A scene from the film Quiet on the Western Front, produced by Netflix.
Los Angeles – Most of all, the couple of Czechs nominated for the golden statue want to enjoy the Oscar ceremony and be surprised if it doesn't work out after all. Sound engineer Viktor Prášil and stuntman Viktor Müller, who are both nominated for their work on the Czech-filmed war film Calm on the Western Front, said this in an interview with ČTK. Not one of them feels like a favorite.
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“Definitely not. I don't even know who can feel that way. The competition is really great. I feel about the same as before the (British film award) BAFTA. No one knows how it will turn out,” says Prášil, who is currently at at the British film awards in February together with three colleagues scored points.
But according to him, everything can be different at the awards of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “If anyone can be a favorite, I'd say that here in America it's more like Top Gun: Maverick,” notes the 35-year-old sound engineer, who has been enjoying the pleasant March weather in the Californian city for a week.
Müller, the trickster, has been in Los Angeles for a little longer, so unlike Prášil, he no longer has to fight the time difference. “I'm in LA not so much for the Oscars, but mostly because I'm finishing the film,” says the 46-year-old Czech, who this time will add special effects to the film Gran Turismo inspired by racing video games, which he's been working on here since January.
Neither Müller, who has been involved in the field since he was 16, does not consider himself a favorite for the announcement, which will take place on Monday night CET. “It's not important to win, but to participate. For us, the nomination was already a big thank you,” he says. Along with Müller, three collaborators are also nominated for the film On the Western Front, including another Czech, Kamil Jafar.
“I think there is a chance for other colleagues and for the film itself to win an Oscar. It has a lot of nominations, so it would be a shame if it didn't change even one,” notes Müller. The German film based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, which unadornedly shows the horrors of the First World War, has a total of nine nominations. Czech Linda Eisenhamerová is also among the two nominees for the best masks.
If one of the four Czechs were to win the famous statuette, it would be the first Oscar for a Czech artist since 2008, when singer Markéta Irglová together with her music and then with her life partner Glen Hansard, she won the award for the best film song Falling Slowly from the film romance Once.
However, neither Prášil nor Müller want to stress about it, they are both looking forward to the festive evening in the company of their partners and they really enjoy their colleagues. “We're going to enjoy it as much as we can, and we'll see what happens,” says Prášil, who expects “a little more circus” from the evening. “It's not like I don't sleep or think about it. Either it will come or it won't,” adds Müller.
