Stephen King Calls Film Recently Snubbed By the Oscars As “Utterly brilliant” and “Thought-provoking”

Stephen King
Late Night with Conan O’Brien and NBC/Universal

Sometimes, a movie arrives and just as quickly vanishes from the public consciousness.  Damien Chazelle of La La Land fame released Babylon last December. At the time, it appeared poised to be an Oscar frontrunner, a loaded ensemble, musical hybrid that had all the makings of both a financial hit and critical darling. Only … critics weren’t so kind, and by the time the new year rolled around, Babylon felt like a distant memory. It still does, even though it’s not even a year old at this point. Luckily for Babylon, Stephen King feels differently.

Taking to Twitter this week, King went full Babylon tilt, suggesting the movie “might be one of those movies that reviews badly and is acclaimed as a classic in 20 years.” Check out his tweets below, including a follow-up that even compares Chazelle’s feature with Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining, an infamously maligned King adaptation that is widely considered a horror classic today.

Flaws and all, King loves the excess of Chazelle’s rendition of 1920s Hollywood. The cast includes (but certainly is not limited to) Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, and others. Check out the trailer below:

This isn’t the first time Stephen King has taken to Twitter to spotlight an unsung gem. King recently sang the praises of The Lesson, and he is arguably the world’s second biggest From fan (next to the Dread Central staff, of course). He remains a horror tastemaker, though his inclinations are as vast as they are unpredictable. I’m sure no one had, “Stephen King loves Babylon” on their 2023 bingo card.

What do you think? Will you be checking out Babylon this weekend on King’s advice? If you’ve seen it, what did you think? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.

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