American drama 'Sound of Metal' is one of eight films in the running for Best Picture at this weekend's 93nd Annual Academy Award ceremony.
The film revolves around the story of Ruben, who plays the drummer of the metal band Backgammon and duly loses his hearing. Ruben is played by actor Riz Ahmed who audiences will remember from Chris Morris' Four Lions .
Sound of Metal is said to have originated from the unfinished project Metalhead first started by screenwriter and film director Derek Cianfrance.
Ahmed, who is also in the running for Actor In A Leading Role, underwent a strict regime in his preparation for the film.
His daily schedule consisted of two hours learning American sign language, two hours a day in drum lessons, two hours a day with a personal trainer and the remainder with his acting coach.
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Where to watch Sound of Metal on UK TV
Sound of Metal is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
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As with all walks of life, this year's Oscars have been compromised by the difficulty film production companies have had in getting new releases out to audiences.
Sound of Metal was originally released in September 2019 and in ordinary circumstances would have been in the Oscar running in 2020.
The film itself was shot in just 24 successive days, operating on a limited with Darius Marder using just two shots per scene.
Review aggregator RottenTomatoes gives Sound of Metal a 97% rating based on 250 reviews, with most noting Ahmed as the glue that holds the project together.
