjoying the Oscar buzz, but says she won’t get too excited until February 2.
“I never, ever thought anything like this would happen with the film, ” she told Encore. “There and were many amazing films that were eligible, so we had tough competition and it’s an incredible honour.”
Shelper admits she has not seen all the other eight finalists – “some of them I hadn’t even heard of” – but in her opinion, the main competitor will be France’s A Prophet.
“I think it will win,” she said.
As for Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon‘s triumph at the Golden Globes, Shelper does not believe history will necessarily repeat itself.
“The Golden Globes and the Academy Awards work in a completely different ways, so it doesn’t really mean a lot. They don’t really impact on the Oscars.”
The producer admits she is not familiar with the nomination announcement process, so she doesn’t know who will get the call in case the film is confirmed as one of the five nominees on February 2.
“I’ll be nervous (on February 2). I’m going to the Rotterdam film festival next week, so I’ll be there when the announcement happens.
“I’ll think about the red carpet and all of that on February 2, if we’re lucky enough to get a nomination, but it’s still a long way to go, so I’m not going to get too excited. I’ll just wait to see what happens.”
