John Malkovich Chases Oscar No. 3 in Wild Horse Nine

John Malkovich, 72, is tipped for his first Oscar nomination in three decades for his performance in Martin McDonagh's CIA black comedy "Wild Horse Nine" — and he says the awards race has become "a different world" since his last campaign.

Malkovich earned best supporting actor nominations for "Places in the Heart" (1984) and "In the Line of Fire" (1993). He never won. He has attended the Oscars only once.

Speaking at a London Film Festival Screen Talk on Sunday, Malkovich said he now views awards buzz "probably differently than I did then, because the movie business existed."

"It maintained an — undeserved, in my opinion, but nevertheless — a very, very high position in the culture," Malkovich said. "And when I say 'undeserved,' meaning there weren't that many 'Chinatowns' or 'Godfathers' or 'Godfathers II.'"

Why does campaigning matter now?

Malkovich argued that streaming has upended the theatrical business to the point where months of awards campaigning are often the only path to box office.

"So now, that's the only way to get people to go to the theaters, the whole thing. And that's months and months and months," he said.

He contrasted today's grind with his earlier nominations. "When I was nominated for an Academy Award, someone said, 'You're nominated for an Academy Award,'" he recalled.

His earlier Oscar films, he noted, were already commercial successes before the ceremonies:

• "The Killing Fields" (a 1984 Oscars film, by his recollection) had "already made their money"
• "Places in the Heart" was likewise out and successful
• "In the Line of Fire" followed the same pattern

"It was really a different world," Malkovich said. "Now, that kind of seems to be the only way to get people to actually go to a theater."

What happened his one time at the Oscars?

Malkovich attended the ceremony only once, when nominated for "Places in the Heart," and found the experience overwhelming. He recalled his manager Phyllis Carlyle schooling him on the way to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

"She said, 'Now honey, when we get there, there's gonna be a lot of people,'" he told the London crowd. "And I said, 'OK, but we can just go in a side door, right?' And she, right in my face, goes 'Honey! It's the Oscars, there's no side door!'"

He added: "That's kind of my native personality in the face of that kind of onslaught."

How does he feel about the change?

Malkovich remains unbothered by Hollywood's transformation. "I'm 72 years old, things change," he said. "I don't really like thinking things aren't what they used to be. They just change, and you either change with them or die. And I prefer to change with them. I'll die, anyway."

"Wild Horse Nine," which held its U.K. premiere at the London Film Festival on Friday, stars Malkovich opposite Sam Rockwell as a veteran CIA agent. Set shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, the film follows the two men dispatched to Easter Island, where they confront both their dark pasts and present conspiracies.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September to rave reviews, and Malkovich won the best actor prize. At a Venice press conference, he deflected the praise: "I've had a long career, and I've had spectacular collaborations with writers, directors and actors. I never feel in competition with any of them. For me, it's a very nice thing. But the nicest thing is the film getting attention."

He added: "The film has several terrific performers, and it's beautifully written and directed. That's what matters to me."

With Venice laurels, London momentum and a distributor-backed campaign behind it, "Wild Horse Nine" now heads into a season where, as Malkovich himself puts it, months of campaigning are the price of getting audiences into theaters.