Clint Bentley Says Joel Edgerton Oscar Snub Makes Train Dreams Best Picture Nod Bittersweet

This morning, Clint Bentley added two more Oscar nominations to his belt with Train Dreams being nominated for best adapted screenplay and best picture. The recognition feels “just as beautiful and surreal” as receiving his first Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay for Sing Sing just two years ago, says the writer and director.

“I’m still processing [the nomination] to be honest, because this is not only a film that I put so much of myself into, not only in terms of the content, but the form as well, and the scale of the movie that we made,” Bentley tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Being this independent film alongside films by some of my absolute heroes is wild.”

Still, Bentley notes he would’ve liked to have heard Joel Edgerton‘s name called among the nominees today. Edgerton stars as Robert Grainier, a loggerwho loses his home and family to a devastating fire, in the Netflix period drama.

“I think a huge reason the film works as a whole is because of Joel and his artistry, and so it’s bittersweet for him not to be recognized,” added Bentley. “I think in a roundabout way, the film being recognized is in large part because of him as well.”

In addition to Adolpho Velso picking up a cinematography nomination for his work on the film, Train Dreams also scored a nom for best original song for the title track “Train Dreams” by composer Bryce Dressner and Nick Cave, marking the first Oscar nod for the Australian rock musician.

“I talked to Bryce this morning, and it’s wild to have been a small part to add an accolade to Nick Cave — a fucking legend — but I’m very proud of that,” says Bentley. “It was a dream come true working with him in the first place, so to have this be part of it is so beautiful. That song is so special and was built off the score that Bryce built, and I feel like it’s really a beautiful accolade for both of them.”

Train Dreams is just Bentley’s second feature film, and while the acclaim the film has received is a testament to Bentley’s ability to bring the same mastery that was celebrated in 2021’s independent project Jockey to a large-scale movie, in a previous interview with THR, Bentley said of the film’s success, “I’m not looking at this as a stepping stone to some big tentpole.”

What’s next for Bentley is unclear, as the filmmaker remains focused on seeing this year’s Oscar campaign through. But offers have started rolling in, he shares.

“I’ve got a couple of original ideas that I’m working through, and I am being approached about things, but it’s hard to have your head straight during this time of promoting a film,” Bentley says. “I’m just trying to take time and not make any decisions until I get a little space to come back to the place where this film came from, which is a place of passion and from the heart.”