Joachim Trier is having a good day. The excitement is almost pouring through the phone. And, who can blame him? Trier has just earned his first two Oscar nominations for his celebrated romantic drama “The Worst Person in the World.”
READ MORE: 2022 Oscar Nominations [Complete List]
“We are thrilled. I’m here with Eskil and the team and the actors, and we were watching the announcements with fingers crossed, waiting for the international category, and then suddenly Oscar struck us with the wonderful news of a nomination for best original screenplay.”
“Worst Person,” which this writer chose as the best film of 2021, has earned accolades since it debuted at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and star Renate Reinsve took the Best Actress prize. That being said, Trier admits he wasn’t expecting the nominations this morning.
“I have had a collaboration with Eskil Vogt since we started making films together when I made my short films in my early 20s,” Trier says. “And we’ve written together [on] all the five feature films I have directed so far. So, it’s very touching and moving that we are being recognized in this way because [we have a] long, deep collaboration and friendship.”
The Oscar love shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise to those paying attention. Over the past few weeks, a steady stream of notable AMPAS members have proclaimed their love for the film.
“I’m a big film buff. I love movies. I grew up in a filmmaking family,” Trier says. “People like Judd Apatow, to Paul Thomas Anderson, Richard Curtis, Cameron Crowe. I mean, many of these people who stood up and praised our film and many others. I’m not someone who sits alone and writes novels. I’m a creative person who loves collaboration. I love to be a part of the community. And it’s so touching, seriously. I cannot tell you, that a guy from Norway who grew up going to the movies way too much, now kind of feeling this kind of love from the American film community. It means a lot.”
And, as you might expect, Norway is also celebrating what is just its sixth International Film nomination in 65 years. Trier adds, “Right now, I just saw online that the mayor of Oslo is jumping up and down in the newspaper and saying that this is the best news ever and stuff. So, it’s very sweet. We live in Oslo, and we’re getting a lot of praise and people are very proud, so that’s very touching.”
The NEON release made waves last weekend with $35,000 per screen in just four theaters, one of the biggest per-screen averages in the post-pandemic theatrical market. The Oscar nominations mean more people will likely see his feature on the big screen and that matters to Trier.
“I make films for an audience. I shoot on 35. I want people to as much as possible to watch my films on a big screen,” Trier says. “So to have this kind of turnout opening weekend is very gratifying. It means a lot to us. We’ve broken box office [records] for what we’ve done in the past in France and Scandinavia. It’s really great to come out of the pandemic and have shot something with a big screen and see that the audience is there. It gives me great hope and feels gratifying that we kept focusing on the big screen in my experience because it’s really what I’ve always done and what I’ve always been most interested in.”
“The Worst Person in the World” is now in limited release.