For those who have not seen the Oscar nominated The Power of the Dog, you may be forgiven for expecting to see some very strong canines in the film, especially when it has been revealed that pet brand Pawp will be making a donation of $10,000 to pet rescue charities every time someone says the words Power of the Dog at the 94th Academy Awards this weekend. With the Benedict Cumberbatch movie expected to take a number of awards, that could lead to a big chunk of cash going to the good cause by the end of Sunday night’s ceremony.
The Power of the Dog has picked up 12 nominations, including acting nods for Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee along with nominations for Best Director and Best Picture and a number of production awards. As front-runner in many of the categories it is set to be a good night for the movie, and having Pawp adding some charitable work to the proceedings, there will be more than movie fans rooting for the film to do well. Of course the presenters could just mention the movie randomly a few times for no reason other than to get another $10,000 added to the pot, which will also be something many will be looking out for.
The generous plan by Pawp was reported by People, who noted that the company have said they are willing to donate up to $1 million to the caus. Pawp’s CEO acknowledged in a statement that the movie may not have any real connection to dogs, but they are looking forward to making sure that a lot of money is given out by the end of the night. The statement read:
“While Power of the Dog has nothing to do with dogs, Pawp is thrilled that it is the most nominated film, guaranteeing pups in need will be this year's true winners.”
The Power of The Dog Has Already Had Award Success, But Has Also Had Its Critics
Among this year’s Oscar nominees, The Power of the Dog comes into the ceremony as a firm favorite to pick up a number of the top awards having already amassed a staggering 227 wins so far, including picking up Best Film at both the BAFTAs and Golden Globes earlier this year. The film could also see Benedict Cumberbatch finally landing himself a Best Actor Oscar for his role as Phil Burbank.
Despite its popularity at dozens of awards ceremonies, the film did draw a particularly heavy bit of criticism from Hollywood veteran Sam Elliott, who called the film “a piece of sh*t” and took particular offence to its New Zealand director, Jane Campion, making a movie about the American West which was filmed in her home country.
Following the comments made by Elliott on a podcast, Benedict Cumberbatch responded while appearing on a BAFTA Film Sessions interview, saying, “I’m trying very hard not to say anything about a very odd reaction that happened the other day on a radio podcast over here without meaning to stir up the ashes of that. I don’t want to get into the details of it … but somebody really took offense to — I haven’t heard it so it’s unfair for me to comment in detail on it — to the West being portrayed in this way."
We will see how The Power of the Dog fares at the 94th Academy Award Ceremony on Sunday, and for those watching, why not see how many times the name of the film is mentioned to see how close to their $1 million ceiling Pawp’s charitable effort gets.