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The end-of-decade reflective mood is obviously catching. In yesterday’s Long Shot column, I looked back on the last ten years of the Academy Awards, singling out some of their most inspired choices and positive developments. You responded in great numbers, rare goodwill towards the Academy dominating the comments thread for a change.
Of course, however, we all know that it’s more fun to bury the Oscars than to praise them. So today, indieWIRE’s Peter Knegt has compiled something of a flipside to my piece, listing the 50 most egregious snubs in the past decade of Oscar nominations.
It’s an eclectic list, Knegt’s only requirement for inclusion being that a nomination for the film or individual in question had to be at least within the realm of possibility.
Obviously, it’s a subjective exercise: most would call the failure of “Dreamgirls” to make the Best Picture cut one of the decade’s most surprising snubs, but Knegt presumably feels justice was done there. (I agree — Salma Hayek’s split-second alphabetical leap from “The Departed” to “Letters from Iwo Jima” when reading the nominees might be one of my happiest Oscar moments of the decade.)
Knegt’s list has me reliving many nomination-morning omissions from the last ten years that had me shaking me head, or simply placing it in my hands, from Dennis Quaid for “Far From Heaven” (not to mention that film’s snub in the design categories) to one he doesn’t list, Baz Luhrmann for “Moulin Rouge!” (Love it or hate it, that film is nothing if not a director’s piece.)
Still, I’m not sure any snub this decade reduced me to childish sulking as much as Sally Hawkins’s Best Actress shut-out for “Happy-Go-Lucky” only last January. I was aware how vulnerable she was, given her failure to impress SAG or even BAFTA, but something in me couldn’t believe that such joyful, inspired work, with such a prestigious trail of precursor awards, could lose out to such partially soggy competition. Alas, it could — and my TV still bears the scar from the remote control I hurled at it in my outrage.
Ah, good times. Check out Knegt’s full list here; his Top 10 is below.
1. “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille” and “WALL-E” (Best Picture)
2. Todd Haynes, “Far From Heaven” and “I’m Not There” (Best Director)
3. Uma Thurman, “Kill Bill, Vols. 1 & 2″ (Best Actress)
4. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (Best Picture)
5. “In the Mood for Love” (Best Foreign Language Film)
6. Paul Giamatti, “American Splendor” and “Sideways” (Best Actor)
7. Björk, “Dancer in the Dark” (Best Actress)
8. Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan, “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor)
9. “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” (Best Foreign Language Film)
10. David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello, “A History of Violence” (Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress)
62 responses so far
1 11-12-2009 at 3:06 pm
John K said...
They gave Lynch a nomination for “Mulholland Drive”; they also should have given Naomi Watts her due.
“Eternal Sunshine” was the worst sunb of the lot, especially considering what actually got the nod. (“Ray,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Finding Neverland”?)
2 11-12-2009 at 3:07 pm
AmericanRequiem said...
awesome list, uma thurman and pixar
3 11-12-2009 at 3:08 pm
John K said...
I realize Watts was #46, but that really doesn’t capture the magnitude of the injustice.
4 11-12-2009 at 3:10 pm
Morgan said...
Totally agreed on Dennis Quaid in that film.
5 11-12-2009 at 3:21 pm
Encore Entertainment said...
Well judging on the criteria he gives I don’t think Marsden, any of those Pixar films except possibly WALL E or Uma Thurman for Vol 2 had an big chance of being nominated.
6 11-12-2009 at 3:22 pm
Ryan Hoffman said...
He lists Baz as #19
7 11-12-2009 at 3:24 pm
Glenn said...
Joan Allen for “Upside of Anger” is the one that immediately leaps to mind. Especially since that was one year where the stories about being a “weak year” for that category was actually true. And yet she doesn’t even appear on the list at all! Naomi Watts at only #46 is bizarre since everyone seems to agree she should have been there (although that year was so strong, I’d still replace the two frontrunners Berry and Spacek with Watts and Swinton).
Tina Fey for “Mean Girls” needs to be higher than #50, again in a weak year.
Of course, if all of Knegt’s choices were in fact nominated his list would be filled with the ones that were nominated but that would have to be snubbed for his choices to happen. Circles.
8 11-12-2009 at 3:46 pm
Amanda said...
