Hollywood will own the Oscars red carpet Sunday night, but “The Town” won’t own the movies being honored with the evening’s biggest prize. Not one of this year’s 10 Best Picture nominees was primarily made on a Hollywood soundstage or studio lot—a striking snapshot of how far the industry’s center of gravity has shifted from its historic home.
This year’s Best Picture lineup reads like a map of Hollywood’s dispersal: Marty Supreme was shot on New York streets, Sinners in Louisiana, Hamnet in the U.K., with other contenders anchored in Canada, Europe, and South America. The Dolby Theatre will still be the global showcase on Sunday, but the location spending, local payrolls, and tax revenues tied to the movies themselves are no longer in the greater Los Angeles area.
