[ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." >> tonight, free brittney griner. the wnba superstar locked up in putin's russia. mysteriously detained at the airport. now the growing calls for her release. >> none will let up until brittney griner is home. >> and why she chose to play in russia where being who she is could have consequences. >> so it's like still kind of cover yourself a little bit. and drive my car. the japanese film getting major awards season buzz. a saab 900 and a universal story of love and loss. >> do you think that "drive my car" could have gotten all these nominations before these changes were made? llywood?is the new inclusive

plus an irish blessing. why a sea of green has irish eyes smiling once again. >> announcer: "nightline" will be right back.

good evening. thanks for joining us. tonight as the u.s. continues to

punish russia one of the world's most recognizable female athletes is stuck in the middle. the arrest of wnba superstar brittney griner remained secret for weeks. and while calls to free brittney griner grow louder, her case is shining a spotlight on basketball's pay gap. even for a player at the top of her game. here's abc's trevor ault. >> reporter: it's among the most surprising cases in recent memory. one of the biggest names in the wnba, brittney griner. >> brittney griner is one of the greatest players in the history of women's basketball. she is known for absolute dominati domination. >> reporter: now arrested and detained in russia. for more than two weeks most of the world had no clue. details of her case shrouded in mystery. this video released by russian customs, which appears to show the star player being stopped at a moscow airport. and this booking folto shown on russian state media last week are some of the few images we've seen of griner since she was

taken into custody back in february. the 31-year-old was traveling when russian authorities say they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. the situation playing out at a time when all eyes are on russia's ongoing war with ukraine, contributing to rising tensions with the west including the united states. >> whenever an american is detained anywhere in the world, we of course stand ready to provide every possible assistance. and that includes in russia. >> reporter: despite the u.s. gornment's commitment to fighting for griner's release, she remains in custody. and today a russian court announcing she'll be held until mid may. and further complicating any chance at diplomacy is the fact most of america's consular staff has been expelled from russia, leaving few people in the country to provide consular support. >> we've been in constant contact with brittney griner's legal team, with the wnba, with

others involved in her case to try to provide appropriate support. and we're concerned because we have requested that our personnel based in our embassy in moscow be able to see brittney griner, to evaluate the conditions in which she is being detained, and to provide all forms of support. the russians have not yet permitted us to do so. we're going to continue to insist that they allow us access to brittney griner, just as we'd be permitted access to all americans who are detained in russia. >> reporter: her case has since garnered national attention. representative sheila jackson lee from griner's home state of texas insisting she's freed. >> we are encouraging as a member of congress to have the government move as swiftly, as profoundly, as strongly as it can do without in any way undermining what is best for brittney. >> reporter: griner's family has largely remained quiet and out of the spotlight.

aside from this instagram message her wife posted earlier this month. writing, "i understand that many of you have grown to love b.g. over the years and have concerns and want details. please honor our privacy as we continue to work on getting my wife home safely." >> a lot of people have asked the question, well, what if this were lebron james or tom brady? and that is a perfectly legitimate question. it would be different. and this is one case where for brittney griner the lack of attention we pay in this country to women's sports is actually working in her favor a little bit because the more we talk about her the more it raises her profile over there, the more it makes her valuable for them to keep as a chit. >> reporter: and brittney griner is one of the most dominant athletes in professional sports, standing at a towering 6'9", center for the phoenix mercury. >> ever since she was a star at baylor, she was an olympian, and all her years in the wnba she's one of the greatest who's ever

played the game. she's become an icon on her own. >> reporter: but despite her success here in the states, for the past several years she spent the off-seasons playing professional basketball elsewhere, in russia. >> the top wnba salaries, they peter out around half a million dollars. griner was making less than that. but in russia, where oligarchs own these teams and put a lot of resources into it, player like brittney griner can make well more than a million just playing part of a season. they're treated like all-stars. their accommodations are better. the travel is better. everything. it's a different world for them. >> reporter: back in 2017 our colleagues at espn's e60, owned by abc news parent company, traveled with griner to ekaterinburg to take a look at what her life was like overseas. >> i've got everything that you might need in here. so i have water and apple juice. so if you're thirsty, if you're