I would also add Matt Damon for Good Shepard, Ryan Gosling for Lars and the Real girl and Amy Adams for Enchanted.
9 11-12-2009 at 3:53 pm
Guy Lodge said...
Ryan: Ah, I see Peter added Baz now. Happy to see that.
Glenn: You prefer Judi Dench to Sissy Spacek? Ewww. (I kid. Different strokes.)
10 11-12-2009 at 4:06 pm
par3182 said...
‘american splendor’ missing picture, director and actor would be high on my list
but naomi watts is definitely #1
11 11-12-2009 at 4:17 pm
Michael W. said...
I certainly don’t agree with you Guy on Dreamgirls. I thought it was a devastating snub. My no. 4 of 2006 just behind United 93, The Departed and Children of Men. I really love it but often I feel quite alone :D
If Knegt’s requirement for inclusion is that a nomination had to be at least within the realm of possibility, then the list seems a little off here and there. Did Todd Haynes even receive anything at all for best director for I’m Not There? I don’t think so so he was hardly in contention. But he definitely should have been nominated for Far From Heaven.
Two snubs that would be on top of my list is there though. Almost Famous missing a best picture nod and Evan Rachel Wood not getting nominated for Thirteen. I was completely gutted that day :(
12 11-12-2009 at 4:23 pm
Mr. F said...
Their #1 is my #1
13 11-12-2009 at 4:29 pm
Mr. F said...
I would also add David Carradine for best supporting actor for Kill Bill, Vol. 2
14 11-12-2009 at 4:36 pm
Roger said...
i would put eternal sunshine in first… and then oixar…
15 11-12-2009 at 4:39 pm
han said...
my top 3:
jamie bell for billy elliot (best actor)
naomi watts for mulholland dr. (best actress)
nicole kidman for birth (best actress)
16 11-12-2009 at 4:59 pm
tim r said...
I understand why Quaid always gets on these lists… but I think he’s quite a bit too strenuous in Far From Heaven, in a way that’s thankfully not damaging to the movie, but not always that helpful to it either. I basically agree he should have been nominated, but can’t really see it as an egregious snub. That would be Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass: an Oscar he should have outright won, and my upset of the decade — good to see him listed.
Can we add Tilda Swinton for Julia, already?
17 11-12-2009 at 5:04 pm
AntonioA said...
Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road!
18 11-12-2009 at 5:11 pm
Erik said...
Off the top of my head, and sticking to the actors only:
- Maggie Gyllenhaal for leading actress in “Secretary” or “Sherrybaby”
- Jake Gyllenhaal leading actor for “Donnie Darko”
- Anthony LaPaglia and Barbara Hershey leads for “Lantana”
- Eric Bana lead for “Munich”
- Laura Linney supporting actress for “the House of Mirth” (totally agree with the Anderson snub, btw. I even would have accepted a supporting nod for “the Last King of Scotland” to make up for it)
- Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as lead and supporting respectively for “In Bruges”
- Gene Hackman and Gwyneth Paltrow lead and supporting for “the Royal Tenenbaums”
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johanssen lead and supporting for “Match Point” (granted, it was all downhill from there for Johanssen)
- Aaron Eckhart leading actor for “Thank You For Smoking”
- Tilda Swinton lead actress for “the Deep End”
- Billy Bob Thornton lead for either “the Man Who Wasn’t There” of “Monster’s Ball”
- Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh lead and supporting for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”
- Catherine Zeta Jones supporting actress for “Traffic”
19 11-12-2009 at 5:12 pm
Erik said...
Oh, and i COMPLETELY back up Nicole Kidman for Birth (and throw in Cameron Bright and Alexandre Desplat for that one too!)
20 11-12-2009 at 5:16 pm
Jack said...
Leonardo DiCaprio: Revolutionary Road
James McAvoy: Atonement
Vanessa Redgrave: Atonement
and of course, The Dark Knight for Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay
21 11-12-2009 at 5:28 pm
Jen said...
Ewan McGregor: Moulin Rouge
22 11-12-2009 at 5:49 pm
Jim T said...
Guy, you didn’t like Dench in Iris?? I mean, I know you are not the only one who thinks she shouldn’t have got nominated but I really don’t understand. I thought she was marvelous.
