We've been following the progress of Jane Campion's film, The Power of the Dog, pretty closely over the past year or so. Though the film was shot in New Zealand, the story takes place in Montana, and the filmmakers was staffed with several Montanans for authenticity. The film's star, Benedict Cumberbatch, even spent some time in Montana learning everything he needed to know to get into character.

The Power of the Dog ended up becoming one of the most acclaimed films of 2021, and was nominated for more Oscars than any other movie this year, with a total of 12. It's still a wide open race, but there's a strong chance that The Power of the Dog ends up winning Best Picture.

Not Everyone Is A Fan of the Movie

Actor Sam Elliott made headlines recently when he expressed his extreme dislike of the film, calling it a "piece of s**t" and taking issue with its "allusions of homosexuality" and the fact that it wasn't actually filmed in Montana.

Director Jane Campion was on the red carpet for the DGA Awards when she finally responded to his comments.

And Speaking of Awards...

It is that time of year when there's a million awards shows leading up to the Oscars, and The Power of the Dog is cleaning up. Jane Campion won the DGA Award for Directing Achievement of a Theatrical Feature Film, and then the film won Best Picture and Best Director at the Critic's Choice Awards not long after.

(It should be noted that Campion's speech there is drawing its own controversy for her comment to Serena and Venus Williams, which you can see people talking about in the comments.)

Still, The Power of the Dog is a terrific film, and it's looking more and more likely that a Best Picture win at the Oscars is in the cards. Do you think it deserves it?

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