thirsty i got you. >> reporter: she was competing in one of the best leagues in the world. but she says the loneliness was a constant. >> normally we have practice aaround 10-ish. then it's like what am i going to do for the rest of the day? it's flereezing cold outside. i sit here and i watch movies all day. play video games till like 9:00 at night. i hated it at first. i hated isolation at first. but i've grown. i mean, when you're stuck in it so much you've got to find the positive in it so you're not miserable. >> reporter: but she would eventually find her place. >> i kind of do think i fit in, honestly. i still get the looks of being tall and my hair. i've had a couple of russian people like your hair, like is it real? >> reporter: those probing questions, though, have stretched beyond her appearance. in the u.s. griner has long been open and proud about being a

lesbian. but in russian where lgbtq harassment and even violence is frequent, the star known for being brash on the court has had to be more discreet. >> over here it's like yes, you're good here but just don't tell anyone, but you're fine. so it's like still kind of cover yourself a little bit. >> reporter: it's a journey griner's been on for most of her life. it was in high school on the basketball court where griner says she really found herself. >> i literally fell in love with it. it was a way to get out my frustration because it is a contact sport. you know, you can go out there and beat somebody's shot and just release energy. and it definitely changed me. >> reporter: that energy is something debbie jackson witnessed firsthand as her head coach in high school. >> do you remember the first time you saw her dunk? >> yes. well, she did it in the gym when she came back from summer. she said coach, i can do it. i said, but what can you do?

she goes, "i can dunk, coach." she dunked in a game. the whole team -- the whole team was always very supportive of her because she's a very humble person. >> this has an interesting story. >> reporter: and while coach jackson is of course happy for brittney's success, she wishes she didn't have to go abroad to make the same living some nba players do here at home. >> how do you feel about the fact that nba players don't necessarily have to do that? >> i think brittney makes around 250,000 a season. but she makes 1.5 million a season going overseas. so i'm disappointed that we haven't reached that same level here in the united states. >> reporter: as griner's detention stretches on, debbie's concerned the consequences she may face could be severe. >> i'm hoping that her status as a celebrity, a well-loved player for the russian team would prevent, you know, physical harm

to her. but you don't know in that country. and i can't imagine what her parents, her wife, what they are going through right now. >> reporter: griner isn't the only american detained in russia. trevor reed and paul whelan, both former marines, have been in custody for years. > we last had consular access to paul wheel sxn trevor reed last year. whenever an american is detained anywhere around the world, and that includes russia, we stand ready to provide all appropriate assistance. the same of course is true of miss griner. >> reporter: a person close to the situation today tells abc news griner is okay and has been able to see her russian legal team several times a week. but for griner's family freedom cannot come fast enough. >> there's a deep sense of loss. it's known she would give the

shirt off her back. it is known that she is just an outstanding athlete, a kind person, a champion in all ways. and i can tell you there is a groundswell of affection and support. >> our thanks to trevor. up next, the major oscar buzz. how one best picture nominee and its director are helping drive change in hollywood. looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? once-weekly ozempic® can help. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. in adults also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. ozempic® helped me get back in my type 2 diabetes zone. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles.

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oscar history. but is the film evidence of a more inclusive hollywood? here's abc's zohreen shah. >> reporter: on the road to making oscar history. "drive my car," the critically acclaimed japanese film, is sweeping the world by storm. premiering at the 2021 cannes film festival and most recently taking home the prestigious baftas award for film not in the english language. now breaking new ground at this year's academy awards. the film nominated for best international feature, best writing, best directing and best picture. becoming the first japanese film ever to be nominated in the night's most coveted category. >> translator: when i was

arriving in paris on transit, that's when i received a lot of messages. and then i found out that i was up for four nominations. and i felt that i had landed in a completely different world. >> reporter: at the center of all the buzz, ryusuke hamaguchi, the director of "drive my car." a creative known for transforming simple concepts like love and friendship into the sublime on the silver screen. hamaguchi first bursting into prominence with hits like "happy hour" -- "adesako" 1 and 2. we sat down with him and his interpreter to talk about the historic moment of his latest film. why do you think it took this long for a japanese film to be nominated in this category? >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> translator: i think there has been many great japanese films in the past. a part of me thinks that there's a change in the academy that has also led to this. but also the way asian films have been received as changed as