23 11-12-2009 at 5:51 pm
RyanT said...
I would add…
James McAvoy for Atonement
Ewan McGregor for Moulin Rouge
Jamie Bell for Billy Elliot
24 11-12-2009 at 5:51 pm
red_wine said...
This decade without a best picture nominee from Pixar won’t really go down. The academy only just will manage to squeeze out one at the end of the decade.
I’m not a fan of Finding Nemo, but by any estimation, it winds up in the Top 5 of its year, by Top 10′s or reviews or anything. Incredibles and Wall-E are inexcusable and head-scratching. Flat-out instant classics fell victim to animation bias. I can seriously think of no-reason not to nominate these 2, american, English language, big box-office, staggering critical support, enduring appeal. And though I have Ratatouille in my Top 5 for 2007, I’ll admit there were 5 better movies.
#11 has my full endorsement. It will probably end up as the writing achievement of the decade.
Also shout-outs too Haynes for I’m Not There(Should have won), Curon for Children Of Men. Best Picture nods for Adaptation,Zodiac, Mulholland Dr. These 3 might actually have won left to me.
Also like to mention, Wendy & Lucy for Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay. Williams gives a performance so bereft of artifice, so utterly selfless, her work and the movie will go down as great testaments to naturalistic cinema. Cameron wants to make it immersive, give you the feeling of actually being there? Kelly Reichardt already did that. Very few films can capture just plain life as it is almost in passing. Cinema is a mass of pretensions, the make-believe but Wendy & Lucy manages to drop them all.
25 11-12-2009 at 6:03 pm
tim said...
I’d add Pan’s Labyrinth for Best Picture and Guillermo del Toro for Best Director. Though that might just be me.
26 11-12-2009 at 6:09 pm
Zac said...
Sean Astin for Best Supporting Actor for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Guy Pearce for Best Actor for Memento.
I’ll post more as I think of them.
27 11-12-2009 at 6:19 pm
Patryk said...
Meryl Streep in “The Hours.” Paul Dano in “L.I.E.” and “There Will Be Blood.” Edward Norton in “25th Hour.”
28 11-12-2009 at 6:20 pm
Glenn said...
Guy, I haven’t seen “Iris” so I can’t really say. If I had a choice the Best Actress category that year would have been Thora Birch, Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton, Naomi Watts and Renee Zellweger although Birch could be swapped out for Charlotte Rampling and I wouldn’t really bat an eye.
Erik just reminded me that Alexandre Desplat has received horrible treatment this decade. First nom for “The Queen” but snubbed for “Birth”, “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and “The Painted Veil” amongst many others. Just horrible. I’d say Harris Savidas has a case to argue about being snubbed too (Elephant, Birth, Zodiac, American Gangster, etc etc etc).
Nicole Kidman in Birth and Dogville, one of the greatest twofers in acting history, but neither was ever going to get near to Oscar so it’s hard to really be THAT disappointed.
29 11-12-2009 at 6:25 pm
SHAAAARK said...
I like to pretend Mark Wahlberg was nominated for I Heart Huckabees, and not The Departed. It makese life seem so much better.
30 11-12-2009 at 6:36 pm
M.Harris said...
Guy,the one that really sticks out to me is “City Of God” being snubbed for a best Foriegn Film nomination.
Fernando Meirelles was nominated for Best Director that year,and I still think that “City Of God is one of the best films I’ve seen in years.
Hell,I would have nominated it for Best Picture.
31 11-12-2009 at 6:36 pm
j said...
Out of his list, I really support:
Ratatouille, Eternal Sunshine, & esp Tina Fey (Got the WGA nom)
32 11-12-2009 at 6:44 pm
Aaron said...
naomi watts for mulholland drive most definitely
33 11-12-2009 at 7:00 pm
austin111 said...
Switch Leonardo DiCaprio for The Departed instead of Blood Diamond. He might have had a chance.
34 11-12-2009 at 7:08 pm
Joel said...
I’ll say it: Steve Carell for “Little Miss Sunshine” over Alan Arkin. Not that Arkin wasn’t good (he was terrific), but Carell poured out his heart and soul into that performance. Needless to say that I didn’t see Michael Scott in there anywhere.
And I think Rinko Kikuchi for Best Supporting Actress in ’06 would’ve been better. Okay, so, she was nominated, but she was a hell of a lot better than Hudson, imo.
And “Pan’s Labyrinth” should’ve been nominated for Best Picture. So should “Children of Men,” which coulda won.
35 11-12-2009 at 7:27 pm
Chris138 said...
Bah, I think I am the only person who doesn’t think that Wall-E is the most overrated movie of the decade.
Glad that Christian Bale is mentioned for American Psycho.
36 11-12-2009 at 7:28 pm
Chris138 said...
Ah, dammit. I meant to say “I think I am the only person who finds Wall-E to be the most overrated movie of the decade.”
37 11-12-2009 at 7:56 pm
Georgie said...
Definitely agree with the Pixar snubs and the Eternal snub. And the Sally Hawkins snub for a nomination, let alone a win.
Also agree with the Wendy and Lucy snubs… that movie was so quiet and powerful, and Michelle Williams was perfect.
38 11-12-2009 at 8:03 pm
leonardo said...
My personal number one injustice is Paul Giamatti for Sideways, and second Leo Di Caprio for Revolutionary Road, but Naomi Watts for King Kong, really?, let´s be serious.
39 11-12-2009 at 8:07 pm
SJG said...
I agree Chris138… Wall-E is probably one of my least favorite Pixar flicks. Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo… they’re definitely WAY ahead of Wall-E. And even though I have a little more fondness for Ratatouille than the others, I’m not afraid to say that, objectively, Finding Nemo is probably Pixar’s greatest film, not to mention one of the best of the decade.
And speaking of animation snubs… I was very glad to see Andy Serkis included on the list of 50 snubs of the decade. I understand the hesitance over awarding digital performances, but Andy Serkis was every bit as “present” in his role in The Two Towers as Brad Pitt was in his role as Benjamin Buttons, as far as I’m concerned.
So… things that should have been nominated… by no means exhaustive because I’m too lazy to think up every example I can…
Best Picture:
Finding Nemo
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Dark Knight
Ratatouille
Notes on a Scandal
Pan’s Labyrinth
Best Acting (male or female):
Eric Bana in Munich
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed (it’s his own fault though, ironically)
Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road (see DiCaprio, Leonardo)
Guy Pearce in Memento
Jamie Bell in Billy Elliott
Kirsten Dunst in Marie Antoinette (as crazy as some may think me for that)
I was going to list supporting actors and actresses, but I’ll have to ponder some more…
40 11-12-2009 at 8:18 pm
Me. said...
The Triplets of Belleville kicks Nemo’s ass. The End. :)
41 11-12-2009 at 8:26 pm
where the white women at said...
Assassination of Jesse James for Best Picture
Brad Pitt for Assassination of Jesse James
Jeffrey Wright for Syriana
Chris Cooper for Breach
Nicole Kidman for Margot at the Wedding
Jennifer Jason Leigh for Margot at the Wedding
42 11-12-2009 at 8:40 pm
Patryk said...
Also Rip Torn in “40 Shades of Blue,” and Romain Duris in “The Beat That My Heart Skipped.”
43 11-12-2009 at 8:55 pm
Kokushi said...
The Dark Knight (Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Best Picture, Actor)
Pan’s Labyrinth (Best Picture, Director)
Uma Thurman (Best Actress for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2)
Michelle Williams (Best Actress in Wendy & Lucy)
44 11-12-2009 at 9:02 pm
Kokushi said...
Oldboy (Best Foreign Language Film)
45 11-12-2009 at 9:50 pm
Me. said...
- Sergi López – Pan’s Labyrinth
- Jack Nicholson – The Departed
- Pan’s Labyrinth for Best Picture, Directing.
- The Dark Knight for Best Picture, Directing, Screenplay.
- Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road
- Water for Best Picture
- Volver for Best Original Screenplay at least (along with Best Picture)
- Atonement’s cast members
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly for Best Picture and Max Von Sydow for Best Supporting Actor
- Into the Wild for Best Picture and Emile Hirsch for Best Supporting Actor
- Amélie for Best Picture and Directing and Audrey Tautou for Best Actress
- Almost Famous for Best Picture
- Eternal Sunshine for Best Picture and Directing and Editing
- Downfall for Best Actor (Bruno Ganz) and Best Picture and Directing too
- The Motorcycle Diaries for Best Picture and Directing
- Match Point for Best Picture and Supporting Actress for Scarlett Johansson
- Hero for Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Directing, Picture
list goes on and on ;)
46 11-12-2009 at 9:54 pm
Me. said...