well. >> reporter: a change in academy sparked by massive backlash. back in 2015 and 2016 when hollywood was accused of lacking diversity. >> the academy awards nominated 20 white actors in a row for the best actor, best supporting actor races. so that got trending, this hashtag oscars so white, and kind of motivated the academy to make some changes. >> reporter: some of these changes inviting a more diverse class of voters into the academy. these members ultimately tasked with deciding who gets a golden statue. do you think that "drive my car" could have gotten all these nominations before these changes were made? >> i don't think "drive my car" would have been nominated prior to these membership changes. it simply has to do with the perception among the academy voters of just who is even in contention for an award like this. >> reporter: that expansion of academy membership making the awards show more of a global

competition. what's the significance of these nominations? >> i think the significance of nominations like "drive my car" but also the other non-english language films that have received nominations outside of international feature category is that it signals that the oscars are no longer a domestic competition, that the oscars when they say best picture they mean the best picture in the world. >> reporter: the universal language of grief and heartbreak spotlighted in "drive my car." the film focusing on a widowed stage actor meeting and later befriending his chauffeur. the two sharing a special connection. >> translator: i believe that intimate conversations can happen in cars. i think the car space is mysterious in those ways because in some ways everybody is facing forwards and not necessarily looking at each other.

and i think through that people find that some kind of truth might arise from them. >> reporter: the film is an adaptation of a short story of the same name by sobrietied writer haruki murakami. why do you think so many people are moved by this film? >> translator: one of the reasons i think has to do with the coronavirus pandemic and the fact that many people have gone through grief. and a second part is that i think the story itself is a story that anybody can really ec empathize with, especially when it's about losing somebody close to you. it's really a story about what it means to keep on living. >> reporter: living despite loss. a theme that some say hits home in the asian american community throughout the pandemic. why is it so important for asian films to be seen here in this country and globely? >> i think unfortunately during the pandemic we have seen a number of attacks against asians and asian americans.

i think that asians in particular have historically suffered from invisibility in the media. and so when you are able to see them mainstreamed in a way in which they're recognized by major awards shows it kind of acknowledges that like yes, your stories belong and your stories deserve to be related to. >> reporter: stories like "drive my car" may not have been possible, says hamaguchi, without the pioneering works of others. >> bong joon ho. >> "parasite." >> fellow director bong joon ho" and his film "parasite" dominating the oscars two years ago, winning best picture, marking the first time any foreign language movie has ever won in that category. >> translator: i feel that "parasite" opened doors for us, and i feel that we're going through that same door that

"parasite" opened and it's led to this nomination for us. i feel that "parasite" reached out to a bigger general audience in the u.s. and i feel that because of that people have been going out to look forward to watch "drive my car" as well. >> reporter: but regardless of what happens after the big show this year, hamaguchi hopes his path to the oscars will help make it easier for the next generation of storytellers. >> translator: if i can be of some kind of help to young people, that would make me incredibly happy. i think everybody individually has ideas of what is right, and i think you just have to continue down that road to get to where you want to be. and i really hope people can believe in what's right for them. >> our thanks to zohreen. "drive my car" is now streaming on hbo max. and we'll find out who takes home oscars gold sunday, march 27th, right here on abc. up next, why the wind may finally be at our back on st.

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and finally tonight, the welcome return of st. patrick. after two years of covid cancellations america's oldest st. paddy's day parade right here in new york city was back. >> we are back with a bang. ♪ >> it's a salute to irish heritage but also a sign to many that maybe with a little luck the celebrations can continue. with a little luck of the irish. that's "nightline." see you right back here see you right back here tomorrow, same time. okay care coalition, alaska airlines is still frontrunner for most caring airline. funshine bear, you did some of your own research, right? i sure did. ♪ according to the web, their program's number one, ♪ ♪ earning alaska miles is quicker and more fun! ♪ cute! ooh, that was wonderful, sweetie! oh, oh, oh, i have a song about their cheese plates. ♪ cheese please! cheese please! cheese please! cheese please! ♪