Also, what the heck was special about Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada? Any random actress could’ve done that role. Nothing special.
47 11-12-2009 at 11:12 pm
Joey said...
Jeff Daniels for Best Actor for The Squid and the Whale
The Wrestler for Picture and Darren Aronofsky for Director
The Dark Knight, obviouslyyyy
There Will Be Blood’s score, ehhh dammit ineligibility.
Leonardo Dicaprio for Catch Me If You Can
Punch-Drunk Love.
48 11-12-2009 at 11:38 pm
cca said...
Dancer in the Dark for best picture, best director, and mostly best actress for Björk
49 11-13-2009 at 12:18 am
Jonathan Spuij said...
Love the attention for A History of Violence. Still a brilliant simmering film.
50 11-13-2009 at 1:29 am
Ross said...
Jennifer Connelly in A Requiem For A Dream (best supporting actress)
Wonder Boys in the best picture and best directing categories
Atonement for film editing!
James MacAvoy for LEAD actor in The Last King of Scotland and LEAD in Atonement!
Vanessa Redgrave for Atonement! I connected to her performance, no matter that it was a cameo. Ronan was good, but to me terribly directed — in terms of the visuals there was the primal, even somehow naively vicious in her character, but it felt forced at times. Redgrave’s performance was quiet beauty.
Jeff Daniels for The Squid and the Whale. Come on, he was so painfully funny. I think it was a performance that really hurts.
Agree with the Eternal Sunshine love. But every time I watch the film, I think of how underrated Jim Carrey’s performance is. Come on, he totally overshadowed Kate and the nature of her performance was being showy and flashy and all the style over substance thing. He was simply heartbreaking in the film.
Mulholland Drive for best picture and ESPECIALLY film editing and cinematography. Come on, it was a piece of art. This film is a shaking experience.
To me KELLY MACDONALD really delivered the most honest performance in Gosford Park. Maggie Smith was fun and Helen Mirren had the big dramatic breakdown (and delivered it in a really frighteningly emotional, subtle mode), but Kelly delivered in a performance that’s especially hard to achieve – presenting the young, innocent, naive woman who gets into a world of emotional misery and has to deal with it, trying to protect who she is. This could have been a really mediocre performance, but she makes her character to a moral center of the film and I was really falling in love with her in this film. I adore this performance and I think she should have received a nomination.
Pan’s Labyrinth for best picture, best directing, Sergi Lopez for supporting actor and Maribel Verdu for supporting actress.
There Will Be Blood for original score! It still hurts.
Steve Carell for Little Miss Sunshine — come on, this was the BEST performance in the film. And it was a total shock that he actually managed to do it and he made it look so effortless. From the physical transformation to the eyes full of despair and turmoil. The voice. He was amazing in this film.
I may be alone here, but Edward Norton in The Painted Veil. I think he made a character as complex as his really work on the screen. And I think he had great chemistry with Naomi Watts. The film’s score should have been nominated.
PAUL GIAMATTI in SIDEWAYS. Come on, this was a performance that really made Jamie Foxx look like an amateur. It had depth, emotion, it was honest and beautifully executed. It was about a flawed character, but so full of life and feelings that you are rooting for him and liking him.
Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road. This performance was the film’s center for me. Kate simply didn’t deliver in crucial scenes, but stole so much from the buzz. I’m slowly beginning to like DiCaprio’s work.
Leonardo DiCaprio for The Departed. The far better performance that year.
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Savages. He was amazing. The Savages for best picture as well. I love this film. And hands down, at the end of the day when you don’t care about the deglam factor, the overdue factor, the playing a real person factor etc etc, Laura Linney delivered the BEST performance among the five best actress nominees.
Gordon Pinsent for Away From Her, best actor. Come on. It’s painful to watch him on screen. Christie wouldn’t be as strong without him. There is so much intimacy in both performances.
The Royal Tenenbaums for anything. It’s the first performance, in which I like Gwyneth Paltrow. Gene Heckman was amazing. Film editing as well.
Hope Davis in American Splendor. Amazing.
Ralph Fiennes for best actor in The Constant Gardener. The film’s CINEMATOGRAPHY! Were they blind?!
And of course, The Incredibles for best original score.
FAR FROM HEAVEN in countless categories, including BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTING, SUPPORTING PERFORMANCES and the ART DIRECTION, COSTUME DESIGN categories.
TALK TO HER for best picture and Javier Camara’s performance.
And IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE for cinematography, best actor, best actress, best directing.
51 11-13-2009 at 2:09 am
Milan said...
@Me. (Belleville comment) AMEN.
52 11-13-2009 at 5:55 am
Pat said...
I’m still mad about about the Joan Allen snub for the Upside of Anger.
53 11-13-2009 at 6:21 am
Gustavo H.R. said...
Cronenberg for AHOV;
Spielberg for either film in 2003 – what an amazing years 2002 for him;
If more snubs come to my mind I’ll post ‘em.
54 11-13-2009 at 6:36 am
mike said...
its just movies people, not brain surgery, i wouldnt feel 2 bad for these rich people.
55 11-13-2009 at 7:22 am
Michael C. said...
How about Jon Brion’s unforgettable score for Eternal Sunshine? It certainly ranks among the many snubs for that film.
I also am stung to this day by the omission of Paul Bettany for Master and Commander. It’s a performance that has really stayed with me.
56 11-13-2009 at 9:41 am
Michael said...
This is an incredible list and it only makes me even sadder about all of the people that were not rightfully recognized by the academy over the past decade alone. I agree with pretty much everything on the whole list, especially in the top 10 alone the snubs of Bjork, Uma Thurman, and Sally Hawkins were particulary painful.
57 11-13-2009 at 11:20 am
Ivan said...
2000
BILLY ELLIOT for best picture
MARK RUFFALO for best supporting actor (You Can Count on Me)
2001
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN for best director (Memento)
GENE HACKMAN for best actor (THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS)
2002
MERYL STREEP for best actress (The Hours)
25TH HOUR for best adapted screenplay
2003
KILL BILL VOL. 1 for best cinematography
GWYNETH PALTROW for best actress (Sylvia)
2004
JEFF BRIDGES for best actor (The Door in the Floor)
DARYL HANNAH for best supporting actress (Kill Bill vol. 2)
2005
THE CONSTANT GARDENER for best cinematography
LAURA LINNEY for best supporting actress (The Squid and the Whale)
2006
ALFONSO CUARON for best director (Children of Men)
LEONARDO DICAPRIO for best actor (The Departed)
2007
EMILE HIRSCH for best actor (Into the Wild)
PAUL DANO for best supporting actor (There Will Be Blood)
2008
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD for best picture
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED for best screenplay
58 11-13-2009 at 11:29 am
Guy Lodge said...
Some nice calls there, Ivan. But Mark Ruffalo was in no way a supporting actor in “You Can Count On Me.”
59 11-13-2009 at 11:50 am
David said...
So happy to see Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan up there. Eddie Marsan was especially astonishing in Happy-Go-Lucky.
60 11-13-2009 at 1:29 pm
Brendan said...
Jonathan Rhys Meyers for Matchpoint
and Best Picture
agree with the PAUL GIAMATTI in SIDEWAYS
61 12-14-2009 at 8:12 pm
Jay said...
2000: Almost Famous (Picture, Director: should have won), Sunshine (Picture, Director, Ralph Fiennes Actor), Bjork (Actress for Dancer in the Dark), Yi Yi and Werckmeister Harmonies for Foreign Film (ignoring elibility requirements, the Academy’s are inane (like most of their awards), going by personal bests.
2001: In the Mood for Love should have won Foreign Film. Picture: Mulholland Drive (and Naomi Watts for Actress), Memento (and Chris Nolan for Director). Billy Bob Thornton Actor for Man Who Wasn’t There. Steve Buscemi Supporting Actor for Ghost World.
2002: Still can’t get over The Pianist losing Picture to Chicago, especially after deservedly winning Director, Screenplay & Actor. Anyhow, Rabbit-Proof Fence (d. Philip Noyce) and Road to Perdition (d. Sam Mendes) were unfairly ignored. Patricia Clarkson for Supporting Actress for Far From Heaven, Michelle Pfeiffer same category for White Oleander. Foreign Best Talk to Her, Amores Perros, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Russian Ark.
2003: City of God for Best Foreign Film and Best Picture, one of the top 5 of the decade. Fernando Meirelles for Director. Triplets of Belleville for foreign too. House of Sand & Fog underrated, would have nominated it for Picture over Seabiscuit. Also would have nominated Finding Nemo for Picture over Master & Commander. Evan Rachel Wood Actress for Thirteen. Maria Bello supporting Actress for The Cooler. Also Hero for a foreign film nod.
2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for Picture and Director. Also Hotel Rwanda and yes, the sappy but effective Notebook for Picture (all over Sideways, Ray and the awful Finding Neverland). Gena Rowlands and James Garner for Supporting Actor & Actress. Gael Garcia Bernal for Actor for Bad Education, which should have been nominated for foreign film with A Very Long Engagement, House of Flying Daggers, The Motorcycle Diaries, Downfall and the amazing Spring Summer Fall Winter…Spring, another top 10 film of the decade. Oh, and Bruno Ganz should have been up for actor for Downfall, maybe he should have won.
2005: Brokeback Mountain losing Best Picture is the biggest fiasco in Oscar history, not just because it was so much more deserving than anything else (and seems to be the only film making every best-of-the-decade-list, again, deservedly so), but because it is the most honored film to ever lose. Crash’s nomination over History of Violence and Constant Gardner is ridiculous, David Cronenberg & Fernando Meirelles also should have been nominated. Maria Bello for actress or supporting actress for History of Violence (good arguments both ways), Ralph Fiennes for Constant Gardner, Donald Sutherland for his wonderful understated turn in Pride and Prejudice. He’s never been nominated, incredible. Cache, 2046, Head-On and Fateless for foreign film, all better than any of the nominees/winner. Daniel Auetiel and Juliette Binoche both should have been up for Cache. And Heath Ledger really really should have won for Brokeback. As the NY Times said, his performance was as great as anything Brando or Sean Penn ever did, meaning the best of cinema.
2006: Glad to see people have Water on this list, unbelievably moving, another personal top 10 of decade. Volver should have been nominated too. Children of Men (and Alfonso Cuaron) and United 93 should have been nominated for Best Picture, and V for Vendetta is a guilty pleasure and a personal opinion nominee (wondering if its cult status will increase thru the years). Ulrich Muhe in Lives of Others for Actor, Sasha Cohen Best Actor nod for Borat, Seema Biswas Actress for Water, the old lady and young girl for supporting actress in Water. Would have given Supporting Actor to Tyoshi Ihara (sp?) for Letters from Iwo Jima.
2007: 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days was eligible and not nominated. Why does anybody watch the Oscars. Eligible Lust, Caution also should have been nominated, same for ineligible Diving Bell & the Butterfly. Would have nominated Zodiac and Assassination of Jesse James for Picture over Juno and Michael Clayton. Feel Kite Runner was unfairly maligned, was it foreign or English-language? Angelina Jolie gave her best performance in A Mighty Heart, and I would have nominated both James McAvoy and Vanessa Redgrave for Atonement. Not doing technicals here, but There Will Be Blood was robbed of a score nomination. Paul Dano for Supporting Actor for Blood too.
2008: Wall-E was by far the year’s best English-language film and should have won. Dark Knight (and Chris Nolan) also should have been nominated, despite script weaknesses. Edge of Heaven should have been up for foreign film (Let the Right One In elgibile in 2009). Sally Hawkins was robbed of Best Actress for Happy-Go-Lucky, and Kristen Scott Thomas also definitely should have been nominated for I’ve Loved You So Long (who to omit? Angelina for her odd Changeling performance and the great Meryl for her Doubt mis-fire, she was in her own little movie and ruined it; very rare). Eddie Marsan for Supporting Actor for Happy.
The Oscars suck, I haven’t watched in years.
62 12-14-2009 at 8:55 pm
Me. said...
WATER!!! That has to be one of my favorite films ever! Definately deserved a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars with Pan’s Labyrinth and Volver (two other films among my favorites ever).